Headlights for E series 6

[Morgan Wright 970]

I can't get the headlights apart, and the bulbs have not been changed in 80 or 90 years. Thinking of soaking the housing in vinegar, I think the outer part unscrews but not sure.

 

All I have is a pair of headlights from a 1918 Buick on the kitchen floor, no idea how to get the housing off. Brush a little muriatic in the housing and then soak in vinegar? My biggest fear is breaking something.

 

I want to attach a poll to this post. There are 4 bulbs here, all 80 or 90 or 103 years old. How many of these bulbs do you think are still good? Place your bets, $5 for a bet, 1, 2, 3 or 4, and the winner gets 3 to one odds so if you win you get $15. Place your bets.

 

Results when I get them apart.

Edited September 27, 2019 by Morgan Wright (see edit history)

[Terry Wiegand 1,866]

Take a photo of the back side of the headlights.  I would like to see how they attach to the fenders and then I will tell you how to remove the rims from the headlight shells.  There is a little more to this than a person would think.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

[Hubert_25-25 1,626]

Morgan, 

     On my 1925 Buick, you have to rotate the bezel about 1" in the counter clockwise direction (looking at them from the front) for removal.   Rotate clockwise to lock.

 

I thought you were going to ask about how many so and so were required to change your light bulbs.     Hugh

[Terry Wiegand 1,866]

Hugh,

You are giving good advice for the 1925 lights, however, the 1916 - 1920 lights are slightly different.  I will post a photo of my headlight rims, reflectors, and buckets tomorrow.  You will be able to see the difference I am referring to.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

[Morgan Wright 970]

[Morgan Wright 970]

One bulb still works anyway. Maybe more when I get the rust off.

[Terry Wiegand 1,866]

You will need to fasten the headlights back onto the fenders to be able to remove the rims.  There is nothing to hold onto when when the rims are removed - and you are going to need BOTH hands to remove these rims.  Ideally you should have another person help you with this procedure because you are going to have to push the rim onto the bucket while at the same time trying to turn the rim counter-clockwise.  The second person should push against the back of the bucket to keep from bending things.  You have one big thing going against you here and that is the fact that things are rusty.  The headlights on my '16 are in great condition and they were still rather hard to separate the rims off the buckets.  I have been there and done this as the saying goes and I owe a big thank you to the late Del Carpenter for explaining just how to do this.  My suggestion to you at this point would be to drizzle some Marvel Mystery Oil all around where the rim and bucket meet and let it set for awhile.  I could be way off on this, but, you are going to know that you have been somewhere when you are through with getting the rims off.  We wish you the very best and hope that God will bless you.  You are going to need all the help that you can get with this based on what is seen in the photos.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

[Morgan Wright 970]

So, the first thing to do is get Benny Hinn to lay hands on it, then.

[Terry Wiegand 1,866]

From looking at these photos - I wouldn't dismiss anything.

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

[Terry Wiegand 1,866]

Here is the first of the photos showing the headlight and fork for our '16 D-45.  I am going to have the reflectors restored before the lights go back on the car.  I tried to get the detail in the one photo of the rim clamp and how the rim needs to be pressed down on the bucket to hook under the clamps.

 

Terry Wiegand

Doo Dah America

[Terry Wiegand 1,866]

Another Photo

 

 

Terry Wiegand

South Hutchinson, Kansas

[Terry Wiegand 1,866]

Here is a closer look at how the rim hooks onto the bucket

 

Terry Wiegand

Out Doo Dah Way

[Morgan Wright 970]

Now my kitchen smells like a salad.

 

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[Morgan Wright 970]

Check out the ring of gas bubbles in the morning, from rust turning into oxygen.

 

 

[Morgan Wright 970]

After soaking in vinegar overnight, I put it on a bench and started squeezing the glass cover against the bucket in all 3 places where the locking mechanisms were, until they became loose, I squeezed around 10 more times all around, until it was loose enough to just turn the glass covers and remove them. That's how vinegar works, it doesn't remove the rust, it just softens it into a paste that comes off easily. Also, since vinegar got into where the bulbs were and the electrical sockets, it soaked all the corrosion off them as well. Vinegar works better on brass than iron, the corrosion dissolves. 

 

Now the big question.....how many of the 90-year-old bulbs still work? Answer next post, place your bets.

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Edited September 28, 2019 by Morgan Wright (see edit history)

[Morgan Wright 970]

[Terry Wiegand 1,866]

Mr. Wright, we did not know that you were Irish.  You seem to have the darndest luck of the Irish at doing things.  I would have put money on it that you were going to have one whale of a time getting the rims off the buckets.  I guess if it works - hop to it.

 

Terry Wiegand

Out Doo Dah Way

[Morgan Wright 970]

It WAS hard getting them off, and would have been impossible without vinegar.

 

You MUST use distilled white vinegar, because it leaves nothing behind because it's distilled. If you use cider vinegar or wine vinegar, it would dry and leave some apple or grape residue behind. Who needs that? As it was, after I installed the headlights to the car I tested them with an ohm meter and found all the circuits had a mild short to ground, and cross short between circuits, because vinegar is a conductor and they were still wet. Tomorrow, when everything is dry, I will install the wiring and bulbs.

 

For the reflectors, which are rusty and don't reflect anything, I used this stuff which is just aluminum foil with a sticky backing. Up here in the north we use it to insulate our houses, you people in Texas or Florida or Australia probably never heard of this stuff before. Aluminum foil tape. Get some.

[Larry Schramm 3,129]

If you would have not used the vinegar, looking at the before and after pictures of the lights, you could have probably just used some silver polish to have the reflectors look like new.

[Morgan Wright 970]

That's a good idea. I'll just use silver polish.

[Morgan Wright 970]

It shined right up. Here is the right headlight before and after silver polish:

 

Thanks a lot Larry, I owe you a beer!

 

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This third pic is the left one mid-polish where I did the bottom and not the top yet:

 

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Edited September 29, 2019 by Morgan Wright (see edit history)

[Morgan Wright 970]

I used this stuff. I'm also going to use anti-seize on the face before I put it back on, so I can get it back off again next time.

 

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[Morgan Wright 970]

I'm not re-using any of the old bulbs. Here it is with new bulbs:

 

In the first pic, just the auxiliary lights, 2nd pic headlights, 3rd pic both:

 

(This car doesn't have brights and dims).

 

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