Technical MODEL A HEADLIGHT UPGRADE

I had posted on a thread yesterday about headlights the OP was asking questions about, he had what appears to be a Deuce headlight and a Model A on the other side, I had noted that if he decided to use the larger headlight the Bob Drake had a new replacement reflector and a halogen bulb that is far superior to anything that has been offered in the past.

Sometimes my ramblings can be as clear as mud and a fellow member sent me a PM this morning asking where he could find it for the model A, I am not aware they do make this replacement kit for the Model A but I am told the reflector for the kit is made like the new mini cooper and it is made of plastic and has a entirely different look than the old conceived metal reflector.

Reflector outside diameter: 9 1/8"

The question is do any of you guys know of a company that is making this kit avalible for the model A headlight? HRP

 

I believe Brattons sells a high quality reflector that is very close to original and a halogen bulb up grade that from what I hear is night and day (pun intended) from the original.

 

Drake has more than one modern reflector size. I've used both the 34 commercial and 35/36 size.

 

Pretty cool that the new updates stuff works so well,too fix the poorly working old big lights. Very nice for restored to factory stock old cars.
In the early 60s we'd make jokes about those old big lights,that when you turned them on,the light fell on the front bumper,but not the road.!
In the 50s an 1960s,nothing like that was around,so we trashed those crappy big lights an replaced them with 7in. seal-beams with nice racy looking small buckets.
If there had been back then the brighter update ,a few less sets of big size old lights would of not been trashed canned,as most were,not used on most hot rods.
I see now days,big old lights used on hot rods now,an shake my head,they look ugly an wrong on a rod that is built other wise to look like 50sn 60s hot rod style. Yet the now owners have little to know idea,he has just sucked up the trendy bubble of now BS,the same bubble with Moon Tanks on front of a street driven rods that are not drag cars an all the other BS that was not how we really did things.
So now that the big old lights can be fixed,dose that make them jump out of the trash can in the passed=NO
But it seems too,for those that didn't live the times.

 

Dana, you have hit the nail as square on the head as humanly possible about the BIG headlight issue.
The joke here about those big, clunky, POS headlights was that you had to strike a match to see if they were burning, LOL The reflectors were at best tarnished and often rusty, the bulbs were highly sensitive to vibration and required frequent replacement, hell I could rant about them all day
Just another one of the things these youngsters are way off base about.
First thing anybody did to an old car was to get rid of them. Many times it was with a kit from somebody like J.C. Whitney, which replaced the reflector lens as well as the bulb, using an adapter ring and a sealed beam light, Those worked well but still looked awkward with that ring, which often rusted quickly, surrounding a much smaller headlight, all enclosed in a bucket way bigger than needed.
If you could get up the cash, and the car was one with the lights on a stand or bar similar to the Deuce, you got some Dietz or King Bee lights The bucket was only large enough for the sealed beam unit
Either way, if it was an old Ford with the 3 brush generator, and you drove a lot at night, it was a good idea to convert to the later 2 brush generator with a separate voltage regulator, as the sealed beams pulled more amps than the old bulb and reflector dinosaurs.

 

Sorry guys, I'm a old fart and here in the upstate of South Carolina I vividly remember hot rods with big headlights and I was around during that time, I love the big headlights, I've paid my dues and If you like the small headlights use them, for me I like the original equipment lights, and dropped headlight bar. HRP



From the website - Each style features our modern reflectors, carefully designed by our optical engineers to correctly project modern Halogen candle power through original-style glass lenses. This produces a super bright light beam that shines where you need it without sacrificing the original headlight appearance. These kits offer the brightest, safest lighting ever available. Comes complete with everything you need for both headlights including reflectors, bulbs (Hi & Lo-Beams), wiring, lens gaskets, hardware and instructions. Reflector outside diameter: 9 1/8in.

 

Danny,I just became a old fart/78 today,O wate,I was at 77 too LOL Opsssss.
I do understand some one liking them big old lumps,but there are, like all things ,factors that form our ideas.
I'll give a fun compare; Mom's cooking is the Best;;who can say no!!! LOL
Liking them is cool too,understanding why others like or dislike big headlights can be odd,as some can't even tell if asked.
I do cringe at how many things are trendy now an seen as the way is was,but was not a regular practice.< Done by most everyone.
The town/area one grows up in has a lot to do with it,when ever we talk about what it was like when we were in our teens,same for how active one was in any hobbies at the time.
I'm sure there are those that saw more,but do feel I was lucky seeing as much of what was going on in car hobbie as I did=pretty big over all view.; So try to pass along how it was.
Exposure****=Did I have a better over view then others. ?
For me in the 1950s n 60s in Florida,I lived in Miami,I started going to big indoor car shows all around the state. At first it was good way to get cash by doing pinstriping n names on cars,I started air brushing Wild Car T-shirts at shows,under my art name,"The Bat"so even more shows an towns. About year later I put my 28A roadster in shows too,an in 1960 my full custom Henry J in a lot of shows. The "J" got into Car Craft Mag. in Jan.1963.
Plus joined 3 car clubs late 1950s n on. Doing so was super good for getting an trading info n help,plus feel of what most were doing.
Point being my cross view of hot rod an custom practices maybe wider then some an lower then others.
Miami was very active hot rod n custom wise,in the 1950s n 60s.
I'm not saying,don't like big head lights,that's up to you,but I am saying ,understand that by end of WW2 ,big were trashed, not used by most hot rodders,and many of the older cars still being driven had added after market 7in. Some States made two 7in. the law.

 

I'm not real certain, on Danny as to his age, but Dana just stated he turned 78 today, so Happy Birthday there, me lad
And I'm fairly certain my turning 83 in Nov. will top Danny also
As to the headlights, it's all in what you like and prefer, but in my area back then, most everybody that could scrape up the funds got rid of those lights using separate bulbs and reflectors and went to sealed beams

 

Thanks,Just got my self some BBQ for my birthday too.
This Sat. nite 4;ooPM to 9;ooPM,s our week for Shorty's BBQ car show in big parking lot out back..

 

For me, it depends on the car or truck. Some look good with the large lights, some look good with the small ones. But not all of them look good with what they have on them.....

And Dana has 17 years on me, so no, I wasn’t around before 1959.

 

I lived back then and I always liked the big ole lights better. To me the small ones look goofy. So you see, as with everything else, its is, and always has been just a matter of choice as to our individual tastes.

 

Another old fart here checking in.

 

I tried several set ups in my 1932 Sedan. Some of the halogen conversions are a joke, with poor beam definition and lots of glare for other road users.
I am using Drake reflectors - definitely the best I have used.
We have to do regular safety checks here by law. My testing workshop asked what I had done to the lights -- the best he had seen on an early car.

 

so sorry to be toooooo young to be on this forum......
would you like me to remove my original lights and replace them with some tiny aftermarket ones, or just pull all my photos off your forum ?

 

another old fart
like large lights

 

I like small headlights as much as large ones with those adaptors to take smaller sealed beams that look so wrong,imho.
I’m not gonna bag other peoples likes or dislikes though, just an opinion. I suppose I just have no idea either. I was always taught to respect my elders, I’ll leave it there as I’m apparently almost one.

 

I think that it all depends on the look you are trying to create. In my opinion, early full fender-ed cars look good with full sized original type headlights, where fender-less hot- rod type cars / trucks look good with the smaller type headlights. If you look at some of the early hot-rods, they have headlights that usually came off of trucks ,and used the 7 " sealed beam lens.

 

Old fart here too. Big '34 Dodge 2-1/2 ton big truck headlights on my old Sedan Deliv.

 

Yeah, I'm a kid, I turned 70 back in April. HRP

 

Danny, I got scares older than you

I like the big headlights too.

 

Stock 1930 headlights with Speedway halogen upgrade, drilled out the original bulb socket in the reflectors, jb welded in the halogen sockets, they are better than expected, very bright.

 

I guess I'm a youngster, I'm 57 so I grew up reading the car mags from early 70's up and I always preferred the smaller, dietz and king bee style myself.

Each his own though !!

 

Those look nice and bright for sure. Have you tried an after dark approach to the car with it's lights on to ascertain whether they have enough focus in the reflector to avoid blinding oncoming traffic?
I have in the past been involved in some conversion efforts on OT late model MK8 Lincolns, and it proved to be quite important as to placement fore and aft relationship between reflector and bulb plus even the layout and quantity of the flutes in the lens. Hard to get the bulbs situated to get good road lighting and not blinding oncoming traffic.

 

I agree. I like the original lights and am glad they upgraded them to work today. The small king bees look out of proportion to me. Alot of things were done back in th ed day because something better wasn't available.

 

Yes, they give excellent visibility and good beam angle down road, no flashes from anyone.

 

Another old fart who likes big original headlights.
Brattons sells a halogen bulb that fits the original sockets.

 

Yet another old fart in favor of stock headlights. Especially with '28 fluted lenses.

 

The original replacement reflectors have been around for at lest 30 years and I had them in my '32 Ford 4 door sedan, they were made exactly like the originals and a pristine finish really improved the lighting at night, but there were still the same shadows that were common with the original reflectors.

The newer reflectors now are designed much like the chrome plated plastic that is used in the headlights of the mini coopers, they are also equipped to except the halogen bulbs.

This reflector is far and beyond what has been available in the past and lights up he road like any new car headlights, it is equal to any seal beam head light and absolutly zero shadows.

There was a time when the lighting was lacking and I had my headlights on hi beam all the time and no oncoming traffic ever flashed their lights. now I have them flash their lights when I have them on dim, I usually give them a quick flick and I have no more problems.

BTW, I have done a extensive search trying to see if the new reflectors are made to fit the smaller 8 1/2" Model A headlight bucket, thus far I have been unsuccessful.

HRP

 

HRP
Brattons sells a new reflectors for Model A’s