There are some i think that are diferent where the solenoid is either mounted on the side of the projector or directly behind it,which can cause some fitment problems.

That is completely correct.

As I mentioned earlier, before even thinking of retroing HID xenon or Bi-Xenon Projectors.
You need to find out how much room you got.

So, measuring everything both inside and outside the headlight assys is the most essential job that you need to put a lot of time and thinking into.

Then and only then, when you have examined what can and can not fit and how much space you got.
Then you can start looking for a suitable projector.

I have seen too many brave soles finding a pair of projectors and without thinking or planning they start cutting the reflector, headlight housing to realise that the damn thing will not fit and now they got this big gapping hole they don't know what to do with.
The sad thing is that forcing the projector in a limited and wrong space which they can cut in their headlight assys will not allow for any proper adjustments of the projector.
Which of course leads to a very poor beam pattern.

The best option would be, that is if you can afford it, buy a set of spare headlights and do the retro on them.
You don't have to rush things, you can use you vehicle to go and get all those last minute things you need to do the job that you forgot and if everything goes wrong you still got the original headlights working.

Looking at the pics you have posted so far, I can see that non of the above applies to you.
So, keep on doing what you are doing and if you I can help you with any issues feel free to ask.

damn i need better headlights for my car now, thankyou, add that too shoppin list HID's

Okay mavs .

I have come to the point of installing and adjusting the beam pattern from left hand driven to right driven how did you fix the beam problem?
The angal eyes are now perfectly mounted and look great.
Before i go further is there anything that i should think of or prepare?

OK.
The beam pattern as you know is created by the cut of the shield that exists between the lens holder and the reflector of a projector.

There are a variety of different types and cuts out there. Each manufacturer has several cuts and some times same projector has also different type of shield and cut.

Here is an example of a Left Hand shield we had to convert to Right Hand shield.



Since you can not buy these shields separately and they are not available as spare parts, you either need to buy a RH version from the start , make a new shield or if you are brave enough cut turn a LH to a RH shield.

Which is what we did.
Here is pics of how it was done.

The bit that makes this shield a LH shield is the bit above the red line.



Of course if you cut the bit above the red line you have a neutral beam pattern.
Which is only accepted in few countries.

We then cut the bit above the red line and uncurled the thin bit that was cut. Straightened it carefully.

Used some JB Weld and glued it back to the other side of the shield , making it a RH shield.

Here is how it looks after the cut from the backside.



Here is how the front looks like now.



So unless you got one of the 2 Projectors in the market that has a lever that can change the shield from RH to LH, you need to look at the shield you got and see if it is easier to make a new one or convert it to a RH shield.

The only thing you need to prepare and think of is keep thinking and planning things before you do them, like you are doing now.

Can't wait to see the end result.

Well i also thought of a new idea which was changing the chrome face inside the cover from an au fairlane to a ba falcon chrome one.
They are very similar except the indicator is tapered at the end.
Hmmm? may look into doing that later.
but originality plays a big part!!

What do you mean?
Are you referring to the chrome (in Futura, Fairlane...) and black (in XT, XR....) bezel that sits between the clear front lens and the reflectors??

If that is what you are referring to, you are one step ahead of me.

We never even thought of trying to change that bit.
We made a couple of our own as special project.

Sounds very interesting and intriging.
Let me know if you decide to go ahead with this idea.
Would be very interesting to see the outcome.

You got some really good ideas.

how important is it not to have stray light as i have seen some other fitted lights?

That is THE MOST IMPORTANT issue of all.

Anyone who knows the basic of how a headlight in a vehicle works, knows that stray light emitted from the bulb inside the reflectors are the most dangerous issue of all and it causes majority of accidents on the roads where the oncoming traffic was blinded and could not see.

Why do you think that the OEM guys spend so many millions of Dollars in testing equipment, facilities etc. to make sure that the light emitted from headlights they manufacture are free from glare AND why do you think we got ADR and other authorities enforcing laws in regards to the safety of ALL drivers on the roads??

I have seen cowboys pretending they have fixed the glare problem, yet are driving around with a retrofitted projector in their old CHROMED Halogen headlight reflectors. Be it HID Xenon or Halogen projectors.

AN IMMEDIATE YELLOW STICKER case......

So, I would highly recommend that you take your time and MAKE Sure that your retro is not one of these illegal ones.
There is much more to retroing a Projector in your headlights than most people think there is.

THE ONLY light that should emit from your projectors is through the projector lens.
Anything else is an amateurish attempt that should have been left to professionals.

no worries
Thanks for that
Well i have recieved my projectors now (finally)and they will fit perfect
and should be able to mount to the orginal shield with no light escaping.

Those ones which came out of the earlier fairlanes na/nc (projectors lense and all) they are only halogen correct?

Absolutely Correct.
And they are totally worthless.
That is why Ford/Hella dropped them after a very short production.
They “borrowedâ€￾ the idea from BMW, but as usual by the time Ford Australia released their “Projector equipped Headlightsâ€￾, BMW had dropped them, since they were nothing more than glorified (I mean magnified) Halogen lights.
With all the inherent problems of the Halogen bulbs still there.

Problems like, Too much Heat developed by the bulbs.
Too much UV light that is a common problem with Halogen bulbs which damaged the thin layer of chrome that was vacuum sprayed on the plastic reflector bowls.
Filament equipped bulb that had a very short life span.
Hardly any improvement in emitting more light, only something like 15% more light.
And so on…..
Non of which found in a HID Xenon system.

For a while majority of projectors used in Australian vehicles were only Halogen ones?
Don’t ask me Why??? Probably for the same nonsense reason that all 4-wheel drives that had their original brakelights in the rear blocked and had to use the ones in the rear bumper.....

But, if you ask me it is probably for the same reason as usual: we are kept behind rest of the world when it comes to new developments on the car front.
As if all the left overs from all the vehicle manufacturers in the world were sent to our shores and we were forced to used these old and outdated stuff to make vehicles with.

Just look at the difference between an Australian made vehicle that is exported overseas or a fully imported vehicle vs. one we have to buy and drive around with.....

So, I presume that HID Xenon is still an unknown entity.

Just call anyone and ask some questions.
Call, the BMW, MB, Audi even Hella or Bosch guys and ask some “semi intelligentâ€￾ questions (forget about real intelligent ones) and see what sort of answers you get.

Homer Simpson is one person that comes in mind: Duhhhh, Douuuuugh

So if the expert have no idea, what do you think the common mechanic knows about things like that??? NADA, ZILCH, NIENTE......

I can’t wait to see how you get on with your retro.
So far you have shown great eye for detail and ask good questions.
It is good to see that you learnt a lot and paid attention to the info available on HID Headlights thread and obviously you must have studied other info on this subject.
It is obvious by the correct parts you have chosen for this retro.