VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Rebuilding Headlamp Assembly on 1929

started to tinker with the headlamp assemblies tonight, opened up the reflectors i got back from Bill @ Uvira, shiny shiny shiny

soldered a ground from socket to socket to ensure i have a good solid ground to each socket & light

slipped on the retaining clips over each socket to prep for install

lined up each socket and the pins pushed them through and then spun them gently and slowly to lock the pins into the recesses inside. and then made sure the clips were locked in under the other pins on the sockets.

looks good and should stay in place

next step i put the main socket into the bucket and bent the clip back in place to hold it. i also sanded the outside of the socket as well as the inside of the socket holder on the bucket to ensure a good solid ground.

finally slid in the reflector assembly and ensured all wires were free and clear of obstructions, and then locked int eh reflector via twisting it to lock in tabs.

the next step will to build the front assembly and put it on the lower bucket assembly, after i install the bulbs.

i have a stock set of 1000 bulbs which are 21cp - 21cp

ordered a 2 sets of LED replacement bulbs (each a different type/style of LED) for the 1000 bulbs, gonna see how they look and work BEFORE i install on the car.

as for building the top, plan to proceed as follows:

lay the chrome trim ring on the bench, install the glass lens, raise glass face down (outwards) using the metal tab to align
...should the tab be bent over the lens to hold in place or does it also hold the gasket, and go into the bucket assy ?? or just stick straight up ??
install the gasket on top of the glass lens
...does gasket sit on top of the tab, or go inside the tab
place the trim ring on the gasket, flat lip down towards glass
...or does it go flat lip away from glass

Well waiting for a few parts to arrive to move forward, i have sheet cork from Fel-Pro in 1/16, 3/32, and 1/8 now. so can make most all my gaskets.

have a pair of NOS Head Lamp Trim rings on their way to me. supposed to be in excellent condition. also was told it had a set of original gaskets in the package  once they arrive i will check them over, clean them up and test fit them and hopefully install and use them on the 1929. they are NOT reproduction, supposed to be NOS exactly like the ones that came originally on the car on 1929.

also got in my test set of LED head lamps and plan to run a test, hoping that i will be able to compare to the stock 21/21 CP bulbs as well as the LED bulbs that Steve D (m00684) is testing in his car, once he gets the signal issue fixed.

be really interested in how they project and how on a wall and in a distance.

actually bought 2 pair to test, but crazy me must have clicked on the wrong button and bought a wrong pair, as i ended up with a BA15S set vs the BA15D set. they look exactly alike except for the dual set does half power and full power for lows and highs vs the Single set is all full power all the time.

well got a package in the mail today and it was my NOS trim rings for the headlamps !!

they are good looking trim rings, not perfect but great for my restoration. they look just like the original ones i had but in way better shape. and as a bonus they had the NOS Paper Gaskets in there as well.

here is a shot of the gasket and then the gasket laying over the one available from The Filling Station

only difference really is thickness. the one in my headlamps originally was .125" thick this one a little thinner.

complete headlamp built, minus lights...  

will tear it down, clean everything up, paint touch up and then pick lights and build to install.

well built the headlamps with the stock style bulbs. and started the install on the car, and got the stanchions and cross bar on, then the headlamps.

need to fine tune and tighten everything up. then once the car is running i can set and adjust the headlamps per the manual. then i can do testing on the various LEDs with the actual car and driving ":)

few shots of the headlamp assemblies completed and ready for install

installed on the car, still needs to be tightened up

In the right photo of the side view of the headlight it appears as though the headlight rim is not fitting flush against the lip of the headlight shell at the bottom like it is at the top of the headlight shell. Is there an issue?

no issue, just was not completely in place when i took the photo. photo was taken before i secured it all up.

Cool!

those NOS trim rings were a breeze to deal with, no issues by any means, and the material is thicker.