Technical 1957 Ford headlight conversion

Me too...I like the stock ones.

 

Guy's Stop ganging up on me! Don't forget, I know where you Dwell! Lol!
Tim

 

My opinion is... I like the stock look of the 57 Ford. To me , they look nice just the way they are.

 

For those members here who actually like customs and aren't trying to turn the HAMB into the AACA message board, I'll post a quick pic that might shed some light on it.



Remove the bucket, and pie cut the flange where the bucket used to mount to, then bend them back to match the angle of the trim ring. Then mock up the headlight bucket from the back, and fabricate some stiff tabs to mount the bucket front behind, that will be welded to several of the tabs. 4 of them is plenty sufficient. Install headlight, and install trim ring with 2 trim screws. You're done.

In my humble opinion, it's a cheap, easy, and clean way to eliminate one of the few styling errors the factory made with the 57 Ford, which are those "bug eyed" headlights, and where the light has an actual brow over it, instead of sticking out with that long trim ring.

 

I'm pretty much a stock guy but this is a hot rod board, the custom touches are to be expected. The AACA guys on the AACA board are a hard bunch to get along with.

 

^^^^^^ Great tech! So you simply extended the eyebrow 1/2” or so? Thanks!

 

The extended eyebrow is independent of the head light conversion. That was just another modification I felt it necessary to make. '57s have a pot metal piece of trim to cover the brow of the fender where the headlight bucket is put into the fender. Many people who want to eliminate the seam will simply take that trim off, weld it all together and just smooth it out, which on one hand achieves the goal of eliminating the seam. But on the other hand, it seems like the easy way out to me since it shortens the brow, and causes a hard, sharp edge on the top brow, on a car that has much gentler lines than that.

What I did here was use 1/2" metal tubing, packed full of sand, and welded shut. I made a wooden buck of the shape I wanted, and used a torch to bend the tubing around the buck. Then I cut it in half. I welded that in place, added a small strip of filler material, welded everything up, body worked and paint. That extended the brow out about 1/2" total, and gave a much smoother edge without the seam.

 

Thanks for the tutorial!

 

IMO.....killing the bug-eye look and slight extension of the eyebrow makes the old 57 just about perfect!
IF I had a 57 that's just what I would do!!
6sally6