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Gents......It's almost year end and I have some how managed to not spend all of my budgeted Pantera dollars. Is there anybody out there that have the Vader 2 headlights? If so what do you think about them? Talk to me about the fit, finish, look and the light that they throw. If you have pictures of the lights installed, please share them. And hey does anyone have a set of spare headlight buckets for a 74. Regards.....Jersey Doug Big Grin
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J.D.
Since no one else has piped up on your question, I'll try to tell you my experience with the Vader headlight conversion I did several years ago. The kit & instructions were very straightforward & easy to follow. The most time consuming part of it was cutting out the face of your existing headlight bucket using the template that is supplied with the kit. Teds' website says that you can do this using a pair of metal shears but I couldn't see how it could be done this way with the buckets still in the car. Anyway, I ended up using a Dremel tool with a small cutting wheel to do this & just took my time. Worked out great & everything just fell into place after that. I love the new looks & would do it again in a heartbeat if I ever got another Pantera without this modification. BTW, my setup was Teds' first generation mod & not the Vader2 that he has out now but I don't think there would be much difference in the installation of either one. If you haven't already visited Teds' website it is http://www.tmitch.com & he has pixs on there. Hope this helps answer at least some of your questions.

Bob Radefeld #5042
quote:
You may want to check out Kirk Evans, too. They are advertised in the latest Profiles Magazine on the last page.



If these look of interest to you, you may also want to know that a fellow PCNC member has been waiting for his set since early summer, and they were paid for back then. I'm sure Kirk's headlights are a great product - all of his stuff is first rate - but delivery seems to be a problem.

Larry
Guys, thanks for responding.

Bob, thanks for the feed back. I have been looking at Ted's stuff for a few years now. He sent me a Pic and his installation instructions. As you describe it, the install looks well thought out and straight forward. Now I have the opportunity to purchase Ted's or Kirk's package. I was hoping to find a few more pictures of Ted's kit installed. Looking to get a better look at his "fit" and finish.

Jeff, I actually met Kirk during this year's CSD event at Pocono. Kirk had his goods with him. Without a doubt he has really done a great job in his design and the quality finish of the end product. And I have to admit that the way he has designed the headlights bottom bezel to match the look of the stock unit. To the effect that it exactly fills the fender's opening for the headlight bucket. Frankly it is Tip Top and better than the factory could ever produce. On the other hand Ted's unit is about one inch lower when it opens up......very cool, but I can't really see from the very few pics that I have, how well he handles filling that same open space that Kirk handles so very well. But then again the headlights will be down most of the time...right? but then again there is a price difference.....right?

Larry........Word has it that he will be shipping in the next 30 days. But then again Ted can ship in 2 weeks.

Just thinking out loud..........thanks guys......Jersey Doug Confused
quote:
Originally posted by Husker:
From the pictures I've seen, Kirk's installation is also very nice. He put an update on the DeTomaso BB regarding the status of the kits.


From Kirk Evans post:

Update-----The tooling was finished yesterday on the trim bezels---finally. This has been a tough project to create with the quality you expect at an affordable price. Frankly the time invested so far grabbed in between the shop work has been overwhelming.

I want to sincerely apologize for the delays. It is all most impossible to create new items of this complexity and produce them with out your financial support. Projects like this can often take on a life of their own with unexpected issues ---- all one can due is keep on working until you see the tunnels light and hope it isn't a train. I could explain the problems generating the delays --- would it help??? NO --- and I quote "Jesus can turn water into wine, but He can't turn our whining into anything."

I'll be contacting those of you owed lights direct with pictures and dates on production. Shipping on the pre-paid orders will commence in November so those who have waited will soon be happy again. Thank you again for your patients and understanding----the Cat Eye Quads will be worth the wait.

Thank you for your support.

Kirk Evans --- AmeriSport ---
I agree. They're all very nice, but I think Kirk uses halogens vs true H.I D. Xenon, and his aren't low profile. I think his matches the stock height.

It's all a matter of personal preferance, and of course, price. I think it's great we have so many options!

I found the one I mentioned. Here's the post:
http://pantera.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/3350045562/m/5670012163/p/1

Kevin
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Thanks Kevin for the lead on the Canadian and Larry's light setup. This summer I happened to see Kirk's prototype in person, they are a bit under 5 inches tall when open and they were literally hand crafted, probably a 100 hours went into making the prototype and another how many hours to get tothe production stage. My Stock buckets open to at least nine inches tall. Kirk actually sent me a few pictures...see attached

Regards............Doug.H

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  • Kirk_5241
I've seen the HID conversion done by the young Larry in PCNC, a couple of conversions at Monterey/Vegas, and the new set by Kirk. IMHO the twin round lights of these conversions do not look right on a Pantera. The angular shape of the Pantera just seems better suited to the 4x6 H4 units used in the original Ted Mitchell Vader light conversion. There are H4 HID conversion upgrades now available, and I've considered them for the Vader kit on 2511. But gettin HID with the round units is not anywhere in my plans.

YMMV,

Larry
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