VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Aim right?

Guys, I 'borrowed' this from another site, this works on my '32 for aiming the headlights. Any car/truck with flat lenes, maybe? :confused:

Aiming Headlights

Overview
Tools Needed
Instructions

Overview:
This is very simple and accurate way of adjusting headlights was originally devised by Marshall Lewis of Empire, California. This is strictly a mechanical adjustment (no aiming the lights at the wall) and is not the procedure used by F*rd.

Tools and Equipment:
One straight 2 x 4 about 40 inches long, a carpenter's level, and a level place to park your car/truck.

Instructions:
1. Loosen the nuts holding the headlights to the light bar.

2. Lay the 2 x 4 across the faces of both headlights and adjust them so that they lay flat against the 2 x 4. This makes sure that both headlights will be pointed straight ahead and parallel with each other.

3. Place the carpenter's level vertically against the face of each headlight and adjust them so they are tipped forward (down toward pavement) 1/2 bubble on the level. Tighten the nuts.

4. Check both lights again with the level and the 2 x 4 to make sure the headlights haven't moved out of position. If they have, loosen the nuts and repeat this procedure.

Gator....I don't see why that wouldn't work as far as getting the adjustment side to side, but for up and down, will that meet state or city laws. What I mean is different states have different requirements as to how far headlamps can shine in front of a car

Why don't you do it the way the reapir manual outlines it? I do mine that way. Never had a problem.

HEY GATOR, DO what I do and never drive your car at night. You could point the headlights straight up and take the lens out and plant petunias in each one, then you would have something really different and your adjusting problems would be solved. As the junkyard dog says, Different strokes for different folks. I cant remember, but I think that is what the dog did to the headlights on his model T. :arrow: :arrow: :arrow: :arrow:

Actually Donald, I thought the JYD traded the "T"model for a Whippet . He traded the "T"model for the Whippet, so he could double clutch, He left the lenses in his headlights on his Whippet and filled them with water and had goldfish in them for decoration, that is why he always had a bunch of cats following him.

Do it like Gator said. That's what works for me.

For my '32 I had to take the lenes out because they are rounded and the 2 x 4 wouldn't sit flat against them. So I guess this will work for both flat and round len headlights (rounded just takes more work).

With daylight saving time it gets dark way too early for me to put the cars away, so I do need headlights.

So.......that's what my car is? I had no idea since I couldn't find an emblem on it anywhere. I thought that the stupid thing was probably made in China. Wow! Everywhere I go, I do have a cow tied to the back bumper however. :eek: :eek: :confused: :(

In place of the 2 X 4, why not use masking tape and a string? Tape the string on the outside of one headlamp bucket and stretch it across the front of both headlamps at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions, taping it to the other headlamp bucket. Rotate each headlamp unit until the string is straight and just touches the buckets at all four locations. You can use you level for the vertical adjustment without having to remove the string.

Headlamp adjustment values have been an issue over the years because of the various state requirements. Chevrolet Engineering choose to use the procedure outlined in the SAE Handbook for their test vehicles. In brief terms for our use it was, "Headlamp High beam projection having a 2 inch drop at 25 feet."

I think Oldie has the right idea.

On page 49 of your owners manual it shows a graphic on how to aim the headlights.

25' seems to be the right distance. They suggests a template be made out of white cardboard and placed 25' away from the front of each lens. It looks like the center of the allumination be 35 1/2" above the ground, and the centerline of each beam be 15" off the centerline of the car.

I have parked the car on the driveway and used my garage door as the "template".

RGwiz, one point that method works better at night!
After you do Oldies method (daytime)you can fine tune the adjustment at night on the garage door!

Hey guys, I posted this just as information to add to your/our vast knowlege of cars and related stuff. This isn't a religion or politics, I've had trouble in the past with the other methods and I thought this could help others as it did me. :)

I perfer doing the aiming without trying to find a level surface and getting back 25' and trying to see exactly where the light hits the wall and marking it, etc, etc.

Hello Gator!
I would have thought by now you pretty well know what happens when you post to a FORUM! That you could expect to garner all kinds of suggestions! Looks like everyone responded to Your posting, just as if you had of rented a hall and posted a sign "What do you think about XXXXXXXX and ZZZZZZZZZ?

Yeah! It looks like it is working fine!

A lively group it 'tis!

Would hate to be a Fo*d man around this group.

Hey........F--d's are cool! ha ha! :eek:

Hey Gator!

I thought you were a new guy or something...

sorry for the rambling on.

I had to repond when I read about a 2x4 against the curved glass surface. MMM...
somethings wrong here.

I didn't mean to be such a fuddy duddy....

Thanks, no problem, I'm just a information nut, I love to know all kinds of stuff about almost anything, especially old/older cars/trucks (even Fo*ds and other off brands), I like to experiment with new/different ways to solve problems, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't (like a F..d).

On 11-28-02 remember to give thanks for Chevys also.

Guys, I just love seeing " F..D " written for that other car company! On the MG list, one can't say Triumph. The Triumph guys won't use the letters "M" or "G"! The BMW E30 M3 guys hate the BMW E36 M3 guys -- and visa versa. Over on the Ferrari list, one can't say Porsche without starting a bloodbath. And on the Porsche list, one can't say ANYTING about ANY other car. They just don't acknowledge the existance of anything except Porsche. :-P

But isn't it fun?! For me the word 'old' is more inportant than the marque. Old, to me, means history. Want more proof?

Here's my family's stable: '30 Chevrolet Universal Sedan, '66 Ford Mustang coupe, '68 BMW 1600-2 (rally car), '79 Ferrari 308GTB, '88 BMW E30 M3, '94 Mitusbishi Eclipse, '99 GMC Suburban

And in the recent (~6 months) past: '59 Lancia Appia III, '73 SAAB Sonett III, '79 MGB LE, '70 MGB-GT, '92 BMW 525i

And on the horizon: '85 Aston-Martin V8 coupe!

I just love old and exotic cars.
Happy Holidays! Rick

Rick, tell us about your Lancia Appia. I have a '58 series II. To get parts and information I joined the Lancia Motor Club (GB) and the Appia Consortium. In England they like Italian cars even more than they like American cars. European car clubs are great, we could learn a lot from them.

Rick, you might like to check out the '63 mustang on the Owls museum website.


Plus all of the old European cars.