Originally posted by ssmumich00:
I wish they made projectors for the 9006 setup in our cars, I've contacted soo many places, and hey all say that since the car was discontinued, innovation went with it. . .so, Josch, how do you "weather-proof" a retrofit? I used electrical tape to cover the exposed portions, but the bulbs are sealed in the 9006 socket, and the ballast assembly is out of water's way for the most part (unless I drove through a flood). . .
I realize that you can't get projector light fixtures for these Contours. But that's the BEST part about it. I know that I have the only car in my town, or even my state that looks like mine does. That's the main reason why I never would (nor did), settle for a Honda Civic or an Acura Integra or somethin, because, around where I come from, they all are starting to look the same. They all have the standard 'wing' mod, clear corners, same ground effects kits, and APC projector headlights (w/ the crappiest beam pattern in town). Lame. You'd almost think they came stock that way since I see so many modded ones that look just like the next one. Seriously many of the modded Hondas here look the SAME. Reminds me of the big CAMARO fad that passed in the 70s and 80s, and everyone got one, and put the same Crager 5 stars on them. LAME. I don't want to look like everyone else. I was into 5.0L Mustangs back in like 1985-on (before they became trendy), and they were SO cool. Awesome platform to build from (I used to drag race them), until about 10 years later, when I was on my 5th one and started realizing everyone was getting one and copying me. Same rims, same ground effects, Flowmasters, etc. Lame again. That's where I had to draw the line and do what I like for myself again. Independance, and desire to be different. So I got rid of the Stang (AND my big hi-po stash of extra performance parts), and got me a newer Contour (at the time, it was newer). And I still like to do the mods that will make ME happy and make me feel different. I don't know where I get that perhaps silly instinct of mine from. I guess many of us want to be different, and some just don't care? But there's something to be said about the DIYer. Anyways, enough said on that. Make your own projectors for your car. It's a learning experience, helps you to hone in your abilities, get good with your hands, and you get the sense of gradification in the end of knowing you did it yourself.
As far as weatherproofing goes, mine was a unique situation, because I had to seal around the bulb/ cable connector area, plus seal around the seem of the projector to the hole I made where it fits into the back of the stock lowbeam Contour fixture from the car. I made a special boot that seals around the plug and bulb area behind the projector unit's reflector. It was made from boots I found at a wrecking yard. And I had to make a custom formed base out of aluminum foil to form around the seem where the projector meets the light fixture (to create a solid surface to be able to bond to. Then I used JB Weld and went over the top of the foil, and built it up, filling it in, overlapping the JB Weld slightly onto the reflector side and partly onto the projector unit side. That whole process worked SLICK for sealing around the projector seem. It was then airtight. But as a final precaution, I put silicone sealant over the entire bonded area overlapping it too around the whole seem. I wish I had a pic of it. I ought to take a pic of it. It turned out nice. But as far as the ballasts go, you should preferably mount them with the vent hole downward, and they usually don't have water issues because they have gaskets on the side covers to seal them. But venthole is the only area moisture could potentially get in. Hope this helps answer you Q
