AP1 OEM Headlight Install
 

Greetings S2KI members,

I'm new to the S2000 club, having purchased a 2003 AP1 in February of 2018. The car is fairly stock, however the headlights appear to be aftermarket and are not particularly attractive to me. I'd much prefer to replace them with the OEM AP1 to maintain the stock look. My question is, how much do you all think the job would cost? I am not mechanically inclined and don't have much in terms of "tools" (don't shame me for this, I'm already embarassed), so I was hoping I could swing the car into a shop that could handle the job turn-key. If it's easy enough of an install that didn't require specialized tools, I'd consider doing it myself as a weekend project. I'd also consider used parts, but my preliminary searches didn't yield favorable results on this front. I'm also not too sure what all I would need, as the diagrams I've seen for the headlights included several parts that I don't know if I'd need in addition to the headlight assembly, given the current headlights are aftermarket and my not include them.

Just wanted thoughts and advice to consider before and if I'm to actually make the swap. I've attached a picture of the headlights if that's helpful at all.

Photo
 

https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.s2k...8669edf7ad.jpg

Factory headlights are VERY expensive if you want OEM. No offense but I very much agree with going back to stock.

Check out S2000.club [Your Honda S2000 Resource] There are a few articles in the Exterior section (remove headlights) that show you what should be needed. The front bumper has to come off so you may already be out of your comfort zone but I am pretty sure the aftermarket lights use the same mounts as stock. The hardest part is getting to them.

Thanks for the link and notes. It looked like ~$600 per headlight for new, so I was hoping to find a couple of gently used ones for a discount. If I could get the job done for $1k I would be happy, but I'm slowly coming to the realization that won't be feasible.

Look around on craigslist and the facebook forums for a used set. They go for 400-500 tops for a mint condition set.

Only thing to be worried about would be if any of the mounting tabs are broken. You can take off one of the aftermarket headlights for reference on the tab locations.

you have to remove the bumper

you'll need
- 3/8 ratchet
- 10mm socket
- 8 inch extension (for the bolt behind the headlightz between supoort frame and fender liner)
- phillips screw driver

Pop the hood

remove the 5 phillips for the hood seal, remove and set aside.

there are two silver bolts on each side in the hood that need removed, one is vertical one is horizontal on each side of the car bolts for the headlight

remove the phillips(or 8mm) bolts at the top of the bumper in the recession of the fender well linerlwhere the bumper and fender meet

unbolt the 11(?) bolts along the bottom of the bumper to the air dam

where the fender and bumper meet, pull down and outward, there is a grommet that goes into the bumper like a.dowel and you have to pull down 7-8mm to clear this grommet to pull out. once it is unclipped continue holding the top corner and then grab the bottom corner of the bumper pulling outward so the fender liner pops out. do this on both sides

once both sides are popped moved to the front of the car pull the bottom center of the bumper away from the air dam, them holding the top of the bumper and the air dam hole, the bumper should pull away with NO EFFORT

once the bumper is removed, on one side of the car remove the 4 bolts(2 on each side) for the headlight support and remove it

​​​undo the remaining bolts attached to the headlight, there is one hidden below the winglet frame behind the headlight between it and the fender liner

once the bolts are out, tilt the headlght backwards from the top into the fender sliding them outward as you tilt them back

unplug it, repeat the other side, reverse the steps to reinstall

this should only take like 30 min worst case, only go half way and get the bumper off to evaluate if you need the HID ballasts etc. then put the bumper back on until you get your parts

Here is a video on the replacement of headlights for our car. They apply Expel film at the end.

Very helpful. I called a local shop to get a quote and they're going to get back to me tomorrow. They did ask if the OEM ballast is still there, so this will be a way for me to check on that, because I guess that'd be another part I'd have to order and probably more more work.

I'll need to borrow some tools from friends... I finally have a garage now so maybe I'll start buying my own :D

You most likely still have OEM ballasts, these ebay headlights are designed to be plug and play with them. There are no such thing as aftermarket ballasts so the only other scenario would be if you have ap2 ballasts, which is unlikely (unless a previous owner had ap2 headlights.

Check ebay or local auto recyclers for sets. Ebay shows several sets for around $300. Used headlights are not difficult to restore if instructions are properly followed. Also, check with hmotorsonline.com I know they only have tails listed, but they may be getting headlights in soon. Hell, they sell an entire front end conversion for $1600. lol