1964-1974 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
...the driving light 'buckets' in my 1974 III -- which I believe are factory original -- are NOT sized for 7" sealed beams, the size used in dual-headlamp systems. (The 7-inchers -- combination high-low beam units -- go in the retractable headlight pods.)
My driving light buckets are sized for 5-3/4 sealed-beams, the size used in four-headlamp systems that have separate high-beam and low-beam headlights. The electrical sockets for the lamps are the standard 3-contact connector, although only two wires are hooked up; so, BobD, if you added another wire and relay you'd be well on the way to having the combined 5-3/4 units you want. (The 'low beam' element of a quad-headlamp sealed beam setup has both high and low beams, although its high beam by itself doesn't provide as much light as the full quad combination.) Incidentally, these buckets ARE fully aimable, although reaching the aimers is something of a PIA (not related to headlamp maker PIAA!)
BobD is right in a big way about the flimsiness of these buckets. The metal cup is strong but the plastic holders that attach into the nose are seriously wimpy. As long as they're perfectly intact they seem OK -- but once they start to crack, the stresses get redistributed through them and they just go to pieces. I took mine out this spring hoping to fix some of the cracks with epoxy, and while I was trying to glue one piece, another chunk would just come out in my hand. I think the heat of the lights, the vibration, and the passage of time make the plastic brittle.
When I've got the nose off this winter I'd like to have another go at fixing them, but not sure what to do!... they're already so broken up that there may not be enough sound pieces to glue.
Any ideas? What I'd like to do is find a sturdier type of plastic with the same diameter, into which I could install the metal cups, but so far I haven't found anything. Somebody suggested PVC pipe caps, but the ones I see at the plumbing store are either too large or too small. I suppose I could use the existing semi-broken ones and reinforce them with fiberglass cloth and resin, but what a mess!... and I'm not sure it would work...
posted by 68.13.138...
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