2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Sport Light Conversion Questions/Alternatives

[pdxkid]

Good to be back on the site and posting again.

I recently priced out the Sport light conversion through Daniel Stern's suggestions and shopping around on eBay.
I was somewhat shocked to learn that it will cost $906.00 in parts alone. (I may not be qualified to do the labor.)

Left sport lamp 248.82
Right sport lamp 239.46
Left park/turn lamp 97.50
Right park/turn lamp 97.50
wiring harness 154.00
Qty. 2 9007 bulbs 28.73
Qty. 2 9004 bulbs 39.99
906.00 total!

These prices are based on Daniel Stern's recommendations regarding the choice of genuine MOPAR parts and his high quality wiring harness.

I just noticed that in my new Geno's catalog, the '99-'02 Sport replacement headlights are $105.00 per side (R&L).

Question 1. Is my math and pricing on par with what you converters have paid?

Question 2. Are these replacement headlights in Geno's good stuff and will they work (with modification) on my '96? They would reduce the cost of the pkg by about $278

Question 3. IS IT (sportlight conversion) WORTH IT?

Question 4. Is there anywhere to "go cheap"?

Question 5. Would it be more reasonable to get foglights and or extra running lights instead?

Thanks in advance.

 

[KRStone]

I would buy the genos stuff. I did mine with ebay housings about 5.5 years ago, no problems with mine.
I would not do the side/turn lamps, waste of money IMO.
High quality harness is a must. I used suvlights.com dual battery harness.
Silverstar bulbs.

 

[GReed]

That seems pretty high for the light housings. You might try Steve White Motors or some of the other discount Mopar parts dealers for OEM lights. A Google search for discount Mopar parts may give other choices. Amazon and Rockauto may have cheaper bulbs. There have been several threads where it is claimed the OEM are the best.

 

[crabman]

You have to buy a complete new housing as your old side lights will NOT fit the new housings. There are some good videos and YouTube that show you how to do the sport light conversion. I did my light conversion for less than $500.
Do a search here and you can find step by step procedures to do this & places to buy everything that you will need. IMO, on a scale of 1-10, this is only 3-4. Just have everything before you start.

 

[BarryG]

I did mine for well under 500. With Daniel stern building my harness I think I got the depot lights for under two hundred for the pair through amazon can't remember the actual store name though. They were depo brand and they were complete with side marker lights. No they are not as nice as oem but after a few years I have not had any problems. On your 96 I think you will have to cutout the light buckets with a saws all so the new ones will fit as I don't think they offered the sport version in 96 I might be wrong on that but for what I've read and seen in threads no big deal at all. You can surely do this yourself. You might have to lower the bumper a bit to get to lower mounting screws on the housings. I think I did mine in about 90 minutes and I had to take my bumper off as it is aftermarket though I did not have to saws all the light buckets as mine is a 2001

 

[VolsFan]

I did this conversion on my 99 and got the sport lights from headlight depot . They were cheap but don't think I'd go that route again, got harness from suvlights.com which I think is out of business, owner of my old truck has had issues with the relays.My 01 has halo lenses and they are better than stock but not as good as the sport lights. When I get the hair to do the light conversion I'm going to order the lights from genos (as you can't go wrong with their products) and if firefighter_2000 still has his harness get that from him!

 

[SDalgleish]

I've done the conversion twice now in two different '98's. You can buy the sport lights from Amazon for approximately $140.00 for the pair. Both times I have use the Bitebox conversion kit. Geno's carries them. I believe they are about $150.00. Both systems have been trouble free. I did a write up in my column a few issues back...I don't remember the issue number off the top of my head. The conversion can be done in a few hours with no special tools. Depending on the year build of your Turbo Diesel you may or may not have to trim the sheet metal to accommodate the new lights. I cover that in my article. The Britebox makes the installation plug n play.

 

[SDalgleish]

If you want to see the article and photos look in Issue 77, page 106.

 

[JR]

I was able to locate a set of OEM sport lights from a wrecked truck in a local salvage yard for 40 bucks. They were slightly hazed but for the price wasn't going to complain too loudly. I also bought a harness through TDR member Firefighter_2000. The improvement in night time driving has been 10 fold.
My 98.5 Did not require any trimming to fit the sport light housings.

 

[buzzman]

I converted my 98.5 Sport in May 2011 using the Headlight Depot lights and the suvlights.com harness. This has been one of the best upgrades I have done to my truck! The lights from Headlight Depot cost less than the harness. Total cost for harness and lights was about $325. The new head lights are probably not built as nice as OEM, but they fit well and have worked great for the last three years. Before I installed them, I added a bead of clear glue around the perimeter where the lens attaches to the body to make sure dust and moisture stayed out.

I had to trim some metal on my 98.5 (build date Feb 1998). Maybe later build date 98.5's don't need cutting?? If I remember correctly, I had to loosen the bumper and let it drop down just a little to make it easier to remove and install the light assemblies.

Buzz

 

[SDalgleish]

Wow, that's a lot of cutting! I might have cut an inch to the radiator side. Don't forget to paint the cut edge to prevent rust.

 

[Cosmo]

Just did my 98 12-valve tonight.

Headlight assemblies ~$140
Wiring bits - $150 (relays, fuse holders, wire, wire loom)

I could have cut a bit of cash off the wiring, but I decided to buy 100' rolls of 14ga in red and black. I've got a lot left. I went with the 100' rolls because I wanted to restock my shop since I got rid of a lot of my shop supplies after moving five times in the last four years.

The driver's side headlight bucket required trimming, which I wasn't expecting (hadn't read/seen any of the writeups or vids) but the passenger's side was wide open. Odd. I have no clue what year my chassis is though. I don't know which parts go with the VIN.

 

[buzzman]

SDalgleish,

Yes,I did. I took these pics before I de-burred the rough edges and painted the bare metal. I didn't want any cut knuckles at some future date.

As a side note, it looks like you sure have done a lot to your truck. I'm basically stock...yet.

Buzz

 

[Woodenhead]

Just did my 98 12-valve tonight.

Headlight assemblies ~$140
Wiring bits - $150 (relays, fuse holders, wire, wire loom)

I could have cut a bit of cash off the wiring, but I decided to buy 100' rolls of 14ga in red and black. I've got a lot left. I went with the 100' rolls because I wanted to restock my shop since I got rid of a lot of my shop supplies after moving five times in the last four years.

The driver's side headlight bucket required trimming, which I wasn't expecting (hadn't read/seen any of the writeups or vids) but the passenger's side was wide open. Odd. I have no clue what year my chassis is though. I don't know which parts go with the VIN.

Funny seeing you here . Did you get the buckets from Amazon?

 

[Cosmo]

Some day I may even make it over to cumminsforum. Been on dodgeforum for over 9 years. I get around a bit.


What I call buckets is the sheet metal that the lamp assembly sits in. I just broke out the my angle grinder and went to town. The headlights themselves are Depo brand and I think I got them from headlightdepot.com