need headlight help for a 39 buick

[Guest lunchbox_xx]

Hi everyone

Its jamie from wisconsin. I have a big problem how to switch my headlights over to sealed beam i dont have in headlight buckets. I do have the the headlight bezzels that mount on the car but need addivse to what headlight to use or on that fits in side the holder and i need the crome trim if anyone has extra or knows where i can find some. Any help will be great.

Thanks

Jamie

[bobj49f2]

Kits show up on eBay every so often but the are expensive.

This article was in the March 1973 issue of Rod& Custom. It's about '37 headlights but I think you could use the information for your '39:

The one problem I have read about doing this conversion is the sealed beams react with the factory lenses. The sealed beams are shooting out a focused beam and when it passes through the factory lens it gets distorted.

Edited April 3, 2013 by bobj49f2 (see edit history)

[Guest Grant Magrath]

Chevs of the 40s: 923344S 39 - Chevrolet%207" Sealed Beam Conversion Kit For 1939 Headlight Bucket

Chevs of the 40s: 924687 39^ - Chevrolet%20Rim -Headlight (Chrome)

Cheers

Grant

Edited April 3, 2013 by Grant Magrath (see edit history)

[Guest lunchbox_xx]

Thanks everyone i will look into the chevy of the 40 and the trim ill check on to unless maybe the guy in minnensota has two of them but have to look up his number and name again

Thanks again

[bobj49f2]

Dave Tacheny is probably the guy you're thinking of.

[Guest lunchbox_xx]

Yes i do think you are right now i jist got find his web site or his number from when i bought my core support from him

Thanks

[Guest lunchbox_xx]

Thanks found him at prewarbuick.com

Thanks again

[Guest Grant Magrath]

I don't know what Dave Tachney would charge for the headlight rings, but by the time you bought them, got rid of any dings, polished them, and had them chromed, you might find you'd be better off with the Chevs of the 40's ones. My 2 cents!

Cheers

Grant

[bobj49f2]

Dave is a very fair person. He won't sell you junk. He has given me parts that he considered not in good condition but were a lot better than what I had-nothing. You could always contact Bell Buick, Nuttybuick on eBay. She'll have beautiful rings and will only want $200-300 for them.

I have a pair of original rings for my '37, which aren't the same as the later models and are not reproduced, and need to be refinished. I also have a set of rings I think are from a Chevy that are like new but are slightly larger than the '37's. I plan to cut a small piece out of them and use them on my '37 until I get the funds to get the original '37s refinished. I think the later models, after '38, had larger lights and the Chevy's might be a direct fit.

[60FlatTop]

I have run some pretty bright bulb headlights and 6 volt lights by soldering a ground wire to the bulb socket and grounding it to the frame.

About 20 years ago I had a stock 1935 Nash and drove to a popular cruise night. We were leaving after dark and I was behind a friend with a very high end 1930's classic. He had been looking my Nash over earlier. With my lights shining from behind, he stopped his car, got out, and came back to me. The comment was "What the hell do you have for headlights?" I think he was worried I would blister the paint on his deck lid. Run a ground wire, don't rely on the path through the body panels.

I even grounded the Riviera taillights:

[bobj49f2]

1960 Buick Electra (owned 10 years)

1964 Buick Riviera (owned 34 years)

1986 Buick Park Avenue Convert.

1994 Impala SS

With cars this vintage what are you doing on the Pre-war board?

Just kidding, good advice. I especially like the ground runnging to the socket. I've never seen that done.

[Guest lunchbox_xx]

Thanks everyone for the addvice o think im going to get the kit from chevy of the 40's and the rings from there also if the price is right.

Thanks again

[bobj49f2]

I'd be very interested in seeing how the kit works for you. I'd like to use then for my '37 but I don't know if they'd fit. I think my buckets are bigger than the later models.

[Guest Grant Magrath]

Well, I can say without any doubt whatsoever that 39 Chev and 39 Buick headlights are the dame diameter, and use the same reflectors and inner buckets on the original setup. Lenses are the same size also, but I believe there are differences. The 37 and 38 Chevs used smaller diameter headlights, but I seem to recall the 36's to be larger than the 37! I wish I'd measured the 38 Special's healights while we had it!

As an aside, we restored our headlight rings. Stripped the chrome, knocked the dings out, and sent them to be polished and rechromed. But then again, I wasn't paying the bills!

Oh, and nice work on the ground wires Bernie. You can brighten your 6v lights considerably by installing 6v relays as close as possible to the lights. One relay per light, so I guess you'd need 6 (2xpark, 2xhigh, 2xlow).

Cheers

Grant

[Guest lunchbox_xx]

I will do ky best to take pics and maybe a video of them when the time comes.

Thanks again everyone

[bobj49f2]

I wish I'd measured the 38 Special's healights while we had it!

Grant

The drawing I posted above is from my '37 Special, the same as the '38.

[Guest Grant Magrath]

True! Just bemoaning my lack of foresight!

[60FlatTop]

The relay idea is not a bad one. As our cars age the full current flow through switches can deteriorate contacts And the potential spark gap can burn the switch over a 50-80 year period. Lots of older Rolls-Royce cars have a condenser on various switches to make life easier for them. I have also pulled some hot keys out of ignition switches over the years. I remember one Caddie that I considered putting an ignition relay on so the switch wouldn't carry all the current of the primary circuit.

I know I don't have prewar cars but they are aging. What would this forum be called if there hadn't been a war?

Bernie