Gen 4.5 headlights on a gen 4??

[1mzfe_dave]

Hi, does anyone know if it's possible to swap a set of gen 4.5 headlights into a gen 4 camry?? I've heard ppl say it can't be done but I've never found out why?? I like the crystal look better and I've parked next to numerous gen 4.5s and I haven't been able to pick any external differences in shape?? Has anyone attempted this?? Cheers, Dave :)

[David the Viking]

Apparently it is a subtle difference in the shape of the headlight around the bottom inside edges and the bumper of the gen4 will not sit properly against the gen4.5 headlights.

[Whip Cracker]

But but... you have a 2000 model? That's when 4.5s were made.

Unless yours is an "earlier in the year" type one that kept the Gen 4 appearance until the 4.5s came out in the end of the year?

Apparently you can sand back the ridges in the headlights back to clear if you're clever enough. Saw that done on ToyotaNation once... lots of work involved though.

[RoM2nV]

I think leasuance did something like this. He got like projectors and stuff retrofitted aswell, really nice.

[1mzfe_dave]

Yeah mine is early 2000 which suits me fine because I much prefer the straight tail lights... I think it's either a love it or hate it thing with the series 2 tail lights hey...

I haven't bothered posting any pics of the rear as I'm still waiting to fit some aftermarket outer lights which came from america and don't have the same bulb fittings :(

Here's a piece of trivia; the way I understand it (correct me if I'm wrong), Toyota Australia were a little behind japan and US in introducing the gen 4.5s and hence they made a couple of minor changes in 99 and didn't upgrade the outer appearance until almost halfway thru 2000 (I think it was may??). For example, my clutch is the same as a gen 4.5 but different to a 97-04/99 model gen 4...

"Sand back the ridges" eh?? Are we talking about sanding glass here?? Or plastic?? Sounds like an expensive exercise if it goes wrong?? My cousin is a panelbeater and he said he's never noticed a difference in the shape between the two bumpers so surely it must be pretty subtle??

Sorry for all the questions, I know it's not a common modification... Thanks for all the replies so far guys! :)

[Milgram]

Here's a piece of trivia; the way I understand it (correct me if I'm wrong), Toyota Australia were a little behind japan and US in introducing the gen 4.5s and hence they made a couple of minor changes in 99 and didn't upgrade the outer appearance until almost halfway thru 2000 (I think it was may??). For example, my clutch is the same as a gen 4.5 but different to a 97-04/99 model gen 4...

I work in the car industry (not for Toyota) and can tell you that there are Model Year (MY) updates at least every 12 months.

Car manufacturers constantly make running changes to vehicles, often to address quality issues. If the changes are made constantly, a car built last week might have some subtle "under the surface" differences to one built this week depending on the break point of the change.

Some manufacturers prefer to bunch these running changes into one big change, referred to as a Model Year. A MY might not be visible to the consumer unless it is accompanied by a facelift or change in specification (i.e. new colour options or extra features).

In reference to the Gen 4, in April 1999 I remember the Conquest four cylinder was launched along with the Touring series. Most likely Toyota did a whole bunch of "under the surface" changes across the range to tie in with the launch of both models.

[1mzfe_dave]

There you go, learn something new everyday! I didn't realise it took them that long to introduce the touring! With regard to the april 99 changeover, apparently they changed the v6 gearbox selector forks from pressed metal to cast iron and I also know the clutch assemblies are different but I have no idea what else...

Back to the original topic, does anyone have any more info about changing the headlights?? :)

[Whip Cracker]

Sanding back the ridges... I believe the headlights are plastic aren't they? Ya gotta use rough stuff right down to the highest grit level to make it baby ***** smooth :)

Like I said, if you wanna go down that avenue, go for it. I've seen it before... looks good. Leon (Leasaunce) I believe did this for his HIDs so yeah.

If not, see if there's just plain aftermarket lights for that model?

[1mzfe_dave]

Sanding back the ridges... I believe the headlights are plastic aren't they? Ya gotta use rough stuff right down to the highest grit level to make it baby ***** smooth :)

Like I said, if you wanna go down that avenue, go for it. I've seen it before... looks good. Leon (Leasaunce) I believe did this for his HIDs so yeah.

If not, see if there's just plain aftermarket lights for that model?

Funny you should mention that, when I got the panelbeating done, my cousin replaced the passenger headlight (it was cracked) with a DEPO one and it's a helluva lot shinier than the Toyota one - might be an option to simply match the two?? Altho I have no idea which type he used (i'm pretty sure DEPO make 3 types for the series one).