I'll walk you through a complete rebuild of a set of E&J headlights from swap meet to ready to mount on the car. Yes, you either love or hate them but if you are rebuilding them there are many little nuances you need to know. Little projects like headlights are rewarding because they can be started and finished in one lifetime. I was able to get this pair from a swap meet and the vendor let me open them to check the internals. He had not opened them because he did know how and "wasn't about to break one of them things". Now that the wife is gone, I can set up at the Kitchen Table for disassembly. As you can see above I have loosened the medallions on the back end of the light so the two clam shells will release. Once you have backed the screw out approx. 1/4 of an inch the cotter key inside stops you from backing it out further. (You will see this assembly in detail later.) The medallions are under spring tension and should pop out once the screw is loosened. However, most lights I have opened need a little tapping or persuasion with a plastic putty knife to pop open. Once the medallion is "out" of the locking position the halves will start to seperate. The machining on these is incredible and the fit is damn near perfect. Once you get them open this far they will not not continue to open from the back to the front as they fit too tightly against the rim. Once they are opened as above, you need to roll the top open from this side to the other. Now with it opened you can see the medallion on the left in the "out or release" positon. On the right you see the adjustment assembly at the rear of the composite reflector, the seam between the two pieces of the reflector assembly and then the front half of the reflector is fastened to the rim. Close up of the medallion release assembly. More detailed pics during assembly. In this shot you are looking at the adjuster assembly for the headlight and you can see the spring steel tension assembly (black with half circle cut out of it) holding the reflector assembly in place.
We are looking at the rear reflector with the adjustment assembly removed. SAVE ALL HARDWARE AS ALL OF IT IS CUSTOM LENGTHS, CONFIGURATIONS ETC. The washers look like regular fender washers but the thickness and OD are custom so unless you want to start making hardware keep everything. Above you can see the Amber lens that acts like a fog light for the lower half of the beam. I was fortunate that both of these were in pristine condition. Trying to buy missing or broken parts for E&J headlights is an expensive undertaking. Those three little screws look common enough, but their length, shoulder and oversized head make them E&J specific. Not even McMasterCarr will have them. You can see three holes in the large circumference of the reflector where the amber lens mounted and the three holes at the smaller circumference mount the reflector to the headlight bezel (rim). Again, special large heads etc on the hardware. Fully disassembled except for the electrical. You can see the original gasket around the edges of the lens protection the edges from chipping for 90+ years. Sometimes the lens will fall out so use caution. Sometimes it will not come out so don't force it. Soak it in a solution of Dawn dish soap and goop for a day or two and it should release. As a last resort use a plastic razor blade to coax it out of the rim. This is the focusing mechanism for the headlight. Note the two small tabs in the center circle; they register the socket in the adjuster. The arced slots allow pivoting and centering the assembly.
The bodies of the headlights are aluminum and the fit and finish is nothing short of miraculous. I will not go into the cleaning and restoration of the bodies as I assume most reading this know to use etch primer on aluminum etc. I top coated with PPG. On the inside care needs to be taken when cleaning the reflectors. You don't want to grab a towel and glass cleaner because the sediment from the last 90 years will scratch the silvering. First soak them in a warm bath with mild dish soap and agitate them occasionally. You'll be surprised at how much crap dislodges and falls away. Get some water boiling and make the following preparations while it is heating. (When your wife is gone) Get a pyrex or corning ware container that will hold boiling water and make an aluminum foil liner in the bottom (shiny side of the foil up). Once you reach boiling remove from heat, stir in 1.5 teaspoons of salt and 1.5 teaspoons of baking soda. Submerge the reflector and the tarnish will leave the reflector and bond to the aluminum foil. After 10 minutes remove from solution and dry with a hairdryer. Repeat if necessary. Make sure to clean up everything before wife gets home. I got most of this one submerged but had to go to a taller dish. My wife needs to get a better selection of corning ware.
Next up is preparing the badges and medalions. These medallions have a lacquer base on them that is removed with a little thinner and a soft brass brush. Here you can see how the spring pushes the medallion out away from the mounting assembly and clam shells when the screw is backed off. Need the same treatment as the medallions Prepping new stainless carriage bolts to hold the base on the light. 4 on left prepped, note the two on the far right are not even round when they come from the hardware. After the assembly was taken apart everything including the custom slotted screw was cleaned, buffed and then polished. Before assembling take the screw and stretch it out a bit. After being compressed since the 1920's a little stretching will help it pop the medallion out when your open the lights. The type 20 badge has been lacquered but I wanted to keep the medallions polished so here are the two parts ready for installation. The base of the headlight is two pieces. The half with the mounting stud (left side) goes inside the light and the female half (right side) goes on the outside/bottom of the light. The 4 new SS carriage bolts will secure everything together. (One of the only pieces of hardware that are not E&J specific.) Base assembled. Here is a new gasket from Steve's Auto Restoration. It matches the original precisely. (Do your self a favor and buy the gaskets as you also need one between the two halves of the reflector assembly.) Pieces staged and ready for assembly. Lower half of the housing has the rim fastened to it. No fasteners hold the rim to the top half of the housing. Note gasket on the lens. Amber half lens cleaned and ready for installation. Front half of the reflector in place with three screws and the amber lens is mounted with it's three screws. Note the circular gasket is installed to pad the contact of the two halves of the reflector. Here is one of the connectors that Steve's also sells. They are faithful reproductions and I have never been disappointed with there quality. I use Brillman wire as can be seen above. One done in the background and a quick test with the low voltage power supply on the second. Close up of the mounting system of the medallion. Note the cotter pin keeps the screw from coming completely out. Those two common looking screws are specialty shoulder screws that position the mounting plate without crushing it into the aluminum . (Save all your hardware.) Assembled and out in the sunlight. Now the Dilemma. I was planning on putting E&J's on my roadster but couldn't find any during mock up. Now the roadster is set for a pair of King Bees that I restored. What to do: 1. Spend a ton of time an $$ remaking the stainless mounts etc. on my roadster to fit E&Js. (Not happening.) 2. Hang on to them for a future project? 3. Make a headlight bar and mount them with low wattage bulbs in the house? (Wife not voting for this.) 4. Sell them to someone that will use them this decade? 5. Put them on the cab of my F-150 as off road lights?
Russ- awesome write up! Where did you get the idea for the cleaning method with foil/ salt/ baking powder? Are you teaching chemistry now too? Before we vote, I think you need to post a photo of your roadster with the king bee's and then mock an E&J in place. Inquiring minds...
Simply awesome rebuild. Never knew of the intricasies of these lamps, just hated 'em! Eyes opened to a trove of special parts, jewel-like fit, and superb finish! I love their 'uniqueness', on their own. But on my tub or roadster? Just couldn't do it.
Very good article Russ. Btw they need to go on your roadster. Jmo Sent from my SM-G900V using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Fantastic write up. Well done. Know the wife being away is important for commandeering the kitchen for workshop. Just got a pair very close to complete. Got gaskets from Steve's. Perfecto. I'ma doing a halogen conversion that olbanger has walked me through. Don't panic. Non invasive. It's incredible the workmanship put into these lights. Wonder what they sold for back in the day.? I am near the end and preservation is paramount given the ol-school tool and die trade is virtually non-existent. Again job well done. Sent from my XT1710-02 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I know this was written several years ago but it was very helpful this morning to review the best way to get these lights apart without doing damage. Thank you.
I can see why you are a teacher! And a darn good one too! What a great tutorial on how to rebuild these rare headlights. I was lucky enough to buy a set of these twenty years ago at a swap meet for a fraction of what they go for these days, but I've always been afraid to do anything with them because I'd heard they were tricky to work on. The reflector cleaning method is brilliant, because I surely would have ruined mine without knowing that. Thanks for taking the time to educate us! I was wondering what level of illumination they provide in the stock configuration? Is it enough for today;s highway speeds? Would a halogen or LED bulb upgrade be in order to make them equal to modern or at least sealed beam lighting? Thanks!
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