83

I picked up the grill, headlight doors & buckets off a round headlight Toyota yesterday. Bolt holes for the buckets are different. I can certainly make it work, but I'm curious if anyone's actually done it and has any advice before I go drilling?

It's one of those things where I always hear you just get the buckets, doors & grill and you're all set. But, the side lense lights have a different connector/plug style (I'll just cut & splice) and the bolt holes don't line up like I mentioned. So, just curious if someone's done it and know exactly how to make it work. If not...I guess I'll be the one to find out & I'll post a thread on it. Let me know!

peckm888

i like the square headlights more. they have better light. idk about changing them over to circle. fab it if you really want it. i know its hard to find a replace ment headlight bezel for the square headlights. i nailed a deer one night and it broke mine. it took a year of searching to find a replacement cover to my headlight door.

MaximRecoil

Square headlights don't inherently give off better light than round headlights. Some square headlights may give off better light than some round headlights, and vice versa.

In any event, in my opinion, headlights in general are supposed to be round. Headlights came in one shape for the better part of a century, and that was round. A Model T Ford, pretty much any other classic vehicle you care to name, and pre-1982 Toyota trucks all have at least one thing in common; that is, the shape of their headlights.

Chrysler finally got the message several years back and reverted to round headlights on their military-style Jeeps. Round headlights look better in my opinion. They are classic, timeless. Square headlights are dated to that ~10 year period of time between when the manufacturers were trying to be trendy by going to square headlights, and when they tried to be even trendier by going to little seperate bulbs behind randomly-shaped clear plastic lenses.

To the OP, I would imagine that you are either going to have to drill, or get the radiator support piece (not sure what that section of the body is actually called, but the radiator bolts to it) from a '79-'81 Toyota which should have all the correct holes for the round headlights and associated parts. I'd think that drilling would be much easier.

83

Thanks. There are actually holes that seem to line up right, they just aren't threaded. I'll need to see if the grill lines up right with the headlights & doors when I use those holes, but if they do, then no drilling. I just need bolts & nuts. Only problem is that one of the holes goes into that no-mans-zone between the wheel well & fender where you can't get at without taking that front quarter panel off, so I'm not completely sure what to do there. I'll figure it out though.

The guy I bought the stuff from mentioned maybe needing the whole front clip off the donor truck, but if it's between removing two front clips just for round headlights? I'll just drill before even considering that.

Square headlights may or may not give off better light, but I like round. I think that there's a good chance that when it comes to what will plug right into our headlight wires, there are better options in the square shape, but I'm not sure that square is inherently a better shape for giving off light. Jeeps, X-Terra's etc., they all come with great quality round headlights. Probably for my truck I could get square lights that are better than round with no modifications to my wiring, but I just get the regular old cheap lights Napa sells anyways, so I don't see it mattering.

83

BTW Peckm888, I've got the whole square headlight set-up, grill, headlight doors, brackets & all for sale right now! Next time you hit something you could have the replacement sitting in your garage already.

Seriously.

ozziesironmanoffroad

screw the yota headlights, put some hellas or KC's on theyre... the round ones... VERY bright you will be able to see everything...

red1983

iTrader: (1)

I don't know about the whole conversion thing... yes, the round is cool, I agree, but you have a '83 That has square lights... It seems wrong to me to make it look like a different year and not keep it original. But thats just my opinion, I like the idea of keeping things authentic. I been thinking about this in relation to the stripes on my truck- I would love pink stripes to add a little girlie flare on my truck, but I think I will go with the original gold in the end for the same reason.

83

I do agree....but not completely. I'm really into the way these trucks look and I want to keep it original. BUT...for me, they're all first gens. And the ones that really stand out to me and look old school are the round headlight ones. Yes, maybe I should have bought a 79-81, but if you've noticed some of my threads, I'm pretty deep into this one, so this is my truck, and hopefully will be for the next 20+ years. I won't be putting a second or 3rd gen bed on it, or a Tacoma grill like I've seen some people do. But to change it to the round headlights, which the trucks with the same body style just two years before had...for me that's not blasphemy.

I do appreciate people who like to keep these trucks fairly stock looking, though.

red1983

iTrader: (1)

I understand that, I feel the same way about my truck, I not just going to look for a new one just because it didn't have the moon roof, round head lights or whatever. If I was really set on it I would add whatever it was that I wanted.

Sked

To me the round lights just look tougher than the square look. And if ya like the round look then grab some Hella H4's and throw them in there. They seem brighter than my old stock rounds and i still have the option of 55/100watt and 90/130watt bulbs when I upgrade my wiring harness.

83

Yes and yes.

I like keeping it mostly stock, but it's also my truck, and the great thing about these old trucks is just how easy it is to personalize the interior especially, and some parts of the exterior. Plus they're old & beat up so I don't feel so bad pulling things apart or drilling here and there. There are a few things I will still do to really make this my truck, and one of them is the round headlights. Whether or not they give off better light.

So yeah I can understand the "it's an '83 and they have square headlights" thing, but hey, they're all first gen, and I do like the round better. Plus someday I'm going to run into somebody who knows these trucks as well as we all do and they're going to have a hell of a time guessing what year it is!

83

Finally found a camera I could use

Before:



After:



I like it.

SpecialScottie

I like it too
Great job

Sked

Look so much better now IMO, but I love round objects lol

83

Thanks! Yeah, it's a huge improvement in my eyes, too.

yotaboy82

WOW!!!!!!!!!! im jealous.

eightnine

Looks way better in my opinion

89silverpu

Looks great! I love the round headlights!

gmack192

go ROUND lol I am switching my 83 over

gmack192

I wish I could figure out a way to use the 83 grill with the 79-81 lights I think the 83 grill looks better that the 79-81 grill oh well