Wow thanks Chris - you doing this fer ya '38 twuck? Might use this 2 Thanks Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have experimented with substituting one kind of lamp with another in several bike headlights. It can work well for high OR low beam, as long as you are very careful to get that lamp filament in exactly the right spot, but since I've never found any better bulbs with the same distance etc. between the high/low beam filaments as the original lamps it has proven to be impossible to have both low and high beam working well. With the lamp in the right position for low beam to work well the high beam is either a super focused spot straight ahead, or spreads very wide with little reach, often with a black spot in the center of the beam. Move the lamp to get the high beam in correct focus and the low beam develops the same kind of problem. I only jumped through this video w/o sound on so I don't know if any details were discussed, but in lamps looking like these I would be more tempted to retrofit the entire modern reflector behind the original glass, that would make sure both low and high beam works, and no problem trying to get the lamp in the right position in the reflector to focus well. Hopefully the glass works well enough with the reflector.
Did that with the '36, and the '37 Chevy headlights on the '34, only I used an adaptor and simply opened up the hole in the reflector to accept the new bulb holder. Either way, you get modern Halogen lighting and the proper domed glass lens. There isn't a "U-Pick" yard within an hour of me, so it's not really cost effective to search for used stuff when I can buy and have it shipped...
Well done 'how to' video. I don't have a torch, so I would have tried JB Weld. On the other hand, I have been really happy with the Bob Drake conversion reflectors. I've used the 33/34 commercial buckets and the 35 - 37 buckets. In both cases I added a turn signal socket to the reflector. Drill a 1/8" pilot hole where you want the socket. Then using a flat, 3/4" spade bit, drill from one side and before going all the way through, stop and drill from the other side. Makes a nice clean hole. Lights work great. This is more costly than the do I yourself product, but is very easy. Phil
JB weld would not survive the chrome plating process to finish the reflectors so that idea would be out.
mike I bought new cibie units with curved lens havnt used them yet but from previous experience the lights should be good and fitted into the 38 buckets without any mods.i plan on using big bulbs (wattage)
I think the original lens is the limiting factor.light technology has moved with the timesid expect a quality modern unit to give the best light but sometimes they look out of place.
Yes, it may be a limiting factor, but the job the lens on old/old style headlights does is only to spread the light wider right & left - the light coming from the reflector is usually a more or less round pattern, the glass widens it to make it more useful. More modern headlights, like this european Volvo 740, obviously uses the lense in a much more sophisticated way. Different areas of the lens has been designed to aim the light differently, for example the diagonal lines on the lower right that gives you light higher up on the right side of the road than on the left - to let you see better on low beam w/o blinding oncoming traffic. The old lenses has some of this, just not as sophisticated. I think they still do a fairly good job, and getting the filament in the lamp in the exact right spot in the reflector is more important. But sure, to get the best possible light a complete modern unit with all parts made to work together is probably unbeatable.
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