Blue Ribbon 4x4 Build Thread

Took the lady out offroad today. Realized the light strips are finally going out. Timing seems to be perfect.

 

Starting the two tone bezels. I used Rustoleum Professional Enamel flat black. This stuff is fantastic. Great coverage, super fast drying, and costs the same as any other can.
The two tone pieces look great together, but I’m torn on the sheen. I like the idea of just 2k gloss clear on everything, except the reflector behind the Panamera shrouds, I’d like those to stay matte.
But the matte areas would look great in contrast with the gloss 8T5. We’ll see what happens.

 

In the idea of everything turning amber, I’ve really been wanting amber fog lights. The Spyder fogs I have currently give terrible output. But this project was supposed to cost me no money, short of some cans of spray paint. So instead of spending a chunk of cash, I bought a $10 Laminx sheet for my current ones. I can get a smart pair of amber fogs later.
The Laminx installed super easy. I started in the center, and worked my way out in a spiral, when I got to the edge, I pulled as much as I could over and pressed around the edge, it was wrinkled around the edge. I trimmed off the excess, hit the edge with a heat gun, and pressed the wrinkes out. That’s really it, super easy.
These are side-by-side comparisons between the orange Laminx and the white LED Spyders.

 

Thanks Geno. Now another thing I gotta do

I assume this is their amber Laminx and not the yellow? Reason you did the amber and not yellow?

 

@RobertD yeah this is the one listed as orange. From the reviews, people said the yellow wasn’t yellow enough. I bought the 4” x 8” sheet for $10, not the precut circles for $17.
Lamin-x One 4 inch x 8 inch...

$13 Lamin-x One 4" x 8" Universal Film Cover (Color : Amber)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CXWPO72?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

 

And added to Amazon wishlist.

 

Glad I went with the orange Laminx. It’s pretty close to the Raptor lights that got switched back from the white ones. I’m thinking about ditching that light bar in the grille also, just to clean everything up. Maybe in it’s place, some amber pods.

 

Getting that 2K clear down. I use Shopline JC830 and Shopline JH8380. This clear is easy to work with and inexpensive ($50 for a quart of clear and hardener). I use a purple Harbor Freight gun and disposable cups. I bought this gun to throw away every year, but it just keeps working great. Keep it clean and lubed up and it will last.

 

Blue and sunshine makes my brain smile...lookin' good!

 

Thanks!!

 

Cleared, flat black applied, and epoxied the black striped cover to the bezels. Repainted the blinker buckets silver for better reflection.

 

Ok, ok so I bought some more shit. These are some amber light pods I grabbed to get rid of the hideous light bar behind the grille.
I used two pieces of 3/4” PVC to elevate them above the bottom of the grille. One long bolt holds the bracket, through the PVC, and into the crossmember. They are pretty damn bright for $50. I went through a ton of reviews to find these. They still need to get aimed a little better.

Projector headlights only
Headlights with lightbar and pods

 

Update on the Laminx orange foglight covers. They severely hinder the output of the foglights, if you could have guessed. I’ll just be replacing these POS Spyder fogs shortly.

Also, the wife is going out with her sister tonight, so these retrofits are coming out and going in the oven for dinner. Just in time for the weekend swap!

 

You know... I hate to see those blue halos gone but that orange ties in so well and looks awesome!!!

 

Noice...

 

Thanks Robert! Definitely a change, but I like it!

 

Got the old ones apart and painted the shrouds Rustoleum Metallic Cobalt Blue. Then masked off and painted flat black. Reassembled loosely and had to get a sneak peak at the lights.

 

Time to take it offroading again bro let's llan a trip

 

I agree! I’m down for Hungry Valley again so that’s closer to you. We can invite a bunch of peeps from here too. Last time was a great time.

 

Is there an area near you that's also good?

 

Only if you like fire roads, really. Nothing too challenging. If you have Alltrails, you can check Del Sur Ridge rd, and Lake Hughes Truck trail, those are fun and not crazy if you just want a relaxing ride.

 

The shroud harness getting cleaned up. I put a 3 conductor plug on one end for easy disconnect when removing the headlamps.

Then I had to reconnect the stock DRL under the dash (that was fun). Would have been easier if I had depinned the harness the first time, but at the time, I couldn’t get it to come out.

Nice and clean. Soldered up all new connections and taped and shielded.
From the top left and clockwise:
Reattached signal harness, DRL harness, level adjust, side marker harness, headlight connect, and last is the high beam connect.

 

More wiring! The HIDs come with a small boot to go inside the stock boot. Passing through are the wires for the headlight and highbeam switch. I always put opposite ends in spots like this (male-female), so nothing needs to get labeled or hooked up incorrectly. Also had a buddy hangin in my shop with me.

 

Ok so I changed it up. After the electronics test last night, I decided these signal buckets needed to be amber too. They just weren’t yellow enough compared to the shrouds.


I forgot to installed the leveling motor grommets, and found them in my remaining parts. This would have sucked.



I drilled a hole right under the signal for the shroud wire. Sealed it up with a goober of headlight sealant.



The headlight sealant going in. Use enough, but don’t overdo it. It will melt and get everywhere. I’ve done it.



The bead, after sealing, should be nice and clean.

 

Done! Installed, and everything works as intended. Also, I did not connect the stock DRL to the shrouds, so they turn off while the headlights are on, but the original DRLs remain lit up. They definitely need to be polished, but I’m fuckin’ wiped.

 

Um.. YES!!!!

Looks incredible. Well done Geno

 

Thanks Robert!!

 

On my way and we can start mine.

 

Be there in 2 hrs