Early Sealed Beam Headlight question??

Just curious... Have a '41 Caddy and replaced my sealed beam headlamps because they were too dim. Looked closely at the ones I took out and can see a large Mazda type bulb inside the sealed beam; similar style & size to a 1930s replaceable headlight bulb. Is that the way the first generation of sealed beams were made? Nothing appears to have ever been altered on these headlights and outwardly they look about the same as ones from the 50s and 60s.

Jim

Yes, you're right---at least some of the early sealed beams had a sealed-in bulb; I recall seeing them and wondering if it was some kind of early hybrid light (don't recall make), but can't say if that was true over all sealed beam makers or not.

General note: if sealed beams seem dim, check grounds first--for some reason at least the early sealed beams were susceptible to dimming if grounds not good.

Is the back of the headlight metal? If so, don't discard the bulb even if it doesn't work. There are guys that rebuild them for the purists.

They do have a metal back and still work pretty well. It's just that they seemed dim in comparison to the 50s 60s era cars and for my area of busy suburban traffic. I guess these should be offered as useable original replacements for the purists. Thanks for the responses. Jim