Greta Posted February 22, 2021 Report Posted February 22, 2021 Ok scrolled through the last several years of posts re Lights & not yet found the answer I'm looking for ... so here goes with another round of a topic that's already been done to death. Sealed Beam to Halogen Conversions - Please no refs to LEDs My existing sealed beams in both 7" & 5 .75" have an appealing domed lens and are in a matching "period" style - Can anyone recommend replacement halogen headlamps that have domed or curved glass lenses in a style available in both 5.75 AND 7"? So many halogen replacements have flat ( too modern ) lenses or suppliers have different patterns in the glass lenses for the two different sizes. My 7" need to dip but don't need side lamps, & I want to use my 5.75" for main beam only. Links & pics most welcome. Ta
thescrapman Posted February 22, 2021 Report Posted February 22, 2021 You can get Cibie ones in both sizes, though may not now be labelled as such. And really good headlights to boot. Euro Car Parts used to do the 7's on offer a while ago which helped.
Colin Lindsay Posted February 23, 2021 Report Posted February 23, 2021 Is it just me that can'r see the pics? nothing but a small blue ? in the middle. You can buy Lucas 700 headlamps that have been converted to halogen, so you retain the original domed period glass but get better lighting: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LUCAS-7-INCH-CLASSIC-CAR-SEALED-BEAM-HEADLAMP-HEADLIGHT-HALOGEN-H4-CONVERSION/133477888223?hash=item1f13e6f0df:g:WBgAAOSwY8JfIRFr
poppyman Posted February 23, 2021 Report Posted February 23, 2021 30 minutes ago, Colin Lindsay said: Is it just me that can'r see the pics? nothing but a small blue ? in the middle. Nor me... Tony.
NonMember Posted February 23, 2021 Report Posted February 23, 2021 I think Greta has made the (very common) mistake of pasting a link from an email client (probably a web-client, in this case Outlook?) into a public forum. For the poster, who owns the email account, it works fine, because their PC/laptop/iPad is recognised as being them and therefore has permission to access the private "attachment repository" belonging to their email account. For the rest of us it's a broken link.
Greta Posted February 24, 2021 Author Report Posted February 24, 2021 13 hours ago, Colin Lindsay said: Is it just me that can'r see the pics? nothing but a small blue ? in the middle. You can buy Lucas 700 headlamps that have been converted to halogen, so you retain the original domed period glass but get better lighting: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/LUCAS-7-INCH-CLASSIC-CAR-SEALED-BEAM-HEADLAMP-HEADLIGHT-HALOGEN-H4-CONVERSION/133477888223?hash=item1f13e6f0df:g:WBgAAOSwY8JfIRFr Thanks everyone. With Luck you should now be able to see my bonnet & headlights - thanks for the prompt as to where the problem might be. Thanks also for the link to Halogenized Lucas Unsealed 700's !!! - that looks as if it may well work at an affordable price Is there something similar ref 5 3/4 ?
Bfg Posted February 24, 2021 Report Posted February 24, 2021 You might look in old (pre-metric) Brit or American motorcycle parts bins (new or used) for headlamps with suitably period domed glass, which are not sealed beam. Mostly they had tungsten bulbs but H4's are readily available to fit. From the mid 1950's 7" became common place on bikes of 500cc and bigger, whereas you may find 5-1/2" fitted to smaller capacity models and off-road types. The smaller size may also be found among spotlamps which adorn scooters. Of course you may well find 7" headlamps that take H4 bulbs, which match the style you already have - so then you can leave the main-beam spots you have un-converted. After all how often do you tackle a night-time rally through forests ? Pete.
Mjit Posted February 24, 2021 Report Posted February 24, 2021 Don't you lose some of the car dipping functionality using motorcycle headlights? I seem to remember reading that motorcycle headlights just dip in the vertical plane, while cars dip vertically and also towards the pavement side (i.e. more of an "L" shaped dip than a simple up/down).
Colin Lindsay Posted February 24, 2021 Report Posted February 24, 2021 Didn't Reliant Scimitars use the smaller lights as a full beam unit? Wonder how their owners get on these days? They might have an uprated unit, or a good solution... must go check.
Bfg Posted February 25, 2021 Report Posted February 25, 2021 On 24/02/2021 at 09:04, Mjit said: Don't you lose some of the car dipping functionality using motorcycle headlights? I seem to remember reading that motorcycle headlights just dip in the vertical plane, while cars dip vertically and also towards the pavement side (i.e. more of an "L" shaped dip than a simple up/down). Not at all, the refraction of light pattern of a motorcycle headlamp lens is the same. However most motorcycle headlamps do also have the hole, or a bulb holder, for a sidelight as well (which may in part account for different part numbers). These can either be blanked off (a strip of electrical tape applied from the outside works fine to keep dust and moisture out) or utilised, even if your car has separate side lamps. It is perfectly legal to have four forward facing side lamps. However if bulbs are fitted then they have to work for an MOT, even if your car has separate side lamps. Motorcycle headlamp units are almost always held in place with spring clips to the inside of the chrome bezel, which in turn is clipped and screwed to the motorcycle's headlamp shell. And that whole shell tilts for height and is adjustable for direction. Many car headlamps, such as a Spitfire if I recall (..it's some 40 years since I owned one), are fitted between an inside adjuster bezel and its mounting shell. So, the chrome headlamp bezel on a car is non adjustable and is just there to hide the adjuster mechanism and to fair-in the headlamp's shape. Other types of car headlamp have brackets attached to their reflector bowl or rim to facilitate their fixing and adjustment. You'd have to see if your headlamp has any such brackets. Pete
Mjit Posted February 25, 2021 Report Posted February 25, 2021 Cool. Might give some interesting LED headlight options for the big saloon, as 5.75" a common motorcycle size...
Colin Lindsay Posted February 25, 2021 Report Posted February 25, 2021 If they're full beam only, with no requirement to dip, it allows for more options. BTW I've found the Scimitar versions: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/RELIANT-SCIMITAR-GT-GTE-64-86-H1-MAIN-BEAM-HALOGEN-HEADLAMP-5-3-4-5-75/373424109089?fits=Car+Make%3AReliant|Model%3AScimitar&hash=item56f1cfb621:g:F8MAAOSwAQ5gIZ~8
NonMember Posted February 25, 2021 Report Posted February 25, 2021 Those Scimitar units look like the same as the Stag. Would do nicely as a replacement for the inners of a Vitesse or 2000
Badwolf Posted March 3, 2021 Report Posted March 3, 2021 The headlight bowls on my Spit came off one of my old Toyota Corollas which was partexed with a pair of sealed beam units. The replacements with halogen bulbs, work as treat and were upgraded with fleabay Chinese import relays last year. All in all a great improvement.
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