# 67 GTO H4 Headlight Conversion



## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

I converted the headlights on my 67 GTO over to the H4 setup. I did this on my 70 Vette and it was a game changer, so it was a no-brainer to do on the goat. I bought the bulb kit from OPGI, yes it was $200, and yes, it's worth $200 for me to light the road up like July 4th, when I'm racing through the Pine Barrens at 3am.

Anywho... On the Vette, I used a relay system to bypass the original switch and wires, and send the full voltage/ amperage of the alternator to the headlights. I made my own relay harness (which does not affect the OEM harness at all), because there was only one available at the time and it was backordered.

On the GTO, I searched for others experience and found "lamp advice" but no wiring recommendations. So I decided to just plug in the H4's and go. They worked, but like crap.

I read the voltage at the headlamp socket and it was barely 10 volts. And, I don't see the 55 year old switch handling this for much too long. Yes, you will need to get a hole saw and enlarge the original headlight buckets, but of course, if you go back to a sealed beam, they will then still work.

I'm sure that most of you have already found their way around the dim lighting, but if not, this is definitely the way to go. I have a 2020 luxury SUV, and the GTO headlights now FAR surpass the SUVs output and visibility, which of course equals safety and fun for me!

Here's what I used:





Headlamp, 1964-72 GTO/Cut/Sky/1964-70 Chev/El Cam, High/Low, Delta, Halogen @ OPGI.com


Convert your standard low-power headlights over to the ultra-bright halogen or Xenon headlights used in all the high-end European luxury cars. The Delta Tech conversions replace 1961-72 using four 5-3/4" round lights. Besides the powerful bulbs, the other reason these conversions provide so much...




www.opgi.com









Headlamp, 1964-72 GTO/Cut/Sky/1964-70 Chev/El Cam, High Beam, Delta, Halogen @ OPGI.com


Convert your standard low power headlights over to the ultra-bright halogen or Xenon headlights used in all the high-end European luxury cars. The Delta Tech conversions replace 1961-75 using four 5-3/4" round lights. Besides the powerful bulbs, the other reason these conversions provide so much...




www.opgi.com





There is a ready made relay harness available, but it's almost $200. You can make your own for well under $50. You'll just need two relays, about 20' of 14ga wire, and four ceramic H4 adapters. CAUTION!!!! The kits claim that you need to cut a 2" hole in the buckets, but it's more like 3"! When the install is done, I'll post pictures of the stuff.

On a side not... I've long suspected that GTO's where the rarest gem in the muscle car world (and I've lost many arguments at the car shows by claiming it), but WOW, there's a dramatic difference between the GTO crowd and the Vette crowd. Information is so much harder to find for the GTO... however, at least I don't have to wade through mountains of misinformation (which was a big issue with the Vette guys).

What I'm getting at is, I apologize if I've been making any redundant posts in here lately, but in the off chance that future generations are interested in preserving/ updating these cars, I'm trying to document some of the things that help to keep the car stock in appearance (reversible updates) but modernize its abilities and reliability. I'm not a restomod fan, but I do strongly believe in better brakes, suspension, lighting, and reliability.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

armyadarkness said:


> I converted the headlights on my 67 GTO over to the H4 setup. I did this on my 70 Vette and it was a game changer, so it was a no-brainer to do on the goat. I bought the bulb kit from OPGI, yes it was $200, and yes, it's worth $200 for me to light the road up like July 4th, when I'm racing through the Pine Barrens at 3am.


I put these in all 4 buckets on my '69. Man what a difference! With these things, at night I can see all the way into next week.

H4 Bulbs
H4 Housings

Just a wee bit of customizing was required on the high beam side. The slots in the buckets for the locator tabs are different between high beams and low beams, and these housings are intended for low beam only. It was an easy fix though. Since the tabs on the new housings are on a separate ring of sheet metal and not part of the glass like they are on regular bulbs, all I had to do was snip off the one tab that didn't line up with the bucket using a pair of sheet metal shears. Also the high beam connector in the wiring harness only has two terminals, but it still connects just fine to the bulb. I wrapped insulating tape around the exposed terminal on the bulb to cover it.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

BearGFR said:


> I put these in all 4 buckets on my '69. Man what a difference! With these things, at night I can see all the way into next week.
> 
> H4 Bulbs
> H4 Housings
> ...


WOW!!!! On the Vette I used Hella housings and I was floored by the improvement. As I mentioned, the GTO had A LOT less tech info out there, so I wound up with the Delta kit... but it looks like I couldv'e gone much cheaper if I tried to source the lenses and bulbs separately. In any event, the improvement was well worth any cost. For the record, NAPA and Amazon don't list a headkight switch for a GTO! You have to say that it's a LEMANS.

The switch will fail the with the H4's, unless relays are used.

I wouldn't imagine that your LED's needed a relay kit. Did they? My Grand CHerokke has state of the art LED's, but they have NOTHING on my Vette H4's.


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## jsgoatman (Mar 5, 2013)

Like your plate Bear!!


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

jsgoatman said:


> Like your plate Bear!!


 Thank you kindly, sir. I had to get creative because all the 'good' ones were already taken.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

BearGFR said:


> I put these in all 4 buckets on my '69. Man what a difference! With these things, at night I can see all the way into next week.
> 
> H4 Bulbs
> H4 Housings
> ...


Last night, I finished up my H4 relay harness. I was going to keep halogen bulbs, but I ordered up four of these beam techs, so that I could drop some temperature. I did check the volts at the headlights, before and after. It was only about 10-11 before, and now it's 14.4, so with the LED's, it should be screaming.

I also wired it Low X4, and High X4... by adding the low beam terminal to the lower liight, so now all four headlights each run a single filament on low beam, and they will each run eight filaments on high! Anxious to see it with LED's


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

I guess i spent to many nights following a little red rectangle through the woods with no lights on that I don't give headlights a thought. My high beams are used only to signal people. That bright light just kills my night vision. The time for bright lights in the city.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

67ventwindow said:


> I guess i spent to many nights following a little red rectangle through the woods with no lights on that I don't give headlights a thought. My high beams are used only to signal people. That bright light just kills my night vision. The time for bright lights in the city.


It has a lot to do with where you live, too. I'm in South Jersey, in the heart of the Pine Barrens and NJ's (astonishingly plentiful) back woods, country roads. There are no lights at all... and it's dark at 4:45 pm. So if you're blasting down a 15 foot wide road, at 9pm, with solid woods on both sides, no shoulder, during deer season, you want it lit like mardi gras!


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

It doesnt matter the conditions to me. I lived in the Carolinas, Ohio, Oklahoma, Missouri, Florida, Arizona, and Iceland. Bright lights always made the dark darker. I have been on many roads that you are describing. Its great when they are paved. You will see the deer when it hits your car and sometimes that is the best option. I think alot of it has to do with what you are use to.I have always ran around in low light no light conditions. We always snuck out to go fishing or just goof off.You just have to keep an eye out for snakes and gators..Did the same in the military they weren't big on well lit working environments. Everyone is different. If it works for you go with it


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Agreed. I'm retired LE and military, and there was never any light, but I love it now that I can get it.


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

armyadarkness said:


> I converted the headlights on my 67 GTO over to the H4 setup. I did this on my 70 Vette and it was a game changer, so it was a no-brainer to do on the goat. I bought the bulb kit from OPGI, yes it was $200, and yes, it's worth $200 for me to light the road up like July 4th, when I'm racing through the Pine Barrens at 3am.
> 
> Anywho... On the Vette, I used a relay system to bypass the original switch and wires, and send the full voltage/ amperage of the alternator to the headlights. I made my own relay harness (which does not affect the OEM harness at all), because there was only one available at the time and it was backordered.
> 
> ...


I'm curious to know why two relays are required. Assuming one on high beam the other on low beam. I installed H4 low beams late fall last year, will do high beams this spring no relay but my frontrunning lights only function as signsls now, tail lights function properly. No front running lights with first stop in the light switch. That a symptom do you think of a failed or soon to fail switch. Should mention switch is new.


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

PS car is a 67 GTO.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Yes you need two relays.... One for high and one for low. If you dont use relays with H4's, the amps will fry your OEM switch... So, it's either gone or going.


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## Lawddog (Jan 2, 2020)

m not sure about H4s, but i just put the 575 from dapper lighting and i am pretty stoked how they came out.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Lawddog said:


> m not sure about H4s, but i just put the 575 from dapper lighting and i am pretty stoked how they came out.


I did the H4 Hella conversion, a relay harness, and then upgrade to the LED H4's that Bear suggested. Now I have a full 14 volts, going to high quality LEDS, in a Hella Glass lens. It's amazing... Lights the road up like daytime! Without the relays, the lights only got 9 volts and then flickered and died when the switch heated up.

BTW... The factory configuration is Two filaments in the upper Low/ High beams, and one filaemt in the lower High Beam only. While making the the relay harness, I added the second filament into the lower bulb, so now I have 8 filaments vs. the oem 6.


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

armyadarkness said:


> I did the H4 Hella conversion, a relay harness, and then upgrade to the LED H4's that Bear suggested. Now I have a full 14 volts, going to high quality LEDS, in a Hella Glass lens. It's amazing... Lights the road up like daytime! Without the relays, the lights only got 9 volts and then flickered and died when the switch heated up.
> 
> BTW... The factory configuration is Two filaments in the upper Low/ High beams, and one filaemt in the lower High Beam only. While making the the relay harness, I added the second filament into the lower bulb, so now I have 8 filaments vs. the oem 6.


Thank you for your speedy response Darkness. Will definitely follow your advise when spring rolls around. If I had heated storage I'd be on it now.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

I recommend the harness, because although the LED's draw less power than Halogens, and are less likely to fry the wire or switch, you're still not getting full voltage and not using the high beam dual filaments, unless you use relays and a custom harness. That being said, bear seems to be running LEDs without issue.


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

armyadarkness said:


> I recommend the harness, because although the LED's draw less power than Halogens, and are less likely to fry the wire or switch, you're still not getting full voltage and not using the high beam dual filaments, unless you use relays and a custom harness. That being said, bear seems to be running LEDs without issue.


Since my last post I looked at the other two bulbs to go in in the spring and they're halogens. I'm told I can factory stuff without relays. Thoughts,?


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Honeyharbour62 said:


> Since my last post I looked at the other two bulbs to go in in the spring and they're halogens. I'm told I can factory stuff without relays. Thoughts,?


It's very subjective. If you go to the Corvette forum and ask the same question, they will insist that it is the worst idea on Earth, to consider an H4 swap without relays. They're both GM's with a four-light system, so what's the difference?

Since my last resto was a Vette and now I'm doing a GTO, I found it odd that the same system would have a different mentality. I think it centers around the fact that when a Corvette headlight switch burns up, you have to take the entire car apart to change it.

Any traditional filament bulbs brightness will increase with voltage. The bulb will probably light down at 6 volts and then brighten all the way up to 18 volts. So question number one is, do you want bright lights or dim ones? Since you're not happy with the OEM T3's, I'll assume that you want bright.

Question two is component matching. Putting an 850 double pumper and high-flow intake, on a car with low compression smog heads and single 1.75" exhaust, will not yeild benefits, because everything needs to work together. Halogen H4 bulbs draw a lot more power than a circuit from the 60's was designed to handle, and even if they could handle it new, now they're 50 years old.

Finally, can it be done? Yes. You can smoke two packs a day and live to be 100, but that's more luck than effort. As I mentioned, I too, was surprised that the GTO retail community, didn't mandate relays for the H4's, so like you, I cut the corner. And... IMMEDIATELY following installation:

My headlights were barely brighter than the T3's (if at all), because the stock wiring and switch was only able to pass 9 of the 14.4 volts that my car was capable of.
My headlights would stay on for about 10 minutes and then get hot and shut off. 
Within a week my switch burnt up.
So, it's a lot of work to install H4's in OEM buckets. I wouldnt bother unless I was going to get the full voltage and add the extra two high-beam filaments, that you can only activate with a custom wire harness. The harness would cost less than $25 to make and you can do it while sitting on the couch watching the Munsters.

The only exception to any of this advice is that if you use LED (like bear), they will draw much less power than halogens and also be brighter, so you could beat the system... depending upon the condition of your system. However, for another $25 and hour worth of work, you would be go from a 6 filament system to an 8 filament system and then increasing the overall brightness by about 30%.


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

armyadarkness said:


> It's very subjective. If you go to the Corvette forum and ask the same question, they will insist that it is the worst idea on Earth, to consider an H4 swap without relays. They're both GM's with a four-light system, so what's the difference?
> 
> Since my last resto was a Vette and now I'm doing a GTO, I found it odd that the same system would have a different mentality. I think it centers around the fact that when a Corvette headlight switch burns up, you have to take the entire car apart to change it.
> 
> ...


Sold my friend. Two relays going in in the fall.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Honeyharbour62 said:


> Sold my friend. Two relays going in in the fall.


I can send you a picture of the harness that I made. It was very simple to do.


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

Relays are the way to go. I put a 6 relay and fuse box in my cougar. Use the original wires to energize the relays. It's self contained terminal block on on side for inputs and another on the other side a terminal block for out puts. Changing out the vacuum headlight door for electronic. Car stereo and power ports , igition etc. I haven't got that far on the Pontiac yet. But looks like the writing is on the wall that will happen as well.


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

67ventwindow said:


> Relays are the way to go. I put a 6 relay and fuse box in my cougar. Use the original wires to energize the relays. It's self contained terminal block on on side for inputs and another on the other side a terminal block for out puts. Changing out the vacuum headlight door for electronic. Car stereo and power ports , igition etc. I haven't got that far on the Pontiac yet. But looks like the writing is on the wall that will happen as well.


Would very much appreciate a pic of the relay harness.


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

armyadarkness said:


> I can send you a picture of the harness that I made. It was very simple to do.


Replied at wrong spot. Please post a pic of the relay harness you fabbed up.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Here's a diagram of the harness that I made. I used this 2-Pack waterproof relay set and four ceramic H4 adapters from Amazon, that way, it's all plug and play, no cutting any factory wires. 

You can tuck all OEM passenger side wires and plugs off to the side. There's no need to use them. 

Cut the adapter wires and splice your control wires into them. Use 14g wire and but splice connectors with built-in shrink wrap.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

In a GTO four headlight system, you have 8 filaments, but the factory only uses 6. What you're doing is tying all four highs together and attaching them to one relay. All four lows together and attaching them to another relay. All of the grounds together and grounding to chassis and relays. Run a battery hot to a fuse or circuit breaker, then tee-off to power each relay, and then connect the OEM High Beam wire to one relay and the Low to the other.

It'll blow your socks off. Contrary to what others say, the amount of light and quality that you have, is not what blinds others, it's properly adjusting your headlights. Meaning, this will give you massive light... Whether you choose to blind others or not is up to you.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

In my picture, it shows the relay trigger wires coming in from the OEM Headlight wires, but since you'll be plugging the ceramic adapters into the OEM harness, you'll splice off of the adapter wires to trigger the relay. Try drawing it out on paper. I need to take a better screen shot of that cad picture


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

armyadarkness said:


> In my picture, it shows the relay trigger wires coming in from the OEM Headlight wires, but since you'll be plugging the ceramic adapters into the OEM harness, you'll splice off of the adapter wires to trigger the relay. Try drawing it out on paper. I need to take a better screen shot of that cad picture


Great info, very thorough. Wiring is definitely not my deal so pics and schematics are very helpful. Thank you for your help and speedy reply. May have more questions when she's out in the spring. Regardless, will let you know how it went.


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## gtojoe68 (Jan 4, 2019)

BearGFR said:


> I put these in all 4 buckets on my '69. Man what a difference! With these things, at night I can see all the way into next week.
> 
> H4 Bulbs
> H4 Housings
> ...


So am I to understand you can convert to these LED by simply swapping the housings and then using the LED inserts? without changing anything else? I really don't want to fry the headlight switch as I have hideaways/vaccum on my 68' and that switch is already a PITA. 
thanks


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

gtojoe68 said:


> So am I to understand you can convert to these LED by simply swapping the housings and then using the LED inserts? without changing anything else? I really don't want to fry the headlight switch as I have hideaways/vaccum on my 68' and that switch is already a PITA.
> thanks


Bear did it, so it "can" be done, however, even though the LED's draw less amperage than the H4's, I do believe that they draw more than the OEM T3. So if your switch is already finicky, I would do the relay harness. It's cheap and easy to make, plus it adds two bulbs and a lot more power to your system, so the improvement will be drastic.

That being said, once you buy the four glass lenses, which accept H4 style bulbs, YES. You drill a 3" hole in your existing buckets and these will pop right in. If you're determined to not use relays, then I would try it, just know that it'll be at least 30% dimmer than it would with relays and the 2nd set of filaments from the OEM high beams.


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## gtojoe68 (Jan 4, 2019)

armyadarkness said:


> Bear did it, so it "can" be done, however, even though the LED's draw less amperage than the H4's, I do believe that they draw more than the OEM T3. So if your switch is already finicky, I would do the relay harness. It's cheap and easy to make, plus it adds two bulbs and a lot more power to your system, so the improvement will be drastic.
> 
> That being said, once you buy the four glass lenses, which accept H4 style bulbs, YES. You drill a 3" hole in your existing buckets and these will pop right in. If you're determined to not use relays, then I would try it, just know that it'll be at least 30% dimmer than it would with relays and the 2nd set of filaments from the OEM high beams.


Thanks AOD, I might just try it. Need to wrap final piece of restoration though this spring. New UMI rear control arm setup with the factory braces GTOTIGR sold me from this forum (thx Bob!). Then I’ll give it a shot, at least before Hot Aug Nights. Now that she’s painted and all restored after 20yrs, it’s time to show her off. Lost out last summer with this GD pandemic. Blah.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

gtojoe68 said:


> Thanks AOD, I might just try it. Need to wrap final piece of restoration though this spring. New UMI rear control arm setup with the factory braces GTOTIGR sold me from this forum (thx Bob!). Then I’ll give it a shot, at least before Hot Aug Nights. Now that she’s painted and all restored after 20yrs, it’s time to show her off. Lost out last summer with this GD pandemic. Blah.


I was glad that my 70 Vette convertible was on the road for the pandemic. I took a LOT of cruises! But the GTO will be more fun and I can now go shopping with my 78 cubic foot trunk!

I just did front and rear, upper and lower control arms. I used UMI rear uppers.

As for the bulbs, I tried to do it with H4's and no relays. My switch lasted about 2 hours before I lost the lights. Fortunately, they came back on after a cool off, so I could get home. LED's draw less so they will likely work, you just wont get the 2nd filament on the lower (Highbeam) bulb to light.

That's the thing with headlights, wipers, and heat. You can only test them when you're going to be screwed if they fail.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

gtojoe68 said:


> So am I to understand you can convert to these LED by simply swapping the housings and then using the LED inserts? without changing anything else? I really don't want to fry the headlight switch as I have hideaways/vaccum on my 68' and that switch is already a PITA.
> thanks


I changed nothing on my '69 except for purchasing the parts (housings and bulbs). Installing them into the high beam headlight buckets did require me to cut one of the metal tabs off the new housing ring in order to get the high beam lights "clocked" properly, but that was nothing. I guess I didn't know it until I installed these lights, but besides the high beams only having two electrical connectors (vs. 3 for the low beams), the locating tabs on high beams that are made as part of the glass on regular sealed beam bulbs are in different places around the edge than they are on low beams.

The change is easy though because the LED housings I bought don't have those tabs made into the glass. Instead they're on a metal ring around the perimeter of the housing and only one of them is in the 'wrong' spot so cutting that one off is no biggie. As far as the extra 3rd electrical connector on the bulb, all I had to do was bend that one ever so slightly to the side to allow connecting the 2-prong high beam plug from the headlight harness after wrapping it with some high quality 3m electrical tape to cover it.

I love the result:


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

BearGFR said:


> I changed nothing on my '69 except for purchasing the parts (housings and bulbs). Installing them into the high beam headlight buckets did require me to cut one of the metal tabs off the new housing ring in order to get the high beam lights "clocked" properly, but that was nothing. I guess I didn't know it until I installed these lights, but besides the high beams only having two electrical connectors (vs. 3 for the low beams), the locating tabs on high beams that are made as part of the glass on regular sealed beam bulbs are in different places around the edge than they are on low beams.
> 
> The change is easy though because the LED housings I bought don't have those tabs made into the glass. Instead they're on a metal ring around the perimeter of the housing and only one of them is in the 'wrong' spot so cutting that one off is no biggie. As far as the extra 3rd electrical connector on the bulb, all I had to do was bend that one ever so slightly to the side to allow connecting the 2-prong high beam plug from the headlight harness after wrapping it with some high quality 3m electrical tape to cover it.
> 
> I love the result:


And, if instead of bending the 3rd tab to the side on the LED High Beam, you activated it, then youd get a another set of filaments in the game! You could just run a jumper wire off of the low beam to it, if you wanted to, but you sound very satisfied, so there's not much point. And, having those last filaments out of the equation, means you're drawing less amps, so likely that's why it works for you.


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

armyadarkness said:


> And, if instead of bending the 3rd tab to the side on the LED High Beam, you activated it, then youd get a another set of filaments in the game! You could just run a jumper wire off of the low beam to it, if you wanted to, but you sound very satisfied, so there's not much point. And, having those last filaments out of the equation, means you're drawing less amps, so likely that's why it works for you.


On the high beam buckets there's nothing connected to the low beam side of the bulb - it's just hanging out in the breeze and covered with tape, so unless I'm mistaken about how headlights work (always a possibility) all I'm getting is the high beam filament - which is plenty.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

BearGFR said:


> all I'm getting is the high beam filament - which is plenty.


Yes. Correct. I live in the middle of the woods and there are no street light out here either, so I wanted every drop of light that there is. It also gets dark at 4:45 PM and it's deer mating season. 

Seeing how impressed you are with what you got, imagine adding another few volts and two filaments! But if you don't need them, then it's not a big deal.


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## Tucson Strength (Jul 6, 2021)

BearGFR said:


> I put these in all 4 buckets on my '69. Man what a difference! With these things, at night I can see all the way into next week.
> 
> H4 Bulbs
> H4 Housings
> ...


Did you not add any additional relays like the original post. Pretty much plug and play?


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

Correct. The LED's actually pull LESS power than the original T3's, so no modifications to the wiring harness or anything else was required.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

When I did my first conversion I used H4 Halogens, and then when Bear expressed his satisfaction with those LED's, I ordered two High/ Low sets, so that I have four bulbs on Low Beam and Eight on High. 

I log a lot of miles avery week, so I run the lows as daytime running lights. for an added layer of visibility. BTW... all of these mods will simply increase your ability to see, dramatically. None of this stuff is designed to blow the other drivers off of the road... although it will, if you adjust your bulbs to do so.


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

My dad always told me we jacked up the rear of the car to hunt night crawlers. It actually works turn on the lights and water the lawn a little. You will be fishing tomorrow.


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

armyadarkness said:


> Here's a diagram of the harness that I made. I used this 2-Pack waterproof relay set and four ceramic H4 adapters from Amazon, that way, it's all plug and play, no cutting any factory wires.
> 
> You can tuck all OEM passenger side wires and plugs off to the side. There's no need to use them.
> 
> ...





armyadarkness said:


> Here's a diagram of the harness that I made. I used this 2-Pack waterproof relay set and four ceramic H4 adapters from Amazon, that way, it's all plug and play, no cutting any factory wires.
> 
> You can tuck all OEM passenger side wires and plugs off to the side. There's no need to use them.
> 
> ...


Good morning Mr. Darkness. Finally have a block of time to do the relay install. By any chance do you have part numbers and manufacture name for the relays you used. Also the male&female ends of your fabricated wire harness


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Honeyharbour62 said:


> Good morning Mr. Darkness. Finally have a block of time to do the relay install. By any chance do you have part numbers and manufacture name for the relays you used. Also the male&female ends of your fabricated wire harness


Sure. I ordered the plugs and relays, cheap off Amazon. 

You only need two relays, one for High Beam, one for Low, but I ordered this set of 5 and I love them.








Amazon.com: irhapsody 5 Pack 40/30 AMP 12V DC Waterproof Relay and Harness - Heavy Duty 12 AWG Tinned Copper Wires, 5-PIN SPDT Automotive Relay : Automotive


Buy irhapsody 5 Pack 40/30 AMP 12V DC Waterproof Relay and Harness - Heavy Duty 12 AWG Tinned Copper Wires, 5-PIN SPDT Automotive Relay: Accessory Power - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



www.amazon.com





And here are the headlight plugs. You need four... 








Amazon.com: iJDMTOY H4 9003 Heavy Duty Ceramic Wiring Harness Sockets Compatible With Headlights or Fog Lights : Everything Else


Amazon.com: iJDMTOY H4 9003 Heavy Duty Ceramic Wiring Harness Sockets Compatible With Headlights or Fog Lights : Everything Else



www.amazon.com


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

To run a four bulb setup as I did, which gave me four elements on Low Beams and eight elements on High Beams:

Plug the adapters in to your existing headlight sockets. 
Leave the ground wires of the adapters intact, but cut the high and low beam wires of the adapters, in the center of each wire.
Run all four Factory Low Beam Signal Wires, to your Low Beam Relay Input, and all four Factory High Beam Signal wires to your High Beam Relay Input.
Supply Battery Power and Ground to each Relay.
Run a wire from the High Beam Relay Output to all four High Beams, and then do the same for the Low Beam Relay.
This accomplishes the following:

Enables you to make a harness on the bench, without chopping your original GTO harness.
Allows you to run four low and eight high filaments, vs the factory two and four.
Allows you to send 14.7 volts to the lights, vs the factory 10-12 volts.
And then if you add the LED bulbs which @BearGFR recommended, you'll be lighting up the road like a fairground.


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## Honeyharbour62 (Jul 15, 2018)

Thx again Army. I do appreciate your time and effort. Once the install is complete later this fall, I'll post pics.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

Anxious to here and see it. There's a lot of flexibility with this design, so maybe you'll find a way to improve it even more.


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## AlaGreyGoat (Jul 6, 2006)

Here is a modified drawing to show the correct inputs for both Low and High beam inputs. You can use either LED or standard Halogen headlight bulbs.
I have ecode H4 Headlights in my 04 corvette and I use H4 140/100 wt Halogen bulbs, about $20 a pair on ebay. They are for off road use, but if you have
them adjusted correctly, the work great with no blinding to others.

Larry


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

AlaGreyGoat said:


> Here is a modified drawing to show the correct inputs for both Low and High beam inputs. You can use either LED or standard Halogen headlight bulbs.
> I have ecode H4 Headlights in my 04 corvette and I use H4 140/100 wt Halogen bulbs, about $20 a pair on ebay. They are for off road use, but if you have
> them adjusted correctly, the work great with no blinding to others.
> 
> ...


Thanks for fixing my picture. Yours looks much better.


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## TxGTO69 (Dec 2, 2020)

BearGFR said:


> I put these in all 4 buckets on my '69. Man what a difference! With these things, at night I can see all the way into next week.
> 
> H4 Bulbs
> H4 Housings
> ...





BearGFR said:


> I put these in all 4 buckets on my '69. Man what a difference! With these things, at night I can see all the way into next week.
> 
> H4 Bulbs
> H4 Housings
> ...


Did you have to use relays or did you use the existing harness?


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

You can use the bulbs that Bear recommended, without relays. However, if you do use relays, you'll get even more light.


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## rheckman (Aug 28, 2018)

armyadarkness said:


> I converted the headlights on my 67 GTO over to the H4 setup. I did this on my 70 Vette and it was a game changer, so it was a no-brainer to do on the goat. I bought the bulb kit from OPGI, yes it was $200, and yes, it's worth $200 for me to light the road up like July 4th, when I'm racing through the Pine Barrens at 3am.
> 
> Anywho... On the Vette, I used a relay system to bypass the original switch and wires, and send the full voltage/ amperage of the alternator to the headlights. I made my own relay harness (which does not affect the OEM harness at all), because there was only one available at the time and it was backordered.
> 
> ...


Hi,just reading your post from last year as I am upgrading headlights as well.
What size hole saw did you use for modifying the buckets?
Thanks,
Bob H


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

rheckman said:


> Hi,just reading your post from last year as I am upgrading headlights as well.
> What size hole saw did you use for modifying the buckets?
> Thanks,
> Bob H


I forget... will have to measure when I can get through the snow, but it was BIG!. I think 3"... and also, no fun! Lol... fairly quick job, but go slow and use a lot of oil. The buckets are thin and the hole saws for wood are very aggressive, so they tend to grab the metal. Unless you find a hole saw for metal with fine teeth!

Either way, it was a two hour job which multiplied my lights by more than ten, so it was well worth it. If you order the bulbs and lenses, you can bring one with you when sizing the saw... but almost positive it's 3"


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## rheckman (Aug 28, 2018)

armyadarkness said:


> I forget... will have to measure when I can get through the snow, but it was BIG!. I think 3"... and also, no fun! Lol... fairly quick job, but go slow and use a lot of oil. The buckets are thin and the hole saws for wood are very aggressive, so they tend to grab the metal. Unless you find a hole saw for metal with fine teeth!
> 
> Either way, it was a two hour job which multiplied my lights by more than ten, so it was well worth it. If you order the bulbs and lenses, you can bring one with you when sizing the saw... but almost positive it's 3"


Great thanks,hole saw just grabs I think ill Dremel them


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

rheckman said:


> Great thanks,hole saw just grabs I think ill Dremel them


The rule of thumb for saw blades is that you always want at least two teeth in the material at all times... and most of the readily available hole saws are for wood, so they're 6-10 tooth per inch. Those buckets are not even 1/16 material, so ideally youd have 16-18 TPI.

That being said, you can get the fine ones on amazon, jut not in the local hardware store. AND, you can make the holes however you like. Plasma torch!


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## BearGFR (Aug 25, 2008)

TxGTO69 said:


> Did you have to use relays or did you use the existing harness?


Existing harness. LED headlights pull even less power than the factory sealed beams did.


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## trblmkr30 (Dec 18, 2021)

BearGFR said:


> I put these in all 4 buckets on my '69. Man what a difference! With these things, at night I can see all the way into next week.
> 
> H4 Bulbs
> H4 Housings
> ...


That is exactly what I needed!! Thank you so much for the info, BearGFR!! And thanks for sending me over here, ArmyADarkness!


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## redhotgto66 (Sep 11, 2021)

ok just saw this thread and i'm interested a lot ! what do you use for a switch? am i missing something?


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## redhotgto66 (Sep 11, 2021)

keep in mind when helping me wire, i am the worlds worst electrician lol.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

redhotgto66 said:


> ok just saw this thread and i'm interested a lot ! what do you use for a switch? am i missing something?


You use your factory headlight switch. The factory high and low bean wire that comes out of it, have enough voltage to power the cheap relays... this will pass the full 14.4 volts to the lights, instead of the factory 11 volts. That's the first improvement.

Then by using leds with Hella lenses, you improve the light emission ten fold.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

redhotgto66 said:


> keep in mind when helping me wire, i am the worlds worst electrician lol.


You can buy a ready made kit if you doubt your skills


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)




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## Baaad65 (Aug 29, 2019)

Holley sells some called Retrobright I saw in person at a show, they come in three colors and are plug n play but bend over they are 180.00 per light !


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

Becareful with those LEDs. I installed a full motion set to light my girls way to the chicken coop. And I downed my owl. First time he flew in front of that thing he went down like a rock. He delared No Mas and avoids the chicken coop like the plague.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

67ventwindow said:


> Becareful with those LEDs. I installed a full motion set to light my girls way to the chicken coop. And I downed my owl. First time he flew in front of that thing he went down like a rock. He delared No Mas and avoids the chicken coop like the plague.


Im torn between asking what the Hell you just said, and being afraid of the answer.


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## 67ventwindow (Mar 3, 2020)

armyadarkness said:


> Im torn between asking what the Hell you just said, and being afraid of the answer.


Then we are even. I am still working in your prison comment.

These are not the new side marker lights for your GTO


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

67ventwindow said:


> Then we are even. I am still working in your prison comment.


WHAT! I had a rough day, what am I missing!


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## redhotgto66 (Sep 11, 2021)

thanks army, i will look into this soon, printed out the diagram onto buying the lights.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

redhotgto66 said:


> thanks army, i will look into this soon, printed out the diagram onto buying the lights.


Make sure you read about @BearGFR parts. He used a few different items on his lights, which were cheaper and easier. 

I don't think he used the relay setup, either. For the record, the relay system isnt mandatory, but it's cheap and easy to make and it makes a BIG difference. 

Just keep in mind that the lights alone are improvement A, and the relays are improvement B... You can use either or both.


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## redhotgto66 (Sep 11, 2021)

armyadarkness said:


> You can buy a ready made kit if you doubt your skills


where can i find a complete kit ? i've read this thread 3 times and not sure im smart enuff to pull it off !


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

redhotgto66 said:


> where can i find a complete kit ? i've read this thread 3 times and not sure im smart enuff to pull it off !



There are definitely companies who make the relay harness. I forget who, but I can find out. I enjoyed making mine, and Im poor, so it was a no-brainer.
There seems to be some differences of opinion with the headlight buckets... I had to drill mine, but others didnt. However, I believe that it's because I used the weather seals and they did not. Also, I used Hella lenses, and I think they used generic.
Tomorrow I'll sort through more of it and help you out.


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## gtovet49 (Jun 24, 2017)

I found this vendor that offers a plug and play wiring system (Octane Lighting). I have not purchased it yet but it appears to have everything required.









Amazon.com: OCTANE LIGHTING 4-Headlight Relay Wiring Harness H4 Headlamp Light Bulb Ceramic Socket Plugs Set : Automotive


Buy OCTANE LIGHTING 4-Headlight Relay Wiring Harness H4 Headlamp Light Bulb Ceramic Socket Plugs Set: Headlight Bulbs - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases



www.amazon.com


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

That looks like it would do the job! Ratings seem good, too.


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## M91196 (Oct 11, 2020)

gtovet49 said:


> I found this vendor that offers a plug and play wiring system (Octane Lighting). I have not purchased it yet but it appears to have everything required.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If you need to keep your original harness there is a Painless version that will let you keep your headlight connectors.
30815 H4 relay harness is what I used 
Hidden in the inner fender powered by the horn relay.
Big win


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

My entire conversion was plug and play. I didnt cut or modify any factory wires, plugs, or switches.


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## armyadarkness (Dec 7, 2020)

@BearGFR can we move this into the FAQ?


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