I have a 2004 Bonneville GXP that I wrecked last year. Guess Ill start putting it back together... My 1st issue is the head lights. One is cracked so it has to be replaced so I may as well upgrade to something different. I was reading about the retro fit but I'm still not so sure what that is. What is the cheapest and best way to replace these lights? Im reading that the lights are different from other Bonnevilles but is it only the tint on the glass??

Thanks, This is my 1st of many post to come in this restoration.

If I'm not mistaken, the only real difference is the sidemarker/reflector is a tad darker than the regular Bonneville headlamps. Otherwise I believe they are almost identical.

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2000 SSEi *sold 9/27/15* December '12 & May '15 COTM
2005 Grand Prix
2009 G8 GXP #418 of 1,829 November '15 TOCOTM

GXP and 2005 SLE has darker chrome reflector bowls, flat black glare caps, and blinker housing is gloss black, also HIR high beams.

All others have bright chrome reflector bowls, chrome glare caps, chrome blinker housing and standard bulbs.

The lenses are the same between the two with the exception of the GXP has a small text saying HIR vs 9006 or 9005 which you can't even see anyway. All other components are easily swapped as well, I have not yet found an aftermarket GXP headlight either, every one I have found are the standard lights.

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Ryan

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

You can basically make GXP headlights out of any normal lights with some black spray paint. PM Harofreak00 for some replacements, if you choose to go that route.

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-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Thanks, I ordered these...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/310772712647?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT


Hope they work. If its not a good look then I may just swap the glass.

They will fit no problem, they are the standard headlights though, not the GXP lights with the darker look.

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Ryan

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

If those are Depos, may God have mercy on your soul in terms of opening them and successfully sealing them back up again. That is, should you choose to make them GXP look-alikes.

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-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Depos?? Whats that? ...So its hard to swap out the glass?? I had an idea to paint the inside of the light black or white. The car is white.

Depo is a company that makes replacement lights for these cars. On the face of things, they're perfectly fine. But when you want to open them up, they are not user friendly whatsoever. Also, the lenses are plastic not glass. You'll need to remove the clips, heat up the lamp, and use a box cutter to cut the adhesive, placing something every couple of inches to keep the lamp open while you work your way around. If the adhesive comes back into contact with itself, it will in some places glue together and need to be cut once again. There will be lots of prying, sweat, potentially blood, and most likely swearing as well.. Hahaha The housings are made of very delicate plastic so you need to be patient and go gently and carefully around the lamp. Here's a thread to give you an idea:
exterior/topic9348.html

Which parts were you planning on painting?

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-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

I was thinking about painting the black insert white to match the car. I want to white everything out. Not so sure. I want to do something different and unique to the car w/o changing the look to much.

I dont think I want to take the time to open them up. If I dont like the look when they get here then Ill just buy some used GXP lights. I actually should have waited. I didnt know that this forum would be so helpful.

As a group we try to be more helpful here rather then bash people for not knowing things we all take for granted with our experience with these cars. If you come here and ask a question that was just asked yesterday and also once a week for the last year, almost always you will still get an honest answer without being bashed and told to search for it.

With that said, we do have one member that has painted the inside of his lights white like you are saying, it is different but looks good I think. your-ride-pics-and-videos/topic43877.html

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Ryan

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

It's not something impossible, it's just a lot more difficult versus OEM lights. If you decide you still want to open them up, I can show you what you need to paint to achieve the GXP look.

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-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles

Thanks! I think I like the white in the lights.