Hey everybody, just got a brand new '72 Supreme convertible, well new to me anyhow. Car is in great shape just a few "minor" tweaks needed. Anyway, I decided to upgrade the sealed beam lights, and of course the screws are rusted in place. It looks like I need to remove the buckets to break them loose from the back side. Problem is I don't know how best to do this. Am I going to have to remove all the front end trim pieces like the grills and the I guess headlight fascias(don't know what else to call them)? Or is there an easier way? I considered just backing out the adjustment screws and wiggling them out, but this may cause more trouble, just need some advice. Please help! Thanks, Mike

 

Welcome!
This is when PB blaster, WD40 or liquid wrench are your friends! Spray them and wait a day spray again and use a well fitted tool to romove them to avoid strripping them.

 

Thanks for the reply Rob, I have them sprayed with PB now. But what do I do if this doesn't work?

 

To remove just the lamps, the front bezel will need to be removed first. Then it will be those 3 screws holding in the stainless retaining rings. These are the 3 pains.
Use a WELL fitted screwdriver in the slots. Lots of inward pressure and then twist. A power driver may help. If they end up stripping, then they will need to be drilled out. Now it might be possible to use vice grips on the screws from the back if you pull the buckets but hopefully you will not have to go there.

 

If you want to remove the headlight buckets, look for the spring that is down in one of the lower corners. The spring will be attached to the main headlight bracket and will have a hook that attaches to the headlight bucket itself. If you unhook the spring from the bucket, you can slide the complete bucket, light and retaining ring off of the adjustment screws. I have a tool that has a hook on the end to get at the spring. You might have to find something with a hook on it or try bending something to make it work. Pliers are hard to get a good bite on the spring especially when putting them back together. Be careful with the SS trim retainer as there is only 1 or 2 little spot welds that holds the seam together and it doesn't take a lot to break them. If you have the bucket assembly off the car, you might try supporting the back of the area where the screw is against something solid and put a screwdriver on the screw and give it a good shot with a hammer to see if you can shock it loose. Hard to do this on the car as the bucket wants to move. Hopefully that will work so you don't need to drill them out. When you out them back together, put a little anti-sieze compound on those little retaining screws to prevent this in the future.

 

Thanks guys I'll give it a try and see. Glad to know I don't have to take entire front end apart. Believe it or not I used to know most of this stuff but I gave up wrenching for nursing years ago and am just now getting back into cars. Will let you know how it all comes out and post pictures soon. By the way one of the trim rings has a broken loose tab already, having a real adventure finding a replacement. Any suggestions?

 

roomer....you struck a chord with me when you mentioned nursing. I have a daughter who will graduate next year with a BS in Nursing and I have a lot more respect for people in that profession than I did before. She is focused on a career as a ER/Trauma nurse and actually secured a paid summer externship working in an ER/Trauma center through the end of July. So today's your day. Send me a PM with your address (I assume you are in the US) and for $5 I'll send you a used headlight retaining ring that I have. The $5 will cover the Priority Mail.
Brian

 

Brian, if you will pm me your address I'll send you the money. Thanks again for the help. Good luck to your daughter, she is entering a very rewarding and also stressful field. My wife and I are both ER/Trauma nurses with about 40 years of combined experience.

 

roomer, you have a PM.