Wtb: Headlight buckets(American Style)

[Tsingtao_1903]

I had some scrap metals laying around to test the idea. Folded them up and made a couple of U channels.  Lined them up with the bucket, marked and drilled to match.  Since the back wall of the nose slants in, these will naturally be parallelograms.  Cleared out the interference with the horizontal beam adjustment screw.  

 

Attached are some pictures.  The right headlight is as-is.  The left headlight is after the mod.

 

Looked okay as a concept.  I have already ordered an 1" aluminum channel piece.  This material should be a lot more rigid than my mock up.  

 

Good luck.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Tsingtao_1903

[rapandi]

@Simeon - Check this out what @Tsingtao_1903 has done. Its brilliant! This should work for us too!!!

[Conserv]

Very tidy, but does this assume that the headlights are correctly aligned when they are flush to the headlight surrounds?  That seems too tidy to believe....or is adjustment still possible?

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[Tsingtao_1903]

20 minutes ago, Conserv said:

does this assume that the headlights are correctly aligned when they are flush to the headlight surrounds?

No, it would be most fortuitous if the headlights are correctly aligned and correctly aimed after the mod.  All this does is to relocate the headlights further out closer to the edge of the buckets.  I do not believe the headlights will be flush with the rim of the buckets.  But on the whole, I think they will be close, and look better..  Each headlight will be adjustable as the vertical and horizontal adjustment knobs are still accessible.  

 

As of now, this is only a concept.  When I have the correct aluminum channel to do a proper mod this weekend, I will take pictures, do the headlight adjustments and post the results.  We will know better then.

Edited January 25, 2017 by Tsingtao_1903

[rapandi]

1 minute ago, Tsingtao_1903 said:

No, it would be most fortuitous if the headlights are correctly aligned after the mod.  All this does is to relocate the headlights further out closer to the edge of the buckets.  I do not believe the headlights will be flush with the rim of the buckets.  But on the whole, I think they will be close, and look better..  Each headlight will still need to be adjusted as the vertical and horizontal adjustment knobs are still accessible.  

 

As of now, this is only a concept.  When I have the correct aluminum channel to do a proper mod this weekend, I will take pictures, do the headlight adjustments and post the results.  We will know better then.

Looking forward to the updates!

[Conserv]

39 minutes ago, Tsingtao_1903 said:

No, it would be most fortuitous if the headlights are correctly aligned and correctly aimed after the mod.  All this does is to relocate the headlights further out closer to the edge of the buckets.  I do not believe the headlights will be flush with the rim of the buckets.  But on the whole, I think they will be close, and look better..  Each headlight will be adjustable as the vertical and horizontal adjustment knobs are still accessible.  

 

As of now, this is only a concept.  When I have the correct aluminum channel to do a proper mod this weekend, I will take pictures, do the headlight adjustments and post the results.  We will know better then.

 

Got it!  Awaiting further developments....

 

Regards,

 

Steve

 

[rmoore007ri]

I've a pair of the chromes filler rings without the gasket if you need them  . . .  There seem to be so many ways to put this all together  :-p

bob

Edited January 26, 2017 by rmoore007ri
clarify

[alixta]

Hi All,
Now that Raj has his order filled I'm jumping on this thread as I'm looking for the same.

WTB a pair of US sealed beam buckets with retainer rings in good condition. Happy with a bit of surface rust but they must be functional & not damaged. I'm not fussed on the filler rings as I'll fab up standoffs if necessary.

I'm in Brisbane Australia (about 20km from Raj as it turns out) so please include postage.

PM via forum is preferred contact. Ta.

[Tsingtao_1903]

Some updates.

 

As mentioned earlier in the thread, relocating the headlight buckets is one thing.  Aiming them correctly is another.  I can now add that there is a limit to how far out the buckets can be relocated.  It turns out that once the bucket is filled/touched the headlight, then, the side grilles still have to be able to mount/screwed flush to the nose.  The first picture is where an 3/4" aluminum channel was used;  The bucket moved about 1" out.  There was a huge gap as the grille could not be mounted flush to the nose.

 

After playing around with different channel widths, 5/8" wide was deemed the best. This is as wide a channel that can be used.  Because of the slant of the nose, the most the buckets can be moved was about 3/4" out (My geometry is a little rusty.  But, it is basically the hypotenuse of the right triangle where the long leg is 5/8").  

 

The next couple of pictures show that the adjustment knobs can still be access to aim the headlights.

 

After adjusting and aiming the headlights, on my car, the RHS bucket filled out nicely.  The LHS bucket filled out on one side and had a gap on the other.  On the whole, I am happy with how this turned out.  The front of the car looked a whole lot better.

 

 

 

 

[02Les]

Silly question time!

 

Can the US buckets, presumably designed for a LHD car driving on the right side of the road, be fitted and aimed correctly for a RHD car driving on the left side?

[71bmr02]

Logical question.   I would think  they can be adjusted to aim correctly because  adjusters allow a for a lot of movement.  Maybe mount left on right, right on left if that doesnt work??.

 

Gale H 

[Tsingtao_1903]

20 minutes ago, 71bmr02 said:

Maybe mount left on right, right on left if that doesnt work?

The buckets are designed such that they can not be swapped left and right positions.  I already tried that for a different reason.  

 

I believe the adjusters do allow for quite a bit of movement.

[Conserv]

5 hours ago, 02Les said:

Silly question time!

 

Can the US buckets, presumably designed for a LHD car driving on the right side of the road, be fitted and aimed correctly for a RHD car driving on the left side?

 

My gut, Les, says that the bare buckets are "neutral" and that the cutoff for LHD U.S. cars, is provided by the headlamps chosen and the adjustment screws.  But I could be wrong....

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

[Tsingtao_1903]

6 hours ago, Tsingtao_1903 said:

The buckets are designed such that they can not be swapped left and right positions.

Please allow me re-phrase my previous statement.  Yes, you can physically swap the right / left buckets and the mounting holes/studs will line up.  However, the bucket parts of the position-swapped assemblies will be pointed in the "toe out" position.  There is not enough movement in the adjustment screws to aim the headlights to point straight once swapped.

Edited January 31, 2017 by Tsingtao_1903

[02Les]

3 hours ago, Conserv said:

 

My gut, Les, says that the bare buckets are "neutral" and that the cutoff for LHD U.S. cars, is provided by the headlamps chosen and the adjustment screws.  But I could be wrong....

 

Best regards,

 

Steve

 

The reason I queried it Steve was......the Euro headlight reflector is specific (different) for LHD and RHD. It could be that the adjusters are "handed".

I'm going to have to see if I can find my old RHD headlights and compare them to what I bought over here.

Cheers.

Edited January 31, 2017 by 02Les
added text