hello to all the toyota van/previa nuts out there. i just finished my conversion. and i think it looks awesome. here are a few before, during and after shots. enjoyIMAG0158.jpgIMAG0160.jpgIMAG0156.jpgIMAG0252.jpgIMAG0262.jpgIMAG0264.jpgIMAG0249.jpgIMAG0250.jpg if anyone would like to do this, it was not hard. the hardest part for me was waiting for the parts to arrive.lol but i could advise anyone on how to do it and the best places to go for parts.
A few night shots with the light onIMAG0272.jpgIMAG0271.jpgIMAG0270.jpg
Your van looks sweet! My 10 year walked by and saw the pics. He replied," Dad, that looks sick!! You should do that to your van!!" Btw, where did you get the wheels? They look like the 1997-98 Honda Odyssey EX wheels without the center cap.
THEY ARE HONDA WHEELS. I JUST FINISHED MY ENGINE REBUILD AND MY JDM FRONT AND REAR LIGHTS. WHEELS AND TIRE ARE NEXT MONTH. I FOUND A SET OF 2012 TOYOYA CAMRY 18" WHEELS WITH OEM TIRES. SO I PUT SOME MONEY DOWN ON THOSE. LOL P.S YOU SHOULD DO IT TO YOURS. I HAVE ONLY DRIVEN MY "ESTIMA" TO THE GAS STATION AND GOT TWO PEOPLE GIVING ME THUMBS UP AND A GUY OFFERED TO BUY MY VAN FOR $8000. SORRY I TOLD HIM. LOL
Hey man that is too sick!! i have some questions.
1.did this involve any drilling on the car or cuting the
metal or anthing
2.how was the wiring process? i know estimas are right
hand drive so did that affect any thing
i forgot my third question.
if you answer my qurstion i will be very happy.
To answer your first guestion, yes there was some cutting and drilling involved. Nothing to major though. You used the new headlights and just eye ball it at first, and then fine tune the shape and size to make it fit perfect. I found that the best way is to use a marker and trace your lines out first then cut on the inside of your line.
second question was wiring. it was not hard at all. the headlights i cut and fused together and used heat shrink. just make sure before you cut those wires you know witch one is gound, low beam and high beam.
on the front turn signal lights the estima dose not have the turn signal in the front corner lens ( its only a two wire coming off the light socket and wont work)the front finder on the estima has a side mounted light that is the turning signal. to fix this problem i went to pick and pull. i used the rear brake light socket from an acura tl ( that had three wires) and it fits perfect. i fused those together and used heat shrink.
the rear tail light were fun. ( not)! lol.
ok on the rear light i ordered, the estima light harness socket came with the lenses. what i did was match the color code wires together. then using a small pick i released each wire from the estima harness( remember where each wire gos is important). then i took the stock previa harness and remover each wire from the harness socket. next you use the previa harness socket and use the wiring form the estima lights and match them to where they would go on the previa harness socket. then just plug it into harness connector on your previa and check to make sure everything is working correctly.
Last edited by Previa dude; 03-27-2013 at 02:08 AM.
As far as right hand drive it dose not matter. the estima lens as two adjustment points. one to arm up and down and the other for left and right. it comes set up for right hand drive but can be adjusted to left hand drive previa's
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i got some new wheels now. i lost out on the carmy wheels i wanted but got some lexus gs300 one instead. but i bought some center cap with the toyota logo.my van looks kinda beffy.lolOriginally Posted by terbennett
Last edited by Previa dude; 03-28-2013 at 02:10 PM.
How much did you spend on the headlights and taillights?
There are four things you need to buy first of all. The head lights cost me $200, front side lamp cost me $65, front bumper filler ( the painted peace that fits between the head light and front bumper) cost me $240, tail lights cost 280. And another $60 on hardware and little things. To me, the cost of everything was well worth every penny
Agreed. It looks worth it and you no longer have to be concerned about yellowed headlights. BTW, those lexus wheels must look sick! I want to do up my main van but I have my eye on another Previa to add to my collection.There are four things you need to buy first of all. The head lights cost me $200, front side lamp cost me $65, front bumper filler ( the painted peace that fits between the head light and front bumper) cost me $240, tail lights cost 280. And another $60 on hardware and little things. To me, the cost of everything was well worth every penny
Another previa? Wow! How many do you have. I built mine pretty much from ground up. I had a blast doing it to. Though if it was not for Tim and all his help I would probably be bald from pulling my hair all out. Lol. I learned a lot doing my van Samantha. I would love to find another one just like her and save another previa from the bone yards. I love the Lexus wheels too, make my previa look so much beefier.
Wow I was thinking about whether an Estima conversion was possible, googled it and of course someone on TVT had done it! Very cool, I am going to look into costs to do this to mine. Does it have to be parts from a 98 or is that just what you happened to find? And what about the bumpercovers? The Estima is narrower, so does that affect the grille trim piece?
Thanks for the pics, they convinced me I want that!
Some of the Estima ' parts on ebay are for the mini. What you want to look for tcr 10, or tcr 20. Those parts parts are for the full sized Estima. Same as the U.S. Previa. In this thread i posted the prices and parts needed to convert. Makes sure that you do your homework before buying anything though.
Awesome. Thanks for the info! I want this done before the van gets it's new paint job. I already get people asking about it with it's current paint! Usually it's because of the door pops though. Haha.
the Estima was the TCR10W, TCR11W, TCR20W, or TCR21W
what you don't want are the TCR10G, TCR11G, TCR20G, TCR21G ones... those are the narrow bodied versions... these are also found as the "CXR"
keep in mind that these lights are not DOT certified, and since Japan drives on the "wrong" side of the road, the beam pattern of the headlights are focused towards the left side of the road... this can be hazardous to other drivers due to excessive glare... since the curb side on your side of the road isn't as well lit, it can also pose a hazard to visibility for you
no amount of aiming can fix this, as it is an inherent design in the optics of the headlights
because of these facts, these headlights are illegal to use in the US... you may also fail inspection in some states where they are strict and look for the "DOT" stamping
That's pretty sexy!
I had JDM headlights on my Vigor and Infiniti M30 (f31 leopard), but never got flashed for them. I always aimed them a bit low. I dont know if the S13 guys try to adjust their project headlights.
I just dont like the fact that the US spec lens are plastic and get oxidized!
There is always the idea of retrofitting some projectors in the OEM housing.
the S13 projectors can be baked open then the shield flipped around to make them work properly for right hand traffic... it's been done before
for the Previa, since projector headlights were never offered in the 1st gen, the best SAFE option is to import glass headlights from Europe... I have done so and I believe I am the only one in the country to have those lights... performance has significantly improved not only due to the clearer lens, but also because of better reflector design/better beam pattern... those headlights also use the much better H4/9003 bulbs as opposed to the crappy DOT only 9004 bulbs found in the 91-93 headlights... if you are really strapped for cash or just cheap, the 94-97 USDM headlights are the next best thing as they're 100% legal and also use the H4/9003 bulbs
although the Euro spec headlights are glass, designed for right hand traffic, and very safe, they are technically illegal as they are not DOT compliant/certified... I don't care and no one here cares to look... the fact that they're a proven safety improvement over the stock headlights is good enough for me
neither of these options give you an aesthetic upgrade though, although the plastic lens material used in the 94-97 USDM headlights are much improved over the 91-93 USDMs, making them more fade resistant... the Euro spec glass headlights are the best for longevity as they're glass, but protection film is a must to protect this investment... the major difference in the reflector design makes these headlights look more clear anyway on top of the fact that they're glass
keep in mind these Euro spec headlights I'm talking about are from continental Europe, NOT UK, Ireland, or Malta, which drive on the "wrong side" of the road... getting these lights are not cheap and not easy as you have to get them from a non-English speaking country
all JDM headlights are plastic lens, even the 98-99 clear lens ones... they too can be prone to fading
You live up to your name! Maybe it was just the mentality of everyone around me, but dont remember anyone actually trying to get their JDM headlights to US spec light pattern. All the DA and DC integras, The Legend and vigor (as far as I know, My friend's legend and my vigor were the only JDM headlights at the time) and all the 240sx, and silvia s15 conversion didnt take the time to get them properly done.
I think was you have done is amazing in a sense that you put a lot of thought into headlights. I would definitely like to get glass, as my M30 was glass and had rock chip when I bought it. It was then I got the JDM headights (glass as well) and put the rock chip film on it as well. I personally love the yellow city light and black interior of a headlight housing (and on a white car). I guess that is why I am jealous of all those TSX and WRX owners.
Got pics?? how much did it cost you?? with shipping??
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