electrical and ignition Headlights On Euro Spec 1600

[jpsimons]

I've got a '71 1600 Cabriolet, Euro spec, and boy are the headlights dim! They let me be seen but they sure don't cast any illumination anywhere.

 

I had it in the shop the other day and asked about putting maybe Hella halogens in, but they said it would be hard to find ones the fit here in the States. I was actually surprised they're different at all, '71 was before the diving board bumpers and it's all 12V anyway. Anyone have a link to Amazon or somewhere for some headlights that would fit?

[cj]

You can replace the reflectors and clean the lens on the buckets you have. I'd try that first.

[Hans]

Do you have sealed beams or old style dish and bulb with glass cover?

[02Les]

If you have your original 40+ year Euro headlights (different from the ones in the US '02s) then the reflectors have probably lost their shine. Lights will be no better than glow-worms.

If you're into originality, you can still (I believe) buy new reflectors, but there were at least two different kinds and two suppliers (Bosch & Hella) just to complicate matters.

If you're not into originality, then swap over to US headlamp buckets and you can find several types of lamp to fit.

[FunElan]

If you have a cabriolet then you might have the European parking light set up. With the motor off, a movement of the turn signal should keep that specific headlight lit dimly. The face of the headlight should also stick as far out of the grille as possible (no extra space in the eye of the grille) so I'm not sure of fitment of replacements. Hopefully someone knows more about this.  

[Conserv]

Can we assume you've already cleaned everything that's clean-able and replaced the bulbs?

There are at least a couple shops out there that can replate/resilver the reflectors.

Steve

Edited January 27, 2014 by Conserv

[Mike Self]

Euro and US grilles are the same...the difference is in the headlight buckets themselves.  The easy way for more light is to remove your Euro bucket/beam assemblies and install US spec buckets/retainers that will accept either US sealed beams or Euro non-sealed beam halogen or tungsten headlights.  The mounts on the body are the same; you just can't use the plastic "dog dishes" to seal the back sides when using the US buckets.  Obviously keep the Euro assys for authenticity if you ever want to make it a show car.  

 

You might be able to find halogen headlight bulbs to replace the tungsten bulbs currently in your Euro headlights.  IIRC they were once available--you might try Susquehanna Motorsports or Daniel Stern Lighting and see what they have.  If you're careful, you might be able to separate your reflectors from the lens and have 'em re-silvered.  There are shops that do this for antique cars.  

 

BTW, someone has a set of halogen Euro headlight assemblies for sale on the parts section of the FAQ...check it out.

 

cheers

mike

Edited January 28, 2014 by mike