1980 Vette. I need to replace my actuator on my headlight and need some general instructions. Do I disassemble the headlight from the outside or do I replace the actuator from the inside. Thanks

|UPDATED|10/4/2004 10:03:21 AM (AZT)|/UPDATED|

Hi relayer,
I did one of mine with the hood on (my car is undergoing slow renovation)and scratched the hood but it doesnt matter since body work and paint have yet to be done,so don't do it that way.I did the other by removing the hood.This was only to remove the actuator,I got at the nuts from underneath with an extension on my ratchet with a swivel socket and did most of the disconnecting from there.The hood was no big deal to remove with a helper.I spray painted the hinges on the hood and surrounding area before removal, to leave a "footprint" for aligning the hinges when re-installing.I have also seen people scribe around the hinge for the same effect if you are worried about overspray.Hope I helped.Maybe some other forum members will give you some more ideas.
Jules

Relayer:
I removed my actuator (82 CE) through the front nose grille. After removal I found out the actuator was fine but the rubber boot was torn. This causes the vacuum to be lost (hissing sound when lights are operated)and the lights won't work. You can buy a boot replacement kit which comes with boot, snap ring, etc. Corvette Fever website use to have a step-by-step article which explained the removal/replacement process. If it is not still there let me know and I will fax you the article.

Got it! It didn't even put up a good fight. Took about 1 hour. I got it through the opening under the nose in front of the spoiler. The trick was to moveit from it's housing after the four bolts where removed to the center of the nose with the hood down. Plenty of room to pull it out with hood up from the middel. Some things are easy!