Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Like most of us I was pretty tired of being left in the dark in my first gen. I put relays on my headlight after the headlight switch went out, but the improvement in brightness still wasn’t enough on the dark canyon roads where I live. I thought about getting an LED light bar like I have on my 3rd gen, but realized it wouldn’t help me most of the time since I couldn’t use it with other cars around. It was time for new headlights. This is a thread to help anyone else that is looking to put LEGITIMATE HID projectors in their first gen. I have no association with tru-projector or headlight revolution.com. I’m writing this to help fellow 1st gen owners who want the best headlights they can get.
BACKGROUND:
There were three requirements for my new headlights:
1) must be DOT legal for street use.
2) must be a true HID projector.
3) Must have OEM like appearance.
In true millennial fashion I began to scour the internet . There were plenty of LED 6x7 headlights online, but most weren’t DOT legal and didn’t look OEM. I wanted a true HID projector set up, not some ebay fake. Headlight revolution had a great video on their website that compared all the 6x7 headlights available and tested them side by side. Based on the results of that video it was clear that HID projectors were the way to go. I could build my own HID projector set up, but doing a proper retrofit myself with Morimotos or FXR’s would cost about 400 in parts, and give me a headlight held together with JB weld. Since that seemed like a bad option, I opted to buy some ready-made. I found the Tru Projector HID headlight from Headlightrevolution.com and decided that was the headlight to buy. At $470 they absolutely aren’t the cheapest, but they are the best I could find for my truck.
#ad
TECH SPECS:
The Tru projector is a bolt on headlight that has a quality build and lens that is purpose build for a HID bulb and WILL NOT blind oncoming drivers if adjusted correctly. The kit is completely customizable on Headlight Revolution’s website, and you can choose your bulb color temperature, ballast wattage, wiring harness, and headlight bulb. I recommend straying away from the LED’s as the beam pattern is poor. Additionally, I also recommend getting the 35W ballast instead of the 50W since the bubs will last far longer and the difference is brightness is minimal for the added cost. I went with the 5k bulbs as they are the brightest and closest to daylight color temperature. Headlight Revolution also provided the necessary harness to wire these lights into our trucks plug and play. For those that are interested, these headlights also come in an all black version that looks pretty slick.
Here is the size difference compared to the stock sealed beam headlights:
#ad
Here is the headlight all wired up on the bench so you can see the harness provided for our trucks:
#ad
The ballasts:
#ad
DOT markings on the lens:
#ad
INSTALLATION:
Putting these headlights on the truck is simple, but does require cutting the headlight buckets.
Tools needed:
- Philips screw driver
- Marker
- Cut off or angle grinder
- Wire stripping/ crimping tools
- Velcro pieces for mounting ballasts (order from retrofit source here)
- Relay kit from LMC truck or similar.
1) Disconnect and remove your battery. It makes reach much easier. I also removed my air intake for easy access. Also make sure to take painters tape and cover the bulb opening on the new lights so that dust does not get in the projector lens. Remove your old headlight by unscrewing the bezel, and then undoing the sheet metal screws on the mounting bracket surrounding the headlight.
2) Once the headlight is out, remove the headlight bucket from the truck.
3) Take a marker and mark the headlight bucket where you will cut it. You can see the marks I made in the photo below. This is the easiest way to cut the bucket to fit the new larger headlight.
#ad
4) Cut and check fit.
#ad
#ad
#ad
5) Now connect the harness together on the bench. Clean the ballast with isopropyl alcohol and mount the Velcro backing and trim to the shape of the ballast.
#ad
6) Bring the ballast and wiring to the truck and find a place to mount the ballast. Clean the location with isopropyl alcohol and then stick the other side of the Velcro backing there. I chose the inside of the core support since there was ample room and it was a flat surface away from water. On the driver’s side, I removed the battery to make access easier and mounted the ballast in a similar location. If you don’t have a relay set up on your headlights already, install one now. There are lots of threads that cover that, and LMC truck offers a kit that is plug and play for our trucks.
#ad
7) Re-install the buckets and then the new headlight housings with the ring bracket. The new lights are slightly thicker than the old sealed beam ones, so I had to use longer sheet metal screws for it to fit with the ring.
#ad
8) CAREFULLY install the new bulb after cleaning it with the provided wipe. DO NOT touch the bulb as they are very sensitive to dirt and oil and it will shorten the bulbs lifespan if they are dirty.
9) Connect the headlight wiring harness to the relay kit. If you want, you can wire in the accent LED’s as well. I chose not to wire mine in.
10) Re-connect the battery and test your new headlights. Be sure to aim them properly!
Here are some photos of the final results:
#ad
#ad
#ad
#ad
#ad
Low beams (note the nice sharp cut off):
#ad
High beams:
#ad
All in all I’m very happy. Light output is dramatically better, the cutoff is a excellent sharp, colorful line, and I can actually see at night. The headlights have a nice OEM-esque look as well. My one complaint is that there is a bit of refraction towards the bottom edges of the beam pattern (close to the truck) compared to the OEM HID projectors found on today’s production vehicles. I can live with it, but I would expect a tad more from a $470 headlight. There are cheaper ways to get better headlights than the stock sealed beams, mostly because the bar is so low, but at this point in time these headlights are the absolute best thing you can get for our 1st gen trucks without cutting housing apart to do a retrofit and I am very happy with mine. After driving with these for a few months now, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these to anyone else looking for something with better light output than the stock sealed beams!
BACKGROUND:
There were three requirements for my new headlights:
1) must be DOT legal for street use.
2) must be a true HID projector.
3) Must have OEM like appearance.
In true millennial fashion I began to scour the internet . There were plenty of LED 6x7 headlights online, but most weren’t DOT legal and didn’t look OEM. I wanted a true HID projector set up, not some ebay fake. Headlight revolution had a great video on their website that compared all the 6x7 headlights available and tested them side by side. Based on the results of that video it was clear that HID projectors were the way to go. I could build my own HID projector set up, but doing a proper retrofit myself with Morimotos or FXR’s would cost about 400 in parts, and give me a headlight held together with JB weld. Since that seemed like a bad option, I opted to buy some ready-made. I found the Tru Projector HID headlight from Headlightrevolution.com and decided that was the headlight to buy. At $470 they absolutely aren’t the cheapest, but they are the best I could find for my truck.
#adTECH SPECS:
The Tru projector is a bolt on headlight that has a quality build and lens that is purpose build for a HID bulb and WILL NOT blind oncoming drivers if adjusted correctly. The kit is completely customizable on Headlight Revolution’s website, and you can choose your bulb color temperature, ballast wattage, wiring harness, and headlight bulb. I recommend straying away from the LED’s as the beam pattern is poor. Additionally, I also recommend getting the 35W ballast instead of the 50W since the bubs will last far longer and the difference is brightness is minimal for the added cost. I went with the 5k bulbs as they are the brightest and closest to daylight color temperature. Headlight Revolution also provided the necessary harness to wire these lights into our trucks plug and play. For those that are interested, these headlights also come in an all black version that looks pretty slick.
Here is the size difference compared to the stock sealed beam headlights:
#adHere is the headlight all wired up on the bench so you can see the harness provided for our trucks:
#adThe ballasts:
#adDOT markings on the lens:
#adINSTALLATION:
Putting these headlights on the truck is simple, but does require cutting the headlight buckets.
Tools needed:
- Philips screw driver
- Marker
- Cut off or angle grinder
- Wire stripping/ crimping tools
- Velcro pieces for mounting ballasts (order from retrofit source here)
- Relay kit from LMC truck or similar.
1) Disconnect and remove your battery. It makes reach much easier. I also removed my air intake for easy access. Also make sure to take painters tape and cover the bulb opening on the new lights so that dust does not get in the projector lens. Remove your old headlight by unscrewing the bezel, and then undoing the sheet metal screws on the mounting bracket surrounding the headlight.
2) Once the headlight is out, remove the headlight bucket from the truck.
3) Take a marker and mark the headlight bucket where you will cut it. You can see the marks I made in the photo below. This is the easiest way to cut the bucket to fit the new larger headlight.
#ad4) Cut and check fit.
#ad#ad#ad5) Now connect the harness together on the bench. Clean the ballast with isopropyl alcohol and mount the Velcro backing and trim to the shape of the ballast.
#ad6) Bring the ballast and wiring to the truck and find a place to mount the ballast. Clean the location with isopropyl alcohol and then stick the other side of the Velcro backing there. I chose the inside of the core support since there was ample room and it was a flat surface away from water. On the driver’s side, I removed the battery to make access easier and mounted the ballast in a similar location. If you don’t have a relay set up on your headlights already, install one now. There are lots of threads that cover that, and LMC truck offers a kit that is plug and play for our trucks.
#ad7) Re-install the buckets and then the new headlight housings with the ring bracket. The new lights are slightly thicker than the old sealed beam ones, so I had to use longer sheet metal screws for it to fit with the ring.
#ad8) CAREFULLY install the new bulb after cleaning it with the provided wipe. DO NOT touch the bulb as they are very sensitive to dirt and oil and it will shorten the bulbs lifespan if they are dirty.
9) Connect the headlight wiring harness to the relay kit. If you want, you can wire in the accent LED’s as well. I chose not to wire mine in.
10) Re-connect the battery and test your new headlights. Be sure to aim them properly!
Here are some photos of the final results:
#ad#ad#ad#ad#adLow beams (note the nice sharp cut off):
#adHigh beams:
#adAll in all I’m very happy. Light output is dramatically better, the cutoff is a excellent sharp, colorful line, and I can actually see at night. The headlights have a nice OEM-esque look as well. My one complaint is that there is a bit of refraction towards the bottom edges of the beam pattern (close to the truck) compared to the OEM HID projectors found on today’s production vehicles. I can live with it, but I would expect a tad more from a $470 headlight. There are cheaper ways to get better headlights than the stock sealed beams, mostly because the bar is so low, but at this point in time these headlights are the absolute best thing you can get for our 1st gen trucks without cutting housing apart to do a retrofit and I am very happy with mine. After driving with these for a few months now, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend these to anyone else looking for something with better light output than the stock sealed beams!
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