Aceshigh

Does anyone know if there is anything out there like this for 1970 Olds Headlight conversions to modern day bulb assemblies ??

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/7-HAL...Q5fAccessories

Texascarnut

Nope! The best you will be able to do will be sealed beam halogen which may require adding a relay to the headlight circuit.

Yellowstatue

Actually I have been using Cibie headlights for over 30 years -before there was sealed beam halogens- H4 bulbs for low and high and H1 bulbs for high beam...after all this time the light pattern looks the same as modern cars, except for the wide horizontal reach. It took me over a year on Ebay to get a new set of four-one by one-the lenses are still pretty clear-only summer cruising-the reflectors are starting to show some flaking. I have three sets in use, two on '68's and one on my pick-up... Because of the cost of these lights, the clear plastic stone guards I stumbled upon came in handy to prevent any accidental breakage...then I found a much flatter design guard, which when installed is almost invisible from a couple feet away, but with the headlights on during the day-time a lot of heat builds up and at the Woodward Cruise I melted the left cover and distorted the right one ...sooo back the the bulbous style These lamps are made in France and Belgium and are used on Ferrari's, Porche's and others over here...so when you find them they must be for left hand rule (right hand rule for Britain and other funny places) They also make them in rectangular shape for '80's cars...I didn't get any for my Regency's because they were winter beaters...

Aceshigh

Are these the one's you're referring to??

I found a nice writeup on the conversion on a VW Bug.
http://huelsmann.us/bugman/CibieTech.html

So far I'm finding them for $85 a pop.......ouch.....pricey

72 cutlass455

I use a set of these on my low beams on my 72 cutlass they require some modification to the headlight bucket as the hole in the back of the tub is not large enough.

Yellowstatue

Yes- those are the correct lights, but without the city lights feature. I have a 7 inch set for my '57...I missed on one Ebay, I only bid $105. The Jeep people like those lights too!! If you do use those lights on the high beam lamp (H1) be aware that there is a positive and negative cuz the high beam plug will go either way!! Also try to find those clear plastic stone guards for protection...

Yellowstatue

I didn't have to do any mods to the '68 buckets, maybe your rubber boot is a larger style

Aceshigh

I found a cheaper option then the CIBIE's or Hella's.

Ebay -
Diamond Style or Euro Style with H4 bulbs and H1 bulbs
http://stores.shop.ebay.com/Autopal-...34Q2ec0Q2em322

Yellowstatue

Those look like pretty cool headlights....a lot more affordable than the Cibie's....another thing I forgot to mention is you might need to install a power relay because the high beams draw a lot of current and will blow the internal breaker on the headlight switch sooo I installed a GM pwr accessories breaker (wndos,seat, ant, roof, etc.) on the rear of the rad cradle in front of the battery using the ground screw for the headlights so as not to drill any new holes and fed the high beams off that relay... proper headlight aim is now very important

Aceshigh

Relays are an absolute MUST for these older cars. Both high beams, and the regular beams.

You get ~3x the illumination from just adding relays to your regular headlights in some cases.
This is a kit for headlight relay setups from MAD Electrical. Big time guru.
For newbs, you can just buy 1 kit, and then copy it cheaper.
http://www.madelectrical.com/electri...adlights.shtml

http://www.danielsternlighting.com/t...ys/relays.html
10.5V : 510 lumens
11.0V : 597 lumens
11.5V : 695 lumens
12.0V : 803 lumens
12.5V : 923 lumens
12.8V : 1000 lumens ←Rated output voltage
13.0V : 1054 lumens
13.5V : 1198 lumens
14.0V : 1356 lumens ←Rated life voltage
14.5V : 1528 lumens

Yellowstatue

Now that was really educational I used a fused wire to feed the relay and I only used the relay for the high beams and I did not cut any wires in the installation of this mod

defiant1

Aces

Where did you install your relays? I have the kit coming from MAD enterprises and was looking at the engine bay today to try and figure out the best place to mount the relays.

d1

Aceshigh

Opposite side of the battery, mount a 1" x 12" bent piece of Aluminum bar stock from Home Depot.
Paint it black. Mount it to the steel behind the headlights.
Buy these relay sockets, they inter lock AND can be mounted.
http://order.waytekwire.com/productdetail2/M50/75280/RELAY%20CONNECTOR/

As for the relays, I get all my relays from Waytek.
http://order.waytekwire.com/scategory2/M50/240/300/Relays/Relays%20And%20Solenoids/

defiant1

Thanks for the pictures and explanation. Did you run the wires (that came from the drivers side) between the grill and radiator or under the shroud?

d1

joe_padavano

This thread may be back from the crypt, but there was an article in the recent issue of Rod and Custom about cutting the lenses off of T-3 bulbs and installing the reflectors from H4 halogens to make a "T-3" with modern brightness. The beauty of this is that you can use a burned out T-3.

65cutty

whats city lite mean?

Yellowstatue

The city light is a small bulb inside the headlight (see picture in above post) that comes on with the park lights...In Paris I believe that they used to drive around with only the park lights on within the city limits. They now drive with their headlights on! Too many crashes I guess.

White_Knuckles

Wow, that voltage-lumens chart is really interesting. I've considered using relays for the high/low lamps upgraded to H4 and leaving the high beams as sealed lamps. I use high-beams so little that converting them to H4 is questionable.

I've read by using relays to the headlights, you actually gain voltage on the dash lamp circuit. This was demonstrated with a voltmeter showing a 2-3V gain at the dash. That means a lumen increase on the dash lamps would be noticeable if you apply the rate of increase from the Stern chart.

Thinking of the quality Hellas vs. Ebay stuff. Don't like "Angel Eye" rings or facet reflectors. It's got to look stockish. I think I'll add the LED dash bulbs even if the dash circuit recovers juice. The brighter white is cool.

I think adding just H4's without the relays is a bad deal. They may create even more of a voltage drop that would be running them inefficiently.