Put sealed beams in it and reuse the headlight rings. They can fit. More up to date check Drake's or led conversions I suppose.
Let me add to this. Ok n my Dad's '36 headlights have the sealed beams and we put my original glass lenses with the '36 rings back on.
Now I have some sets here that I need to research installing brighter bulbs and signals on the original reflectors but that is for another day.
If you want truly GREAT headlights, fit a pair of 7" Cibies… http://www.danielsternlighting.com/products/products.html No matter what anybody else says, anything else will be a lesser install.
Yes listen to only Crazy Steve , do NOT listen to anybody else whether here, on the street , your father or brother. Just direct any future ? directly to him.
If your looking for buckets find a set of '36, if looking for lenses find of set of '36 lenses, if going custom I like these!
I converted my 36 lights to LED w/ park & turns too and but I really never plan to have her out after dark...YMMV
Bob drake do replacement reflectors, purpose made, that use modern technology to go with halogen bulbs. Definitely the best way to get great headlamps with stock look. I have tried several set ups on my '32, and the Drake units are by far the best. I go one step further and use high efficiency bulbs (plus 120 - that's still 60/55 watts, but 120% better light output. These aim and focus well, no extra glare for other traffic. We have regular vehicle inspections in this part of the world, and these reflectors pass with no problems. Garpo
Hey, he asked for GREAT headlights. Yep, they're not cheap (but neither are Drake's conversion kits) but will put more light where you need better than any 'vintage' lights will be able to manage with their obsolete optics.
I thought about that, but know they are not GREAT. Wondered about zenon. Not sure even available in 7" sealed beam. Maybe "cibies " in that fashion. Thanx for info. Love the Dodge stockcar!!!!!
I've owned or driven different vehicles with 'high performance' lighting, and Cibies are still my favorite. I don't like the LED or HID lights for a couple of reasons; one, their color rendition is generally poor being rather narrow spectrum. This can make recognizing objects more difficult sometimes. Second, they have a fixed focus. High beam simply throws 'extra' light further, without reducing the close-in light. You may think that's a good thing, but it's not. By moving that bright spot from right in front of you to further out, that allows your eyes to dilate more (allowing in more light) so you actually see better both close-in and distant. My DD has HID lights, and while they're good lights, they're not great. If you want the very best, convert to four 5.25" Cibie lights (low/high and high). I had a set that with legal lamps and adjustment would light road signs out to almost a mile on a clear night...
I whole heartedly agree with Steve. Cibie or even Hella make the best optic lenses , I've used both in my past cars, E-Code to be exact, and would never choose ANYTHING else. These paired with the most efficient bulb will really make night driving more pleasant, especially when you get OLDER!! My 36 had the Bob Drake reflectors and 60/55 bulbs, although they worked alright, the beam pattern was less than exciting, had i not sold her, I would have done the sealed beam upgrade on the buckets and used a superior system.You just have to get past the fact that you're lense will be flat-ish instead of the beautiful contour of the original, but if it will save you from hitting that deer, elk, bear ,,what have you, it's worth it.....also some might argue that sealed beams arent traditional on an early styled build, they were made standard equiptment on all makes in 1940. My DAD always scorned me for the original lights on my 36 Chevy and Ford saying that in the olden days they were usually ditched for sealed beams. Mitch.
Top stock buckets have Drake conversion and do pretty well at night. I love the look with parking lights and turn signals included. Bottom are 40 chev that I tweaked to fit the fender contour so could be removed... and they were and sit on my shelf now... might want to change the look of another of my 36s one day.
Ol'Henry got a few things right. A few examples would include 32 grille, 37 tail lights, 40 deluxe dash, flatheads, wide 5's, roadsters (any year) and 36 headlights. You don't tug on superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with 36 headlights!
Drill out the rivets on the stalks, get some 2" long screws that fit the rivet holes, add some 1 1/2" tubing spacers between the inside of the housing and the stalks and you got "channeled" buckets. Can't remember what mag I read that in.
^^^What you are doing is raising the mounting bracket that holds the mounting stud up inside the bucket; effectively lowering the headlight bucket. The stalks are used around the new screws to raise the mounting point of the headlight stud further up into the headlight bucket. I hope this helps but ain't sure I'm very clear.
My latest kick is using some 41 COE lites we had laying around... they take 7" beams, now can do cibies.
The '36 bucket itself is the same thing as '35 car and '38-'39 truck. Only difference is the shorter stud and mounting hardware on the '36 bucket. I have the Drake reflectors with '36 car lenses and rings on my truck. You could use the flatter '35 car/'35-'39 truck lenses and rings on your '36.
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