Guest Ron3660 Posted September 10, 2006 Share Posted September 10, 2006 I'm looking for a conversion or adaptor to change from bulb type to sealed beam headlights. I know Ive seen them someplace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlander Posted September 18, 2006 Share Posted September 18, 2006 I know that they made them also but when I did it on a 1937 Buick it was in 1948 or so. M.L. AndersonEdit; Just went back to Internet listing and finally remembered that old cars have Six volts, newer cars have Twelve volt systems. There seems to be a lot of stuff out there to adapt to, but you must be careful to get a six volt or be determined to go to 12 volts. All the old sealed beams have 7 inch diameter lens and some of the newer systems are just that. But whether the rims will fit is the question. 09-18-2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tin knocker Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 That is a nice looking car you have. I have seen them offered on e-bay and I have seen the conversion on a car. The sealed beam lens is flatter than the original and does not look correct on the car. I considered the change at one time but after seeing one installed I changed my mind. Others have suggested resilvering the reflector if needed and changing to halogen bulbs.Rollie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Rawling Posted September 27, 2006 Share Posted September 27, 2006 On my 1935 Ford, I got adaptor rings, some time ago, which allowed me to mount the sealed beams inside the headlight shell behind the original glass. Have you thought about 32/50 or 50/50 candle power bulbs. It may be worth a try instead of the trouble of adapting sealed beams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fr Mike Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 For your consideration, in order to upgrade the headlights of my '31 Buick to safe illumination for night driving without modifying the original set-up , and still preserve the original appearance, I had the headlight reflectors nickel plated & polished, and then plated by UVIRA, uvira@terragon.com, with vapor-thin coats of aluminum and pure silica glass. I simply plugged out the stock tungsten bulbs and plugged in halogen ones, acpearson@chariot.com.au, and now have 1940's sealed beam level illumination. A headlight relay could be added further to increase the illumination about 30%, as well as lengthen the life of the original headlight switch. Total cost: $135.00. A relay costs an additional $26.00, fifthave@oz-online.net.For an interesting article about all this, check out: AntiqueAutoMushersofAlaska/halogenconversion.msnw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sndtubes Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 <div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">For your consideration, in order to upgrade the headlights of my '31 Buick to safe illumination for night driving without modifying the original set-up , and still preserve the original appearance, I had the headlight reflectors nickel plated & polished, and then plated by UVIRA, uvira@terragon.com, with vapor-thin coats of aluminum and pure silica glass. I simply plugged out the stock tungsten bulbs and plugged in halogen ones, acpearson@chariot.com.au, and now have 1940's sealed beam level illumination. A headlight relay could be added further to increase the illumination about 30%, as well as lengthen the life of the original headlight switch. Total cost: $135.00. A relay costs an additional $26.00, fifthave@oz-online.net.For an interesting article about all this, check out: AntiqueAutoMushersofAlaska/halogenconversion.msnw </div></div>It looks like you have to convert to 12V to use the halogen bulbs? Correct? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 3, 2006 Share Posted November 3, 2006 No. You can buy 6 volt halogen bulbs. They are fantastic and are available in almost every socket configuration. Search google. I used Little British Car Co. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fr Mike Posted November 4, 2006 Share Posted November 4, 2006 If you can't get what you need from Little British Car Co., you can get whatever you need from Anthony Pearson (acpearson@chariot.com.au). He makes and has them all---different cp in 6- and 12-volt---he supplies Little British Car Co.Since my last post, I finished upgrading the headlights on my '36 Plymouth. Now, both my '31 Buick and the '36 P2 have had the reflectors replated by UVIRA, and halogen bulbs (25/25 cp in the Buick and 35/35 cp in the P2) installed. Both cars have their original 6-volt systems, no rewiring or special sockets needed & about the same drain on the batttery as with the tungsten bulbs. The illumination is white and bright, and the reflectors look like they've just been re-silvered. I added a 6-volt headlight relay and a 6-volt alternator to the P2, my driver, with great results. The Buick's lights, my show car, are also white and bright without a relay, but I'm working on figuring out how to add one there too, to reduce the load on the original switch and increase the illumination even more. Good connections and good grounding have to be there for the lights to work right. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest sndtubes Posted November 5, 2006 Share Posted November 5, 2006 Is there a problem with the halogen lights getting too hot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fr Mike Posted November 6, 2006 Share Posted November 6, 2006 The halogen bulbs don't seem to generate as much heat as the tungsten ones. And the wiring and switch requirements for halogen bulbs remain the same as for tungsten bulbs, in a 6 volt system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest johnhorace Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 I did the conversion to 35 watt halogen bulbs (from Anthony Pearson) several years ago for my 1933 Dodge, as well as the aluminized/glassed reflectors by UVIRA. Lights were very good, except at engine idle speed or when I put on the brakes (because of the extra current draw). I recently had a burned out generator converted to a 50 amp alternator on the inside (Google Gener-Nator, owner's name Don Allen). I plan to install it in the Spring when I take the car out of storage. I've been cautioned to install a headlight relay to avoid burning up the headlight switch, but can't find one. NAPA doesn't carry one. I tried to e-mail fifthave@oz-online.net as referenced in this forum, but my e-mail engine rejected the address. Is this address still good? Any other way to contact this person? Any other sources for relays?------John Krein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest johnhorace Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Mike-I need a six volt headlight relay as you referenced in your post. I went to the Fifth Avenue web site, but didn't find anything (Fifth Avenue Antique Auto Parts in Clay Center, KS). Is that where you got yours? If not, can you tell me where you got it?----John Krein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Fr Mike Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 Try: www.fifthaveinternetgarage.com. Go to page 2 (look at the top right for the page numbers to click on).The relay should be right there on the upper right of page 2. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest johnhorace Posted November 20, 2006 Share Posted November 20, 2006 Mike- Got it; ---Thx. Printed out order blank and will order ASAP. ----John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now