Hot Rods b-l-c headlamp ?

I have a set of b-l-c headlamps 682-j and was wondering are they rare and worth anything. I'm asking because I saw a pair of nos going for a good amount of money. Mine are not in as good of shape. I do believe they were the original for my 31 reo. Just wanted to know.

 

You can always put them on Ebay and find out what they are worth.

 

The ones from big trucks with the weird mounting boss are not worth as much as the regular kind. If they have "innie" mounts they are from a truck. If the have "outie" mounts they were sold as replacements for 30's cars.

 

682 BLC's are as traditional as it gets for '40s to '60s hot rods, imho. By 1940, or so, all headlights were becoming sealed beams, and BLC's were the standard replacement for a high percentage of Model A's and similar cars. As I grew up in late '50's and early '60's, Model As were still fairly common on the streets and as many, or more, had BLC headlights as had original headlights.

Value is not great, but $100 a pair, mol, is not uncommon, depending on condition.

 

Got a photo of the lamps?

 

Original lights on your REO would have been bulb and reflector.

By about '40 when seal beams came into use, car lights were all in the fenders. The sealed beam BLC, Guides, etc were used to retrofit earlier models along with OEM use on big trucks.

 

brass tags with brass rivets are worth more than steel tags with steel rivets... brass tags are pre-war 1936-1942

 

Hey Larry, just curious where you got that info. I have heard the same thing, but have also been told that brass tags were used up to the mid 50's...not sure which is correct.

I believe the earliest Guide/BLC buckets lacked tags altogether (they were stamped with manufacturer and/or model #) and had conduit connectors like early Ford lamps.

 

I was told years ago by an old guy that they started out with brass tags, and when WWII broke out they had to ration brass for munitions. So they went to steel and aluminum. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it.

 

Makes sense to me. Wish someone would do a comprehensive history/study of B-L-C and Guide for those of us that 'nerd out' on that kind of stuff.

 

I do know from research that B-L-C stands for Brown-Lipe-Chapin, and at one time they were purchased by the Guide headlight company.

 

Lots of good info. I'm selling the project with them, just didn't want to give them away if they were worth something. I'll add photos tomorrow for the hell of it.

 

Here's a link with some good B-L-C info

http://www.hotroddisorder.com/2013/01/guide-to-blc-headlights.html