General Exterior upgrade questions for my 97 GT

So I just purchased a 97 GP GT, and just want to make it a little more personal. I was thinking about getting a new set of tail lights since the stock ones have the normal inner water damage, and I was also looking at getting a new set of headlamps, either stock or maybe a set of aftermarkets .

So for price what would be a good set for both head lamps and tails ? Also is there a way for me to have my head lamps like those in a newer GP with dual beams not just a single bulb ?

I was also looking into painting a few things on the car, and have seen a lot of GP's with the pontiac in the rear painted , how is that being done , can it be taken off or is it stuck on the bumper and just being taped around and painted ?

I'm sure these are stupid questions but I figured since I intend on keeping this car as it runs like new and just needs a few odds and ends, I'd like to have a little fun with it before I start working on performance .

Thanks for the help in advance .

Chi_Town

I am not sure about head or tail lights for the 97-03 cause mine is a 04 but as far as the pontiac in the back being painted they are inlays that you get from reflectiveconcepts.com. It is basically a sticker that has been put in there but they are really easy to install and turn out really nice if you take your time

well my tails were about 200 and expect about 250 for headlights paint your grand prix badges or take them all off and tint

carid.com

thats a good site they have a lot of stuff. sometimes their prices are good, sometimes you can find the stuff cheaper else where. but its a good site just to browse for stuff.

and just like hockeybawler said, reflectiveconcepts.com. the "pontiac" on the rear bumper usually isnt painted. if someone did that i cant imagine the hard time they must have had taping everything off lol. dont paint it. get the reflectiveconcepts stickers. they are pretty easy to install and they look great at night.

I love the look of a guys up the road his 'Pontiac' is like a pearl looking color an it looks clean , I'd like a metallic red or blue.

Hopefully someone chimes in about the headlamps though , just curious based off mine owning using one bulb and other years using 2.

not sure about 2 bulbs. u would have to poke around

It just seems as if It would be a different wiring harness to be used, but im not sure and I can't seem to find anything close to a write up that would explain the difference . I know as of now my car uses 1 bulb (9007) . Has anyone here used some ebay headlamps , either the stock aftermarket replacement, or a halo kit ? Im considering just getting a different set , but not sure which to go with as either way Im going with HID's in them, and also considering HID's in the fogs as well.

Any and all information and or opinions are GREATLY appreciated as I would like to get some new headlamps as my stock ones are pretty hazed up even after a decent cleaning .

Chi_Town

I bought a set of projector halos from eby for 120 after i got them I complained a little bit and they knocked 20 off after getting them you will wanna black rtv seal the seem and both the light bulb sockets as well as the one projector light wiring they are the weak points bout 45 min making sure to be careful next some wiring is required as it does have a plug and play but it only operates signal high beams and headlights not the halos which are led. so they come with 4 wires two black two red ez enough splice the ends and cap it with a good 2 end crimp now your corner lamp bulb moves into the middle and has 3 wires 1 powers running lights 1 powers the blinker 3 wires all together brown = running lamps blue = blinker black = ground I first had them hooked up to running light but opted to cplice them to the blinker so when turning and active the halos would blink as well. all splice should be well crimped and than waterproof heat shrink wrapped the one qualm I have is it has a small gap aound the assembly but if you check out my profile I have a photobucket link showing the end result and some of the process

Head lights
97-03 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX BLACK HEADLIGHTS +CORNER SIGNAL LAMPS LIGHTS | eBay

Tails
Philips Lumileds 97-03 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX GT GTP SE BLK LED TAIL LIGHTS LAMPS | eBay
Plus a coat or two of nightshade and that should do the trick
VHT Nite-Shades™

Plug and play nothin to it!

Debadge, inlay, tint and I think you will be happy bud.

I think de badgin it so you might have the guise of being a gtp would be better than Projecting the fact that you not supercharged just my lil tid bit. I know they look good and all but its like sporting fake bling . alot of gtp owners will even debadge to make the car look smoother all around. but if you are just trying to add some color to the car I get it there is a thread on cheapest mods all under about 40 bucks that are mostly the lil tweaks your looking for.one in specific is lossing the door panels on the outside to give it a much smoother almost gto like side profile

I tinted my stock tails already, just going to keep those for the time being as they dont look half bad since i put a little time into them and actually made them look as "stock" looking as possible . I am however going to get those black headlights, do you happen to have a up close shot of your car 'Howlong'? I would really like to see what they look like on another black car.

As for the debadge im def going to , I just haven't gotten around to it, just started working at a Detail shop and was thinking about doing it this Friday as there isn't anything booked for my ship so i'll go in early and clean up my car and give it a nice buff for the weekend. And, what are you talking about when you brought up 'Inlay'?

Thanks for the help thus far guys

Chi_Town

Save money for a transmission.

My trans is shifting perfect now lol so that isn't a need .


Chi_Town

I painted the rear pontiac on my car and the front one on the plate inlay, It was cheaper then buying a inlay, however there was alot of time in taping, but i jacked the back end up and sat in a chair

I was thinking of just painting it as well , Did you take off the bumper or did you just leave it on and tape things off and cut around the letters with an exact knife ?

Chi_Town

I would rather spend the $10-15 and just get inlays instead of going through the hassle of taping,cutting etc and the chance you'll spray it wrong

Yea.. I just enjoy painting thing lol

I left it on just got the rear end up in the air so i wasnt sitting on the ground, I started my trying to tape over everything then cut it out with an exact knife but it wasnt working for me, so i used regular masking tape and carefully worked around the letters. If i were to do it again I would have gotten like 1/4 inch or even 1/8 inch masking tape so it woulda been easier around the curves. the front one i just taped over and cut out with a razor blade no problem

That's exactly what I was going to do and just use some paper to mask off the remainder of the bumper area. I was thinking of using the Blue painters tape though probably the 3/4" since it be a little easier to mask off. Seeing as it's getting colder and now starting a second job this will have to be put on hold for a bit.

If i were to do it again i would get like 1/4 inch masking tape for the curves, cause they were a pain in the a**