Quad light pods from scratch for that Kustom look

I can't tell You how often someone asks what kind of car My quad lights came from, they always seem baffled when I tell'em I made'em. If You like the quad light look add a set to Your car, stuff You'll need will be= qaud buckets( I got mine from a wrecking yard), round tube or round stock( I used tubbing, sheet metal( cut up an old hood or trunk lid if Your not close to a metal supply house), and some perforated metal ( buy that new),You will also need access to a welder and a pair of tin snips, throw in some imagination and a tape measure too. Decide just where the buckets need to be( the location on the fender or grille shell depending on what kind'a car Your doing).

 

I cut My buckets down so I could use small fog lights for the bottom so I could cant them slighty, otherwise the lights would have been straight up and down on My grille shell. Next bend Your tubbing for the outter suround.

 

Next attach Your tubbing to form the outter perimeter, use the perforated to form a screen to dress off the front, make the screens removable to allow for headlamp adjustment and replacement, I welded nuts to the buckets to thread the small bullets into. that image is to big so on to the next step, because these buckets go on a grille shell I had to dress off the back, I made another ring for the rear and used a pair of large bullets to finish it off.

 

I used chipboard to make patterns for the skin, if You don't have an uph shop around use posterboard or a album cover, then cut Your sheet metal out and weld it on, I use a mig for this and keep Your heat setting down or You'll burn-thru like crazy and chase the thing all around, just tack and move, I like to use those triangle magnets to hold stuff cause I most times work alone. Well it says that pic is to big too( damn it I just don't know how to make'm smaller, I'm just barely able to work this computer). Anyway I think You get the idea, it just takes time and work and I think the quad light look really sreams Kustom, give it a try for Your next Rod or Custom. Von Doc

 

Bttt- maybe it needs some crying about von dutch to make it stick?

 

Hey Doc, not to be totally ignorant here but how do you get any light out of those bullets?

 

Never mind I get it....I thought you had a matching set for tailights...duh.

 

Root, the biger bullets are just to dress off the back of the headlight pods, I just tryed to post another pic but it said it could not go over 7000 bytes ( I don't know a byte from a bite, this new fangled puter stuff is beyond Me) I'm gonna see if one of the guys can downsize My other pix. Von Doc

 

Nice work Doc. Thanks.

 

Lets try this

 

O-kay what do know I think I finger'd it out, this pic should be a look at the outer skin going on.

 

Barnett, Thank You. O-kay so I got the other pix to stick, as You can see it's all a bunch of welding and grinding to finish this kind'a stuff off, putting quad lights on early fenderless Kustom Rods is double work because the back side needs to be dressed out aswell as the front side, but I think it's worth the effort. Von Doc

 

Hey doc send me all the pictures i'll shrink em and host them for a while

Garth

 

Doc. That's cool as hell.

One tip though..the lines on the head lights HAVE to be horizontal to the planet. If not, the lights will be all *** eyed when they are on. Learned this lesson the hard way...


Got any more pics?

 

Man, I was thinkin to make the same thing...! Nice work! Just got my grilleshell home today. I was thinkin to use some late 30's Chevy housings for the long tapered bullets to the rear, cut the bottom one shorter for the smaller 4" driving light and build a housing between them at the front. That or '60 Imperial lights laid sideways...

 

Dumb question, but could you post a pick of how you mounted the actual bulbs, and how they adjust?

 

James, the light bulbs themselves are held to the bucket in the stock manner( the ss rings hold them to the adjusters), don't forget I only made the surrounds, the buckets and bulbs came from the wrecking yard. Shiva69, I'll send those pix to ya latter tonite. Flamedabone, lights come on? hey man I never said those things light up hahahaha only kidding, to tell the truth I've driven a bunch of miles with them like that and it never has bothered Me . Rooster , thanks , I think the 30's Chevy's would be the plan, the way You descibed it sounds coooool. Von Doc

 

really slick...
i was wondering what the hell they were when i first saw pics of your truck... kinda figured you may have made 'em.
they set off the front of the truck very nicely...

 

Nice work...the bullets on the back are a nice touch. Looks a lot better than the guides everybody wants.....!

Brian

 

I got an e-mail asking Me to post a pic of the vechicle the lights are attached to( guess I should have thought of that Myself), so here is a pic of the truck I made the quad lights for, it's My chopped and channel'd 32 Chevy pick'em up. As You can see I followed thru with the bullet theme out to the back end, installing bullets in the 57 Ford tail light lens( the bullets are small enuff that light shows thru around the outter section of the lens). Von Doc

 

I never liked quad headlights until you made those, in fact I could name somebody we know that made some really ugly ones but I'll refrain. did you ever finish both sides?

 

Doc,
Thanks for the info.
I've been wanting to do something like that for the KAMAKAZI.
But could'nt quite get a picture in my head.
Your Tech really helped.
PHANTOM

 

hopefully these pics are a little larger. If you need some lightening done let me know

Garth

 

Shiva69, Thanks for fixing those pix, this puter stuff is tuff. Photo phantom, glad this was a help, when You add some quads to KAMAKAZI post some pix I look forward to seeing them. Primemover, Heck yeah man, I knocked the p*** side out right before the 4 Aces photo shoot( too bad the shoot got sent to purgatory). Von Doc

 

your welcome... i knew others would like to see the big picture

Garth

 

Quick technical question. By the look of it you've welded the tubing "framework" to the grille shell, then filled in the gaps with sheet metal. Did you then weld the top bit of sheet metal to the grille too? Just wondering whether it's all sealed and weather proof. I guess if you pull the light unit out, you get to the inside of the light bucket and finish the welding off.

Just curious.

 

Cool Doc. I thought about doing some Quad lights but I figured I'd ripped off enough of your ideas! I got a free set of guides that I am planning on running. Next winter I may make some funky nose for it like a Roth or Barris show rod. Here is a pic of mine a month ago just for ****s and grins.

 

Opps I ran Brootal's question and My answer all together, but yeah the sheet metal is weled all the way around for a full seal, again I'm sorry it took ten Years to reply . Von Doc