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BMW M3 Widebody - Project Beginning

12/14/2014

A past client and I have been talking about this build for over a year and it's finally starting.
I've had the car for over 2 months now, and with parts ordered and arriving, I was finally able to start on it slowly over the last few weeks.
This build will take a month or so to complete....well....because I'm a 1-man army and only get a few hours each week-night to work on it....the it's weekend party-time in the shop!

Here is EVERYTHING I'm doing to it:

Complete Headlight Retrofit with FXR Bi-Xenon Upgrade
Dummy Projector
Demon Eyes

Full Exterior and Interior LED Swap/Upgrade

Escort Passport Full Radar Installation

iPhone 6+ Integration (will run his entire audio setup as well as air-ride)
iStreamer Audio Output
Audio Control Matrix Plus Integration Module

Arc Audio 4 channel and Mono Amplifiers
Arc Audio 'Arc Series' Components
Arc Audio 'Arc Series' Coaxials
Arc Audio 'Arc Series' Subwoofers
Full Fiberglass Rear Seat Area for the Subwoofers and Air-Ride Setup
Entire Vehicle Sound Deadening via Audio Technix/CT-Sounds

Accuair Air-Ride System
AirLift Performance Series Air Bags
Accuair eLevel Air Management System
Accuair iLevel Smartphone Integration
Air Zenith Uber Compressor

Full Interior Swap/Upgrade/Finish
Misc Fix/Repair Items Throughout
Finish Rear Trunk Area

So...that's about it :)

Here is my first photodump of the sound deadening

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Mitsubishi Lancer - Aftermarket Headlights Traxized

6/17/2014

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A local client brought in his Mitsubishi Lancer for a headlight upgrade.
He wanted the look of dual projectors and had ordered a set of aftermarket headlights.....which came with a gang of aftermarket accent lights....most of which were junk (in my opinion)
So, I removed them, added what I knew would be better, converted the High Beam area to a fake projector, added Dual LED Halos and Dual Demon Eyes which are on a wireless keyfob and painted everything Matte Black....turned out great.

The amount of work that was needed to fit the fake projector in place was intense...but it's never been done before, so I'm all for something a bit outta the norm!

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Dodge Ram - R2D2 Headlights

4/20/2014

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This was a fun one. Took way to long to complete, but hey....I'm a busy one-man army over here!

Customer brought in his already Star Wars themed Dodge and said he had an idea.....he gave me a headlight and his R2D2 model and said "make this happen!"
That's all I needed to hear!
We started with a good performance platform: 3" FXR Bi-Xenon Projectors matched with Morimoto HID bulbs and ballasts...or and a MOPAR uber relay harness.
From there I did my "Resting Demon' eye mod so it looks Blue when everything is off.
Also added Blue Accent Demon Eye lighting to help with the lens.
For the Lens I did a custom one-off etch of the X-Wing Fighter Jet that Luke Skywalker flew (with Artoo DeToo).
Behind the shroud I placed a COB-Style Blue LED Halo
After that was done, Painting was next. Instead of making these EXACTLY like R2, I wanted to match his truck a little bit...so that's why I didn't do any White paint. I had everything painted his OEM Blue color, then painted over 90% of that with Matte Black. After, of course, I laid down some Rebel Alliance logos and converted the Apollo shroud to look like R2s top/head/thingy.
Customer already purchased some SUPER Bright Triton V3 Switchback Running/Turn LEDs, so that was taken care of.

What else is one this thing.....oh yeah! Something NOONE....I repeat....NOONE (To my knowledge and about 3 hours of research online) has ever created......a Princess Leia Hologram Projector LED. Yup....that's right Star Wars Nerds....if you have an R2 unit, you HAVE to have this.
This thing can actually project a 10'+ Leia image on the wall.
This kids got the first one ever....in his truck!
Come at me Lucas Films! ;)

What a fun build....my first 'themed' build and a great customer to work with.

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Evo X - Projector Headlights

4/1/2014

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Kippy's EvoX has always been on my 'To-Do' list for headlights. I worked on this car a few years ago, doing the Audio, Visual and 'other' electronic updates.
Well, since ISS Utah 2014 was only a few days away, I figured I might as well get this one knocked out so I'd have another vehicle to show off some of the things I can do with headlights to the Utah crowd.

EvoX-R Bi-Xenon Projector Upgrade with Clear Etched Lens
Fake 2nd Projector with Clear Etched Lens and Super Bright LED for DRLs
Dual Demon Eye Accent Lighting
Matte Black Internal Painting

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Cadillac CTS-V Custom Projector Headlights

3/20/2014

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Client of mine from down in Arizona sent another set of CTS-V lights for some modifications.
Here is what I did:

Custom 'V' Logo Etched into Black Series Clear Lens
Clear Lens Custom mounted and Spaced
Red Demon Eye Lighting to Accent 'V' Logo
Super Bright White Plasma Halo around OEM Projector
Internals Blacked Out to match Pearl Metallic Black

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Chrysler 300c - Custom Projector Headlights

3/17/2014

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Customer called me for a headlight upgrade.......because the front of her 300C was mangled during a wreck...and the cost of her expensive OEM HID Projectors were VERY expensive....plus she wanted to modify the new lights....so here is what we did:

New Passenger Side Headlights
New Passenger Side Valeo Ballast
New D1S Morimoto HID Bulbs
New Clear Lenses for OEM Projectors
Oracle Vehicle Specific Plasma Halo Kit
Morimoto LED Plasma Strips
Switchback module for Halo's to turn off when turn signals activated
Matte Black Internal Paint

After tweaking the OEM projectors...I was able to achieve a MUCH better cutoff and the new bulbs really changed the output of the projectors.
Too bad that AAC/Oracle can't get their quality control.....under control....and match their own kit's colors....but whatever....customer was happy.

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Dodge Ram - Projector Headlights and BMW LED Foglights

3/4/2014

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A friend brought in her Dodge Ram to get some new lights put on....here is what we did:

Morimoto MiniD2S Square Bi-Xenon Projectors w/ Trax etched in the lens
Blue Demon Eyes on wireless remote control
Morimoto 35 watt Elite HID kit
New aftermarket headlights and smoked taillights
BMW X5 LED Foglights

The new square projectors put out some serious light and have a great cutoff....plus the new square lens is PERFECT for vehicles that have straight lines in the front.
The BMW X5 foglights are not something you can just install on anything, as they are OEM off of the BMW, so I had to fabricate a bracket to fit them in there....but it looks as if they belong perfectly......that and these are EASILY the WIDEST light I've ever seen...these throw out a gnarly beam pattern that will beat any projector's coverage in the Width-Department.

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Nissan GT-R - Custom Headlights and LEDs

3/2/2014

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A client from out of town brought in his 2014 Nissan GT-R for some custom lighting mods.

Here is what we did:

Internal Black-out of headlights
Dual LED Vehicle Specific Halos (Green)
Demon Eye Accent LEDs (Blue)
Wireless 2 channel remote controlling the headlights
Lower and Upper Front Bumper LED Accent Lighting (Green)
Intake Vent Accent Lighting (Green)
Wireless 4 channel remote controlling the accent lights
Smoked the OEM Taillights
Smoked OEM LED DRLs

This thing turned out mean

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Solstice Projector Retrofit

2/9/2014

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Client in Massachusetts sent me his OEM reflector headlights for some lights to finish off his ride.....so here is what I did:

Morimoto Mini H1 Bi-Xenon Projectors
Morimoto H1 6000k HID Kit
Orbit Projector Shroud
Matte Black everything
Yellow OEM Matched accented Orbit Shroud

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Toyota Tacoma - Projector Retrofit

2/2/2014

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Client from Montana sent me down his 2013 Toyota Tacoma headlights to be upgraded to HID Bi-Xenon Projectors. On the menu were some TYC Headlights, 2.5" FX-R Bi-Xenon Projector with Clear Lens, Morimoto 5000k 50 watt HID Bulbs, Morimoto 50 watt DSP Ballasts, Apollo V2.0 Shrouds with Super Bright White XBled Halos and internals Matte Blacked out!

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GMC Sierra - Uber Mega Projector Headlights

1/18/2014

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This project was a fun one.....did this for a buddy up in Salmon.
Basically, I was told there was no way I could fit all of this stuff into a pair of headlights.....I think I proved some people wrong...

Quad Bi-Xenon HID Projectors with Trax Logo Laser Etched into the Lens
Triple Demon Eye Accents (Red, Blue, Red+Blue=Purple)
Triple LED Strips to accent the headlight internal lines
Quad Plasma Halos
Custom Modified Switchback LED Running/Turn Signal Lights
Demons are on a wireless 2 channel keyfob that lets you control each channel separately and at the same time.....can you say 'Pull Over!!"

The back side of these headlights were gnarly, but with my handy-dandy label maker I got specifically for this job, it made identifying wires VERY easy.

JUST the LED lights on alone are enough to be seen from blocks away....these things were BRIGHT!!!

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Ford Escort - Aussie Headlight Retrofit

12/31/2013

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Past client brought in his sweet Ford Escort that he's done some pretty crazy work on. One of which is why this retrofit is somewhat unique....he's converted the front end of his US Escort to that of an Australian Escort...so that means the headlights are a bit different. He had to pull a bunch of strings Down Under (take that how you will) to even get them to ship him these headlights.
As you can tell, the lenses are JUNK, but that doesn't matter, they are fluted and will be getting remade custom with clear lenses.....that's something I have yet to tackle, but I would like to look into it further possibly.
So for now, these are done!

3" FX-R Bi-Xenon Projectors
Clear Lens with 'Trax' Logo
White Resting Demon Eye Paint
Amber Accent Demon Eye Lighting
Apollo v3.0 Shroud with custom modified panels to fit
Satin Black Internal Paint

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Cadillac CTS-V - Headlight Blackout

12/27/2013

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Our buddies down at KPE in Arizona sent us another set of Cadillac CTS-V headlights to modify.
This one had a quick turn-around time so we are only able to black out the lights...not adding anything this time.
These lights are sick when they are blacked out.

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Yukon Denali - Projector Retrofit

12/22/2013

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Been working on this project for over 3 months......not continuously, but I had a split second to 'retro' the projectors on the car (while it was here getting some crap ballasts replaced) then fast forward 2 months and I'm finally ready to complete the project....this is what went in:

3" FX-R Projector with 'Trax' logo etched into the lenses
Fake 2.5" Projector retrofitted in OEM turn signal spot
Dual Apollo V2 Shrouds
Dual Plasma Halos (Yukon Direct Fit kit)
Morimoto 35ive D2S Ballasts
Osram Xenarc Bulbs
Switchback Bulb in OEM location (behind fake Projector)
Custom Fiberglassed Turn Signal/Running LEDs in OEM Side location
Matte Black Internal Paint

I installed HIDs into this car back in March-ish this year, and after a few months my client was wanting better lights....what better way than upgrading to Projectors! He wanted to take it to a different level than a simple retro. He wanted to get rid of the 'ribs' that normally surround the Denali upgraded headlights, so we went with a regular Yukon aftermarket light to clean up some of the lines. With that out of the way, he wanted the 'dual' look of high-end cars, so we went with a fake projector up top. Normally with fake projectors, they are just that....fake, and there to look OEM....not perform. Well, this one was different. I did the normal mounting (just aesthetic....not aligning them to output)...and once installed on car and SUPER bright switchback bulb behind the lens, I noticed an issue.....this thing PUTS OUT LIGHT....normally it'd be just a good indicator light...but the Driving Lights output light, and by that, I mean throws light a hundred or more feet.....so that may be an issue down the road, as I've never ran into something like this...but the customer and I agreed that he'd run around with them like this for now and see if issue pop up...if so, we'll simply bypass the running light portion into the High Beam setting. Crazy cool that it does it, but not necessary in my mind. Moving on, my client wanted to do something with the boring side mini light....I suggested a cool switchback led pod of some sort and with the mention of fiberglass, he was hooked....so I fabricated a custom 'ribbed' mount and went from there.
After everything was done, threw some matte black paint down and she was good to go.
These turned out SICK and are among the coolest looking lights I've done so far.

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Project DarkSide - LED Projector Foglights

12/5/2013

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Moving onto the second project of four on Project Darkside.....Foglights.

So, I'm using the same brand here....JW Speaker; but their smaller Fog Light series, which has the same lateral projector lenses, but stacked in 3...which looks badass when lit up.

Instead of using the standard Solstice Fog/Turn housing, I wanted to go with just the turn signal housing...as it gives me more room inside to play with.

After removing 50% of the light, I set the housing in there, aimed it, set it, painted it and sealed it back up....these are ready to go.....onto the taillights!

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Project Darkside - LED Projector Headlights

11/24/2013

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Introducing Project Darkside.....this is another Pontiac Solstice customization, but with a goal of making it look as if GM wanted to re-introduce a concept car....so everything is futuristic and LED-goodness.

This post is showing the headlights...here is what I used:
JW Speaker LED Projector Headlights - Evolution 8700 series
exLED Dual Color Halos
exLED Switchback Modules
Fiberglass....yup.....Fiberglass

3 Comments

Honda Accord Coupe - Gangster Headlights

11/24/2013

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Buddy of mine brought in his Honda Accord Coupe to get some gnarly headlights done.....goal here (besides being different) was to do something I've never done before, but put some new products and new techniques to use.

Here is what we did:
Clear Lens swap on OEM Projectors with 'Trax' etched in lens
Blue Demon Eyes in projectors
Morimoto 35ive 6000k HID kit for low beam
High Beam LED Matrix conversion on custom pod
Sequential turn-on for LEDs
Switchback led strip in 360 degree case
White for Running Lights
Amber for Turn Signals
Blacked out inner shroud
Whited out exterior shroud and turn signal area
Custom Hand-placed Paisley vinyl graphics with Clear Coat sealant

These lights are pretty cool....maybe not for everyone, but they sum up what 'custom' headlights should look like....a bit of everything.

This cars plan is to be at SEMA 2k14....so we have a LOT more planned: airbags, full system, and who knows what else.....stay tuned

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Hyundai Tiburon HID Upgrade

11/17/2013

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A customer brought in his 2003 Hyundai Tiburon for a lighting system upgrade.
They purchased new headlights (as the old ones were hazy and scratched beyond repair)....so they wanted to be able to see even better than OEM headlights were able to provide.......step in Morimoto 35ive kit.

Install was simple and the effects of the kit were immediately noticeable.

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SEMA Madness - Cadillac CTS and ATS Headlights

10/28/2013

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I got a call from an old high school buddy back in August and we spoke about doing some custom lights for a few of their builds for SEMA this year in Vegas....I was more than IN for this.......was told that I would hear from him soon.

2 months later he calls me back....3 weeks before SEMA.....come on JOE!!!! :)

Anyways....with a crazy schedule as it is already, I accepted...because not many solo business owners are asked to showcase their work in SEMA.....unfortunately with the crazy deadline I could only accept two headlight projects and they were simple......open, paint, add halos, close, ship.

Easy right???

WRONG.........
I introduce the headlight modifying community to the Cadillac ATS.......forged in the depth of hell (with their badass design and look) and sealed with material from Thor's Hammer itself.....seriously....the CTS headlights popped right open as most Perma-sealed lights should.....the ATS...ahahah....different story. These badboys took 2-hours EACH to simply open....and afterwards, it looked like a rabid beaver with dull teeth opened them up....I had to remove 90% of the OEM channel that held Thor's adhesives in place. That meant one thing......these ought to be a GEM to seal back up! After a massive painting fiasco (my painter's booth broke (possibly Thor himself pissed that someone opened these damn lights)) I started sealing these back up and re-building the sides with rock-hard adhesive to make sure they are not moving. The only downside in ALL of this is that I was not able to paint the custom made channel an OEM black color to hide it's hideousness....but only 10% of the edges show....and the client can touch-up that paint in a matter of minutes. Reason I didn't have time to paint them is because the second I got the parts from paint, they were CAREFULLY put back together and sealed up...and as soon as the edges were hard enough, they were all wrapped back up and taken to FEDEX.....CRAZY CRAZY SEMA.....oh well....hopefully it will be worth it.

Note to all Future ATS clients.....YES, I will modify your badass headlights.....NO, it's not going to be cheap. Sorry, I can't temp the gods themselves.....you have to pay to put my way in Thor's dangerous path.

To Thor himself.....I apologize for conquering your headlights.....mere mortal-noobs out there will attempt and be defeated....but comeon...this is Trax Customs.....If We Can't Do It, You Don't Need It :)

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Hyundai Sonata - HIDs and DVD Navigation

10/21/2013

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A buddy brought in his friend for some audio and visual upgrades to his 2013 Hyundai Sonata.

We went with the Pioneer Avic-Z150BH for DVD, CD, MP3, Bluetooth, Backup Camera, Navigation, Steering Wheel controls and HD Radio.
Retained the OEM Steering wheel controls
Installed a backup camera
Then I added some Morimoto HIDs to his OEM Projector Headlights
Hope this one will come back for some custom headlights down the road :)

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Ford Harley Edition - Holt Lights Batmaningham

9/18/2013

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Friend of a friend brought in his Ford F-150 Harley Edition for a serious lighting overhaul.
New Spyder Projector Headlights with CCFL Halos and LED accent lights
LED Turn Signal Bulbs
Morimoto HID Kit
RBP Black Grill
Blue Back-lit Grill Accent Lights
Blue Back-lit OEM Grill Accent Lights
Smoked 3rd Brake Light Housing with LEDs
9 (that's right.....9) LED Halo Switches to control all the lighting as well as subwoofer system accent lights
Interior LED Package Upgrade, Blue
Interior Floor Areas Lit, BLUE

(Parts Not Yet Installed)
Custom LED Fog Light Cluster in OEM Spot

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Nissan S14 Silvia - Projector Headlight Retrofit

7/28/2013

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A Buddy brought in his uber rare Right Hand Drive Nissan Silvia for some new headlights.

The stock housings had already been separated and had a new clear lens installed...which was a big help....but here is what I did to it:

3" Morimoto FX-R Bi-Xenon Projectors version 3.0
Custom Fit Apollo V1 Shrouds (Chrome)
Red Resting Demon Eyes
Red Demon Eye Accent Lights
"Trax" logo etched into the lenses
High Beam area converted to Amber LED for DRLs
Re-Painted certain areas black to match theme
Morimoto Elite D2S series HID Bulbs and Ballasts installed with Heavy Duty wiring harness

I've never had to cut so much of an OEM reflector housing as I did in this set of lights...I was about one more inch from having to custom make these from scratch...but I made it fit...and it looked great

This was a major upgrade to the lighting and the owner was stoked with them.
I know he'll love driving at night now....and I think these will be a good opportunity to break into yet another car-specific headlight arena.

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Project Beyond JDM - Retrofit Complete

7/10/2013

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Customer sent me some pics and a nice detailed feedback email today....it's always good to get quality feedback instead of 'thanks' or nothing at all.

These lights turned out great on the car and the customer is stoked!

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Project Caliberight - Back for more!!

7/5/2013

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Had my buddy bring his Dodge Caliber back in for even more mods....this time to the existing retrofit I did a while back.
I originally installed Bi-Xenon Projectors covered by a Gatling Gun shroud (version 2) with a CCFL halo. At the time, that was the best available.

With new technology changing all the time, the XB LED halos have been available and he wanted them...along with some extras.

Instead of sticking with the Gatling Gun shrouds, he opted for the Apollo shrouds (version 1) with White XB LED Halo's behind them. I had to custom make a back shroud to space the halo just right, as the 100mm I had didn't quite fit the 110mm opening....still very bright!

He also wanted Red Demon Eye lighting, which blends perfectly with this interior led upgrade I did a while back as well.

With the lights off, it's a slight change from the Gatling to the Apollo, but as soon as you start flicking those switches you notice a MUCH better upgrade.

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Project Beyond JDM - RSX Headlight Retrofit

7/1/2013

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Customer dubbed project, "Beyond JDM" featured some pretty gnarly products...most of which I haven't used before now....so this was very exciting even for me.

Customer provided some JDM RSX headlight housings, I got the rest:
Honda S2000 Low-Beam Projectors
'Black Series' Clear Lens Upgrade
OSRAM Xenarc CBI D2S 4300k HID bulbs
Gatling Gun Projector Shroud

Retro was pretty straight forward....had to borrow a local car from a car enthusiast to ensure proper alignment of headlights; as customer is out-of-state.
The Black Series Lens Upgrade was a must and provided an even better output on an industry standard for low-beam projectors. The OEM S2k projectors needed to be modified to fit the housing...and even after modifying the reflector as much as I have ever needed to, everything still barely fit.

All-in-all this thing turned out pretty sweet....I think it'll fit the project perfectly!