53 plymouth head light conversion to LED

[Brooklyn Beer]

Looking to change out the head lights in my 2 run around bomber plymouths to LEDS.  See some kits out that but 300 bucks is steep considering I did it on my 63 Dodge for about 50 bucks. Smaller housing is all. Can't find similar in 7 inch.   Any leads?

[StillOutThere]

Look around this store.

https://www.ledlight.com/

[JACK M]

I see that they have these in 12 volt.

I don't have any personal experience with led head lights other than very bright oncoming.

But they don't throw a beam.

I have a motorhome that has poor headlights and have done some research and keep coming up with the "they are bright but don't look out very far" from the venders.

So if you are thinking that it will be easier to see any more distance at night you might want to do some comparing.

Can you see farther in your 63 at night after installing these? I would be interested in some real life experience with led headlights.

Us old guys get a night blindness that is hard to explain unless you have it. I wont drive on a dark night in the rain anymore.

[vette-kid]

Most LED lights it there are not properly designed for headlight use.  As mentioned, they don't project out as far.  To get a good, proper LED headlamp you are likely going to spend some money.  My guess is for $50 you got something that is marginal at best and likely does not have the distance most people desire and is likely blindingly bright to oncoming traffic,a nuisance at best and probably a hazard.  

 

Please don't try and go cheap on things like headlights and safety items!  Remember, lights aren't just for you to see the road, they are for others to be able to see you.  Blinding them is as bad or worse than no lights at all.  Please, don't just try and find the cheapest LED bulb to throw in there.  It isn't working the way you think it is!

Edited November 2, 2019 by vette-kid (see edit history)

[Bloo]

The two things that actually make a difference in headlights are getting full system voltage all the way to the bulb, and a quality lens and reflector (on pre-1940 US cars, re-silver your reflectors!). People usually want to just shove in a brighter bulb, but it often doesn't help and sometimes makes things worse, for a whole bunch of reasons.

 

LEDs show promise, but aren't really there yet for old car headlights (good LED replacements for small bulbs do exist though). On the upside, there is no theoretical reason that LEDs need to be sensitive to the supply voltage like incandescent and halogen bulbs are. The LED itself inside the bulb runs on less than 6 volts. They also draw less current, and that could be a big help on pre-1940 cars. The trouble with LEDs is that that getting them in the correct shape and location to replace a filament is, as of right now (2019), basically impossible. An LED replacement that works well will be something designed from the ground up to fit in the 7" hole, and probably wont look anything like a sealed beam.

 

If really being able to see is the goal, in a 7 inch headlight car, get as much voltage out to the lights as you can (hint: relays). Sealed beams might be crappy, but they are a lot less crappy when they are getting enough voltage.

 

Second, get some European Union accepted ("E-Code") lens-reflectors. The French brands (Cibie, Marchal) have by far the best optics, and use thin lead-crystal lenses. German brands (Hella, Bosch) typically have flat faces, and are made with thicker lenses, out of more ordinary glass. They're not as good, but don't break as easily from rocks as the French ones. In 7" Bosch is a much better choice than Hella, because low beam is cut off a bit too low in the Hella. In other sizes either are good. Even the cheapest available (Autopal, made in India) are way better than sealed beams.

 

Avoid things that were designed to USA regulations back when we were strictly on the Sealed Beam standard. That includes most if not all units that are DOT approved today for CARS (not motorcycles), such as Cibie "Bobi" and Hella "Vision Plus". Those have the same type of beam pattern as a sealed beam, and performance will suffer compared to ANY E-code lights, even the cheapest.

 

Fun fact: E-code lens-reflectors will allow you to see quite a bit further out than sealed beams, while blinding oncoming drivers LESS. This is because their low beam has a sharp cutoff at the top of the beam. This keeps the majority of light down in the grille of the oncoming traffic, and not in the windshield. The sealed beam standard (1939) required a certain amount of light shining up in the air to light up overhead signs. This light went right into the eyes of oncoming traffic. Brightening them up just makes it worse. We stuck with that standard for decades, meanwhile the Europeans were constantly re-engineering headlamps. You  might notice that new cars in the US today have a fairly sharp cutoff at the top of the beam, more like an E-code headlight than a sealed beam.

 

 

Edited November 2, 2019 by Bloo (see edit history)

[Matt Harwood]

What proper LEDs for a vintage 7-inch sealed beam housing look like: