7" Marchal Ampilux headlights, $500

[Gordon]

Not mine, no affiliation, etc...

Wow, do these have gold filaments in them? I just bought a set of 7" Hella H4 lights off Craigslist a couple of weeks ago that are like new for $40. A set of Hella H4 lights are for sale for $30 OBO a few posts down. I'm hoping the seller meant $50 instead of $500.

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/pts/2875795909.html

G-Man

[Mike_B]

That's about the going rate for a nice set of Marchal Ampliluxs. They are dual bulb (H4 low / H1 high), dual reflector, and parking lights. They are the be all end all for 7" halogen headlights. I'd love to pick them up if I had the cash.

[ClayW]

If they're flat-fronts, that might not be that far off.

From http://www.dimebank.com/Light-up.html: "The best, bar none, 7" round headlights in the world right now are the Marchal H4 "flat face" lamps. Unfortunately, they are no longer manufactured, and are getting rare and expensive"

However, as Daniel Stern has pointed out to me, if not stored in proper conditions, the reflective material can degrade over time.

I'm not sure if I'd pay so much for a pair of headlights, though I do have a set of degraded flat-fronts that I need to get rebuilt, if I can just find a place to do it.

[Gordon]

I stand corrected, I just did a google search on Marchal 7" Ampilux lights and $500 may be a bargain for these lights. They are out of my ball park as for the price goes. I thought I paid a lot ($160) when I bought new 7" Cibie lights for my tii. If you are cheap and looking for new 7" H4 lights, these Marchal lights are not for you. Recommend you go with this deal

http://busdepot.com/details.jsp?partnumber=0301600118

If you want the best lighting available for your 02 and price is not an object, go with these Marchal headlights.

G-Man

[Conserv]

The seller knows what he has: Marchal Amplilux, and Cibie Z-Beams (the originals, not today's knock-offs) were the stars of 1960s and 1970s lighting, at least in the 7" headlamp arena. The Amplilux has two bulbs, two reflectors, and a lens designed to take advantage of them. NOS Amplilux are generally in the $350 to $500 range on eBay so this slightly used pair is pushing the market at $500. But if you're desperate, you can almost always find a NOS pair of Amplilux on the Ferrari parts "circuit," albeit at $800 and up!

Me? I'm still hoping to snag a NOS pair at a garage sale for $20!

Steve

[Conserv]

If they're flat-fronts, that might not be that far off.

From http://www.dimebank.com/Light-up.html: "The best, bar none, 7" round headlights in the world right now are the Marchal H4 "flat face" lamps. Unfortunately, they are no longer manufactured, and are getting rare and expensive"

However, as Daniel Stern has pointed out to me, if not stored in proper conditions, the reflective material can degrade over time.

I'm not sure if I'd pay so much for a pair of headlights, though I do have a set of degraded flat-fronts that I need to get rebuilt, if I can just find a place to do it.

Vintage-headlamp-restoration.com in Sheffield, England rebuilds (presumably expensive) vintage headlamps. Expensive? I'm certain. But a pair of flat-front Amplilux could be worth it!

Steve

[Conserv]

A pair of RHD Marchal Amplilux headlights, NOS, just sold on eBay UK for approximately $240 (£148.55), well below the $500+ prices I see for NOS LHD headlights on eBay.

Are the RHD countries simply not as interested in Amplilux headlights as the LHD countries? Was the selling of the pair separately a turn-off to potential buyers, afraid of being stuck with just one light? All of the above? None of the above?

Steve

[Guest Anonymous]

Hello there, I don't know if your Amplilux's are still for sale after all this time but I can offer you $350 inclusive of shipping if you are interested? I just bought Tom's for the same price but need 2 more. I look forward to hearing from you. Best regards, ian@thegailgroup.com.

[Conserv]

There is a current eBay listing for a pair of excellent Amplilux headlights:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/251235132099?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649

There are currently no bids and the minimum bid, $299, is attractive for an excellent pair of Amplilux lights. But, unless you are looking for a pair of RHD Amplilux, there is a reason there are no bids: a good Amplilux user/buyer recognizes they are RHD units. And, as I've mentioned in this string previously, RHD Ampliluxes simply don't bring the prices of LHD units.

Here's how you can tell the directionality:

An Amplilux has a high beam reflector, an H3 bulb, and a "sub-lens" in its lower half. The sub-lens is an area almost devoid of ridges, with its top "shoulders" at approximately the mid-point of the larger lens. From the center of the entire lens, the shoulder on the side of oncoming traffic drops or "droops." Thus, on a LHD unit, the right shoulder droops, as you view the light's lens. On a RHD unit, the left shoulder droops, as seen on the eBay examples.

Here are a couple photos of the version/model you want for a LHD 2002. This one dates to the 41st week of '83.

Steve

[jerry]

for a car other than a 'garage queen', i'd be hard-pressed to install $500 GLASS headlights up front, and SO vulnerable to all the rocks, pebbles and other debris normally associated with chipped and cracked windshields.

it's a danger zone driving on california freeways these days...

[Conserv]

Quote

for a car other than a 'garage queen', i'd be hard-pressed to install $500 GLASS headlights up front, and SO vulnerable to all the rocks, pebbles and other debris normally associated with chipped and cracked windshields.

it's a danger zone driving on california freeways these days...

 

Expensive crap shoot? Maybe. But I've been lured into complacency by years of relatively good luck with headlights. Do high quality, period-appropriate headlights acquire, over time, a fine mist of lens nicks? Yes, but it takes many years and many miles to accumulate them. In my experience, something else claims the light's life long before stones. I've run Marchal and Cibie upgrades on my 02's since '73, and over maybe 200K of accumulated miles. I lost one Cibie Z Beam to a missed red-light (my personal stupidity), a Marchal H4's refector to rust (after 30 years use), and that's it. Admittedly, 100K of those miles were on my '76 with its huge bumpers; they may have protected the headlamps from the same threats that claimed my original Marchal 850 auxiliary lights.

At this point, my 02 only goes out on sunny days, so one's appetite for risk must also be determined, as you say, in light of the car's intended use.

 

Regards,

 

Steve

Edited November 18, 2019 by Conserv

[eurotrash]

I love these lamps. But the asking $$ has gotten too rich for my blood. I love my Marchal Ambers, and wanted a set to match them. I have settled for a set of standard H4 Marchal lamps instead.. still a bit hard to track down. And I still need to install them. Interestingly, I have a couple 7" and 5" Marchal motorcycle lamps that I will be using in my cafe builds too. How I ended up a a fan of French lights, I will never know

.

[Conserv]

Quote

How I ended up a a fan of French lights, I will never know.

 

At the time I got really "into" German cars -- late '60s, early '70s -- either Hella and Bosch weren't marketing their best lights here in the U.S., or they simply weren't producing the equivalents of the best Marchal and Cibie lights. From '65 to '80, the two most outstanding performers were, first, the Marchal Amplilux and, later, the Cibie Z Beam. That's how I wound up a fan of French lights.

 

(I also ran a set of '77 Marchal H4s for years: good lights!)

 

Regards,

 

Steve

Edited November 18, 2019 by Conserv