HEADLIGHT LOW DOWN

I saw a 379 Pete [“Kwitcherbitchin,” March ’08] with the headlights mounted in the bumper. How were the holes laid out, cut, and the lights mounted? The low-mount headlights look like they’d be great in fog and rain driving instead of mounting fog/driving lights. —Ed Smith, Eugene, Oregon

Ed, what we do in our shop is, once the customer decides on what style headlights they want mounted in the bumper, to make a paper template of the lights. Then we position each template on the bumper face and trace the outline. We then use a plasma cutter and follow the pattern, smooth up any rough edges with a small grinder, drill the mounting holes from the chrome side of the bumper and bolt ’em in. Now a word of caution: There are federal laws regarding how low headlights can be mounted. We understand there must be a minimum of 24 inches from headlight center to pavement. – Bryan Martin, Chrome Shop Mafia/4 State Trucks

Ed, there are a number of ways to put lights in the bumper, but none are easy! The least expensive way is to go to your local salvage yard and look for headlight guts that hold the headlights in the headlight assembly. Next you have to fabricate brackets to hold the headlight guts to your truck’s frame. After the headlights are mounted to the frame, measure out where they fall in relation to the bumper and transfer those precise measurements to the bumper. The openings in the bumper will then need to be cut out and the openings finished out. If you need help call; we would love to give you a hand. —Adam Martin, Colorado Custom Chrome; (970) 284-6552