The definitive aftermarket slantnose, pop up headlight thread

[Yan2947]

Amazing to see where these setups came from.

Any idea what plastic bushing is used on the headlight motors. Looks like one white bushing per motor. I just measured the ball - 15.23 mm or .600" and the entire hole where the bushing would snap into is 20.68 mm or .814" (approximately)

[Yan2947]

It looks like these long arm bushings that are 3d printed on ebay are correct. I'm ordering a set.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-79-85-Mazda-1st-Gen-Rx7-Headlight-Bushings-TPU-V3/233149331950?hash=item3648c879ee:g:jVUAAOSwC6hazX7 e:rk:1f:0

[911tracker85]

one option I am considering is going manual. I have a friend who made brackets for 944s to remove all the elec motor and linkages. lift the headlight manually and the bracket locks it in place.

there is another thread on the turbo forum about these headlights too.

[Yan2947]

911 tracker85, do you have photos of that setup? Do our lids on the slant nose assemblies fit on the 944 ones?

[911tracker85]

dont know if I have a pic. it is easier on the 944 as the headlight assems are accessible with the hood open. my SN is golden coachworks and has a welded in bucket. no idea how I would do this on my SN but under consideration. I have been reading the aftermarket SN thread, would prefer to eliminate the motors.

[Yan2947]

I also have the Golden coach works SN. Where is the After market SN thread you mention. Not sure if it’s one I already found.

[911tracker85]

it is this thread. link is on post #58

[911tracker85]

after reading this I got to wondering how to just enable a toggle switch to raise / lower the headlights, rather than the complication of multiple relays to trigger from turning the headlights on / off.

first I pulled the relay and put power to the wire going to the motor to ensure it worked.

then taking the wires that go to the relay on the units. if you apply constant power to one lead, then ALSO apply power to another lead the units go up. apply power to a different lead and they go down. it you apply power to both it just keeps cycling up and down. I could not determine the use of the other wire, anyone know?

I know from having to clean the rotary contacts on my 951 how each of these separate leads energize a different track on it. headlight motion (up/dn) stop when the respective track on that rotary stop. hope that makes sense.

I am having Dennis make a completely new wiring harness for this car. will keep the stock switch to turn the headlights and parking lights on/off. and retain the stock turn signal / hi beam steering column switch. but then have a toggle switch mounted to manually raise / lower the headlight assemblies.

so now feeling more comfortable keeping these lights. based on how the wiring had been cut up to them I did not know if they would even work. and then no idea how much of a nightmare to get to work. will start looking for a better headlight unit with LEDs.

anyone know of a good LED headlight unit that would fit into the rectangle space of the mazda units?

[dap930]

Bob,

The yel/grn wire was used by Mazda to light an indicator light in the Mazda dashboard to indicate the lights were down. It is not used for our application.

For LED bulbs, I would check out TruckLites 27640C. This company has been making LED headlights since the beginning and make a quality product.

[911tracker85]

Dennis,
I just posted to your thread on the 930 forum. with what I figured out I looked at your diagram again. and saw the note that wire is not used. thanks for the headlight suggestion.

[Yan2947]

FYI, I ordered an 944 headlight switch. I'm assuming it takes into account the opening and closing of the headlights as well as all the other functions.

[911tracker85]

^^^
let us know if it works.

[Yan2947]

FYI, I just received my ebay order of bushings for the motors which are the 1st generation motors that we have. They seem to work pretty well but until the car is back together I won't really know but if you need bushings here they are:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-79-85-Mazda-1st-Gen-Rx7-Headlight-Bushings-TPU-V3/233149331950?hash=item3648c879ee:g:jVUAAOSwC6hazX7 e

Just ask for 8 of the large arm bushings. We don't need the other ones. He substituted the 4 small for 4 more large ones... One of my motors had no bushings at all!

Has anyone put in the led headlights hi/low? Which model?

[911tracker85]

^^^
thanks for that link. had not inspected my units enough to decide what refurbing they need.

[Yan2947]

Can you guys post a photo of your headlights open. I just sandblasted mine and want to decide on what is black and what will be painted the color of the car... Any thoughts?

[Yan2947]

I've been slowly working on the car. I've powder coated one headlight so far and got new bushings, springs, etc. I've noticed that the driver's side bracket to the fender is missing what the yellow circled passenger side has. Any idea what it is for? I've used Super Mirror Red from Columbia Coatings powder coating as my closest guard red color. Its not perfect but it will be on bolt on items. Time to work on the other side...

[Yan2947]

[dap930]

It looks like a positive stop that is used to load the linkage when the headlight is raised to help eliminate headlight shake. I found this method was not effective on the round headlight mechanisms because there is too much slop in the linkage and the load is applied too close to the hinge, which is a mechanical disadvantage compared to having a stop located closer to the front of the headlight. It may work better for the square headlights because they do not raise up as far.

[Yan2947]

Dennis, have you or anyone else found a good led headlight with hi/low built in? I have the 4x6 headlights.

[911tracker85]

cant recall / find where someone suggested looking at Truck-lite LED headlight replacements. here is an example of what I found.

so far just looking but definitely plan for something other than the OEM mazda sealed beam.
good luck.

https://www.amazon.com/Truck-Lite-27450C-LED-Headlamp-High/dp/B013FX3OEC/ref=sr_1_38?keywords=truck+lite&qid=1552140539&s=gateway&sr=8-38