I am hoping for some ideas that I havent thought of. I want to french the headlights on my 46 Merc. I figured the 51 Merc rings would work, but when I tacked them in I realized they are too close to the grille surround. I cant see a way to weld both pieces then fill them and finish the area. I thought about using a 46 type ring which sits flusher, but they have a groove and they are stainless So all of you metal gurus, how would you french these headlights??
You could trim them down to a minimum, basically creating more of a tunneled headlamp which would fit the fender better as well.
If the shells were left full size and the fender was trimmed instead, just big enough for them to fit through, you could attach a new mounting flange to them to mount the headlights.
OK I am starting to see your thought process here but if I attached the headlight to the ring I would think it would be flimsier and cause the headlight to shake and wiggle. Unless I am missing something in your idea. I had thought of trimming them but couldnt see a way to do it evenly so the ring would sit flat against the fender.
I would like to see how this frenching style is done. I like it because the lamp isnt recessed, but almost flush. Are they building a custom ring?
the 2 above look like a smaller ring welded to the fender. your stock headlight rings might work or look at a 49-52 chevy or 49-50 ford shoebox, they have nice thin headlight rings. you put the headlight in, then trim down the slimmer ring until it sits flush with the headlight, then weld. I think this is the way to go, that gap is not pleasing to the eyes.
Yes, those have a custom made ring, made of steel rod to go 'round the headlight, and then sheet metal fills in the gaps. I did a Kustom 51 Merc a long time ago, where I used those 54 Ford headlight buckets. I didn't like the way they stuck out so far, so I welded the Ford bucket to the assembly that holds the headlight itself. I then cut out the entire assembly, and sunk it back into the fender, and filled in the gaps with metal. This would give you the room you need to clear your grill surround, too. I can search for pics, if can't imagine it.
If its not too much trouble I would like to see some pictures. I am having a hard time making this old brain see that. If you weld the bucket to the ring can you still change the bulb?
I think those frenching rings are way too far out... I like the ones you posted above. My pop frenched his 47 chevy with the stock rings an the headlights are mounted from the back, they look identical to the ones on the green car. have you looked at the stock rings? Maybe the could be welded on and slicked up?
this may help explain how those are done... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=318056
Look at the 56 F100 headlight rims. The OD of the rim is the larger and fits against the fender (slight trimming required). The ID of the rim lines up with the headlight. The headlights are recessed about 1 3/4 inches. You have to make some tabs to relocate the buckets inside the fenders. Street Rodder did an article on this a long time ago. If you like the recessed look of the 56 F100 headlights, you will like it on your car. Sorry no pics.
Me again. I think tyler's setup is pretty slick and executed very well, but just in case you're still undecided, here's some pictures of cars I found, many having Ford/Mercury rings or tunneled headlights using the same rings. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/?p=1880 and http://www.donshotrodpage.net/Editorials/ModCustomsV01.html As far as the final setup being flimsy, I can't give you any input since I've never done it that way myself and I don't know what tools you have to work with. I'd think you could make a flat ring to fit inside the ford outer bezel to mount the headlight to and reinforce it further with a gusset or two if needed. You would probably want a drain hole in the shell ahead of the headlight flange too, so it doesn't retain water that the tires will inevitably splash on it.
I've never thought of using F100 bezels, they've got quite a flare to them. I wonder if the Hagan kits were styled after them, or is it just coincidence?
On my 42 merc. convert. project, I used 48 stude. headlite rings & used 49-50 ford headlite assy. buckets mounted from the back side, with screws welded on to hold it in place & the fit was perfect, just like in the late 40's & early 50's.
Went through some OLD albums and found them! If you have any questions, shoot...with this method, you'll get the old style look of the lights being flush with the body, but tunneled in slightly. The advantage of doing it this way, is that you still have a removeable trim ring, so you can replace, or adjust the headlights without doing it from under the fender. That's a big plus in my book!
Thanks for the great ideas guys. I havent been on much because my real job interferres with playtime sometimes. Anyway I tried a smaller ring and it looked pretty good. I would like to find one about 1/2" thinner. This one is 1 1/2" Tyler, the way yours looks is exactly what I wanted, thanks for sharing that. I looked at the links landseaair sent and some great ideas there too, but the big problem for me on this car is the humongous grille surround. There are a ton of 46 Fords and 50 Mercs but not so many 46/47 Mercs. Most of the ones I have seen, the front end has been left ugly stock Only one 46 Merc I saw has had the headlights frenched and they were done with the 51 Merc rings and the surround was bolted in and not smoothed. OK so I pretty much have a plan to use the thinner rings. The Stude rings look good, but so do the 49 Chevy rings. Does anyone know what rings are about 1" thick? Thanks again for all the help and advice
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