@Kim Strobeck and I were at a beach cruise this last summer and we went to a BBQ with some car friends. We were camped about 20 miles away down an unlit hwy and we left after dark. The drive back to camp would be the first time either of us had the cars in that much blackness. Both of us run stock headlights with modern bulbs and chrome reflectors. Our headlights and fog lights lit the road fine, but our chopped, non-tinted windshields on lowered rides, made that a moot point. The oncoming vehicle's headlights nearly completely blinded us. I led and I was fighting for glimpses of the fog line or the center line. We could have been running LED headlights and it wouldn't have mattered other than blinding the oncoming traffic and getting in a head-on...and looking weird
Yes @porkn****** the 34 commercial lights are 9" in diameter. Aftermarket conversions or original reflectors are about it. I have seen the LED bulbs in stock Model A's and they are bright for sure. Not the best pattern with the stock lenses but a significant improvement. An added plus is they draw less so they work better with the 6V systems.
There has been a lot of posts on here about the subject, even some I’ve started. Here’s my take, it ALL depends on what you want from the headlights. ****This has been a subject that differs from person to person**** I think most halogen kits are brighter but still don’t create a beam that extends out 25 feet like sealed beams do. The good kits create a bright flood pattern just in front of the car that can be easily over driven and the bad kits create bright un useable light. You can use a kit to focus the beam but to me it comes down to the pattern on the gl***. It doesn’t matter how much light goes through the lens if the spread pattern was made for a car that wasn’t meant to go freeway speeds. The best for lights I’ve tried (for a single 7” sealed beam) is the Silver Star halogen, but they have a very short life. I have the Kioto ones in my panel truck and they’re good, almost as good (spread pattern wise) as the Silver Stars but last longer……they just look odd compared to regular sealed beams. On my ‘28 I’m going to use Guide 682 J lights with sealed beams. My .03
Wow!!! I am overwhelmed by the response to my question. I am going to spend some time and study the info presented here. Yes I do want to keep my 34 commercial headlights, the reflectors are recent repops so they look brand new. Thanks for the help guys will let you know how things turn out! Rich
To experiment ,You could take the headlight lens off, Go out side @ night with charged battery & reflector & move the bulb inward / outward to see difference, bulb Filament movement should be less then 1/2 inch pluse or minus to focus. Model As originally were adjustable.
This is not a new subject, but in previous threads it has been pointed out that repro/aftermarket reflectors are chrome coated, not silvered and as a result don't work as well.
Those Big tall Truck's & Car's kill my poor Ol'eyeballs as well, when I flash my headlights at (I think to make them turn off their highbeams) them, then the already 6 different Brite low beam lights turn into the really super bright high beams, plus two more lights, some up to 8 total lights killing everyone's eyes in front of them, I end up driving off the edge of the road. What happened to the law (I received several tickets driving on I-94 (1980's) with 2 sets of fog lights on, and my high beam lights on, 4 more lights, for a total of 8 lights, on my OT 71 Buick Skylark) saying, it's against the law to drive into on coming traffic with anything more then your 2 low beam headlights? The new Truck's and Car's have extra driving lights plus the regular headlights and curbside lights plus... all running at the same time, but they don't get pulled over and given tickets for all those extra headlights killing our Eye's. Okay, I'm off the soap box now... 1Nimrod
^^^^^^ Wondering about headlight & light laws myself, in Va it use to be a ticket .. So many driving with High beams on Alot of new vehicle lights so bright , Tow trucks/ construction pace vehicle & emergency vehicle led lights facing backwards , Lumens so bright blinding ,
And that's the main issue with 'upgrade kits', although not the only one. HID and LED have poor color rendition making it hard to identify some things. Halogen is the closest to natural sunlight, the light our eyes are evolved to. And on high beam, you want less light immediately in front of the vehicle. Too much causes your pupils to contract, limiting how far you can see. How far you can see is important when at speed.
What ever happened to the reflectors that Bob Drake introduced a good few years ago which placed the H4 bulb forward some to achieve this? They might have only been for 32's. I recall them being showcased but don't recall ever seeing then for sale. I could use some! Chris
My 1st open road trip with the Ford was on our Ocean Parkway, quite a desolate stretch late at night that is parallel to the ocean for about 17 miles. Very few cars so I was able to see how well the halogens performed. I was quite pleased on how well I was able to see.
Hello, In reading about the replacement bulbs for old hot rod driving, it seems simple, look at the websites. (back when no websites were around we had to go to the auto parts stores for the purchase choices) But, with all things being sold back then and today, check to see if any replacements are DMV certified for your area. Yes, Halogen lights are super bright and if angled correctly, can light up the front roadway well. From the time of high intensity headlights and accessory items, there is a notice on advertising that states, which law does not recognize the legality of the accessory replacement. So, be weary of the low cost or abundant supply of replacement headlights advertised as brighter than stock... If you decide to keep the original bulb units and add accessory lighting, make sure they are legal in your state or community. There was a time when ads had to be listed with that designation. "for off road use only," "not legal for public street driving." and sometimes, "check your local DMV approval..." or something to that effect. Jnaki Business with those accessory light replacements went on like nothing was wrong, until one goes through a CHP or local police/sheriff department vehicle road check on p***ing cars. Then, a ticket is issued if anything is not stock. If you decide to stay with the stock item and purchase an accessory/add on light system, make sure you have a secondary switch only for those accessory lights you added. So, watch which ones advertising that they have brighter lighting and ask about the legality on your own community roads. YRMV
@Happydaze , I have used the Drake reflectors that utilize revised, modern optics in both '33-34 and 35-36 style buckets. I rate them as very good. Now, however, they no longer seem to be on his sale site, except the 35-36 style are still available.
I have tried LED on my 34 stock style headlight. Awafull !! I went back to the h4 halogen bulbs, With Bob Drake special reflector. Stock bulbs are 55/60. I went to Hella 100/80 usa p/n 78159 much better! Bought on ebay! Make sure to run a relay! these are off road bulbs! Also, make sure the socket are clean and make good contact!! I had one socket, inside the headlight bucket melt a little bit? They do get hot! so, far the best thing I have found?
I see some 32 headlights from speedway HID, $630.00 + dollars? Are they any better? Big Money! Anyone ever use these?
I've got HID on my DD, I'm not impressed. I wouldn't purposely buy a set at any price. Terrible color rendition, worse than LED IMO (which may be why they fell out of OEM favor so quickly) and they don't actually have a low/high beam. They're high beam only, with a motor-driven 'shutter' that drops down to cut off the top half of the beam to produce 'low beam'. And while Cibie no longer sells standard round headlights, you can still get them from Hella. Close to Cibie performance, some are even made in the USA. The halogen ***emblies are generally under $100 a pair. Summit, Amazon and others carry them.
The reason I keep using the 25' rule is at least here in California when your headlights are adjusted they (the hot spot of the beam) have to project out 25' onto the ground AND close to each other (another measurement needed). This way you can see things before it's too late......or at least try to depending on speed.
Someone told me once that the lenses were lefts and rights. I do not know that this is true but if they are this would have an effect the pattern. I have seen afermarket fluted lenses that are an improvement. I wonder is they make them for your lights. It may be worth looking into.
For 8 yrs I use the Drakes reflectors in 2 cars , (32) For me No issues @ night driving , Beam/ hot spot been tested double speed limit of Interstate speed on desolate straight 2 lane road .
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