French headlights - oui ou non?

No, not frenched headlights. Amber headlights used in France and French colonies until the early 90's.



I kind of like the continental look they give my Mercury. But, yeah, they're probably illegal.

 

Where does one get those headlights in the US?

 

I'd say if its got halogen bulbs, you could lay it face down and drop some dye down in it and let the dye work on the inside.

 

Ooooo, then you can make some pink ones instead of amber!

 

Illegal lights?

I w***n't aware there was such a thing as illegal when it came to running a car on the road in America. Just look at some of the Rat Rods for instance..

 

Somebody on the HAMB said they were wrapping their bulbs in the colored Reynold's Wrap to get the same effect. Could do any color.

I've only seen those amber colored bulbs once before, on a French Mercedes sedan from the 60's. Interesting for sure.

 

I used to run imported French cars in the UK. Very few had yellow gl*** - usually it was a special yellow bulb. These are still available. No real problems with using them - they are just (obviously) not as bright as normal bulbs.

In the 80's virtually all French cars still had yellow headlights and a UK car with white lights at night would get lots of honking and flashing with French drivers making a big deal that they were being "blinded". Some British drivers used to buy a yellow "paint" and it was common to see them applying it while wait to be loaded on the Channel Ferry.

They all run white lights now and amazingly it's not a problem for delicate and sensitive Gallic eyes.

 

Yellow lights are legal in the US

 

yellow lights are illegal in the state of IL because when I was in highschool I drove a 53 chevy 5 window P/U and it had yellow lights and that was my first ticket. Not sure about other states but IL is a no go with the ambers. I do not remember them being dim but that was back in 1993.

 

I made some using Duplicolor metalcast paint. It's transparent, adheres well and comes in many colors. Mine were amber and the more coats you put on the darker. Cost less than $5.00. Mine were on a 4 headlight system and I did them on the brights. Looked awesome.

 

Now that 'Merikin cars got bulbs you might check ..... laws change

 

Don't know where you can get them, but I had a friend who p***ed away last year who had gotten a amber cover for the H-4 bulb on his motorcycle. It was really yellow and bright.

 

Je peux apprécier voulant vous faire quelque chose différent cependant ces lumières sur une voiture de 50's américaine. ..it ne va pas juste. J'aime ces lumières beaucoup mais pas sur cette voiture

 

Pourqois pas?

 

True story.

 

Est-ce que tous le pain grillé en France trempé dans l'oeuf frit et?

 

Parle Vu aghhh HUMA HUMA ??????????????/

 

We had a bunch of the old style(non-halogen 45/40W)headlight bulbs at the dealership I worked at that were yellow.Mercedes-Benz shipped them to us by mistake and it wasn't worth sending them back.

If you can find someone who has a DIN decoding list(similar to SAE standard part numbers) the basic code for bulbs is 72 601 and it will give you a 10 digit part number for the part.Should be able to order them through any parts store that specializes in foreign(other than USA)car parts.

 

Ce pourrait être parce que je n'ai pas vu beaucoup d'exemples de ces comme les phares avant mais plutôt les lumières de brouillard. Maintenant Im curieux pour voir des exemples !

 

Mon chien a mangé mon phares

 

Back in the day, custom rod mags had advertisments for an actual lens paint to achive that look. Like JC Whitney carried it. In the past i've thought about trying to locate something like that.

 

I found mine on Evil-Bay (search for amber headlights round). They were about $35 with shipping. Cheap enough for something that may end up as temporary.

They're not an exact replacement for the SAE headlight. I think they were listed as 175mm dia. A little less than an 1/8 in dia from the SAE. The locating nibs are clocked a little different, too. I just let the amber headlight sit on the bucket and tightened the retaining ring to hold it in place. A more permanent installation would require new locating slots to be cut into the headlight bucket. If the amber ones look like they are rotating over time, I'll cut the new slots.

 

Texas???

 

I dunno, it looks like the car is kind of jaundiced with those yellow lights.

I have to vote no for the yellow lights.

 

I was thinking more of French Guiana! Besides, I don't think any region of Texas was ever part of the Louisiana Territories!

 

Je dois convenir qu'ils sembleraient meilleurs sur une voiture française des années 50 mais elle est toute dans l'oeil du spectateur.

 

Isn't that spelled "GAY-LICK"?

 

Voila! A 1956 Chevrolet with somewhat amber headlights! Though, they look to be yellow bulbs behind clear lens housings. Anyway, the car was featured in the 1958 French film Mon Oncle.

 

Check your local DMV rules. In California, headlights must be white.

 

Texas....Its like a whole 'nother country...