Headlight Covers Installed

Well, I finally had a little time to break away from other projects and look at one that has been waiting for months, and tackle the installation of the headlight covers.  There are four painted parts - the "lid", and the "bezel".  The bezel wraps around the headlights themselves, and the "lid" is the plate above them that (when closed) is "flush" to the body lines.

To install them, you first have to get the lids in place.  There are two brackets on each end that pivot, with a lock collar to prevent the lids from sliding back and forth.  You have to get the lids in the right position (both up and down) before you tighten those brackets to the frame.  It's a pain, because those pivot brackets extend beyond the width of the hole that the lids drop into, so it has to be done at an angle, then with pressure to slide them into place.  Once that is done, you tighten the brackets while holding the lid as close to position as possible.  You can't do it with the lids in the closed position, because it doesn't allow you to reach around, hold, and tighten at the same time....  that means it's a lot of guess work.  So.... you install the lids as best you can....

.... only to find the lid doesn't close because it's too far rearward.  So.... loosen all six bolts holding that lid in place, reposition, retighten while pulling the lid forward, and let the lid down slowly....

.... only to find it's sitting too low.  Loosen them, this time pull forward and upward from those pivot points while tightening.  It was still not enough, so I had to measure around the lid to ensure I could get it centered.  Then, I removed the whole lid, then drag out the dremel grinder enlarge the holes so I could put it in (I also enlarged the wholes upward because it was still low.  Put it back in, tightened it down while pulling it forward and raising the back.

Viola!  Then I had to repeat it for the other side.

In the process, I nicked up the paint around the hole.

That means I have to touch it up tomorrow (not quite the same color, but if it's close enough, it's good enough).  I'll let that set for a couple of weeks, before I proceed to do more.  However, it does look good when I stash the bezel into position.

Woohoo!  I still need to finish it off after procuring a set screw for one of the lock collars on the left, and then it's all working on hardware inside to ensure a smooth operation.  Then, I can finally finish the electric headlight conversion!