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Morning all. In true retro fashion the headlights on my Libra are akin to holding a birthday candle out of the window. It currently has Lucas sealed beam 5.75" units.
Has anyone investigated upgrading these to the crystal option? I know the funky Harley ones won't fit due to the size of the gubbins behind the lens.
Or any other ideas?
Cheers,
Phil
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'83 GTM Coupe. 4A-GE Powered
'00 GTM Libra Auto. Ick.
'71 Detomaso Pantera. Current Resto
'89 GMC Safari Tow/Kip bus
'05 SAAB 9-3 Daily
'71 Siva Moonbug. Not even contemplating resto yet.
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There are various halogen conversions out there which are direct swaps and take H4 bulbs. Best ones are Cibie/Hella, which also cost the most. Also available from Ring, Wipac etc.
Also worth checking the wiring (including earthing arrangements) and if there are no relays, adding some with nice thick wiring might even make the sealed beam Lucas units acceptable.
Nick
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1967 Triumph Vitesse convertible (old friend)
1996 Audi A6 2.5 TDI Avant (still durability testing)
1972 GT6 Mk3 (Restored after loong rest & getting the hang of being a car again)
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is that Mini/Landrover sized? if so look up bearmach etc, they are very cheap as an upgrade to the sealed beam Defender/series Landrvoers, there are some with an LED halo if that floats your boat, they also have a normal sidelight bulb holder so you don't have to wire the halo up.
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On my old mini i ran the headlights and spotlights off relays, so they were getting a direct feed from the battery, not throught the light switch. The switch only activated the relay. Transformed the lights, so i did the same to the horns lol
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No, Mini/LR are 7", these are like BMW E30 and A-series Manta etc - so a lot less options.
Has no-one got experience of the crystal type even?
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'83 GTM Coupe. 4A-GE Powered
'00 GTM Libra Auto. Ick.
'71 Detomaso Pantera. Current Resto
'89 GMC Safari Tow/Kip bus
'05 SAAB 9-3 Daily
'71 Siva Moonbug. Not even contemplating resto yet.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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As vitesseefi said the Cibies are the best if you have the coin. Coming a close second are the Wipac QuadOptics. If you put good bulbs into both that will leave you with a decent set of headlights. GE OE spec or Osram Nightbreakers will be perfect here; the former being if you have a Halfords tradecard  . As for a budget choice the Autopal lights are a good shout. But I've seen vendors sell them in varying qualities, including two main BL ones who really should know better. I got my last set from Auto Electric Supplies (AES) in Kineton for less than £30 for the pair. With the GE bulbs for a further £7 IIRC I was very happy with the light output from the '77 Carina as mapling may be able to say now. The same branded lights in the Stag from another supplier were terrible! It could have been the cheapo bulbs they gave and the lack of relays which also potentially contributed too. But the reflectors looked to be a superior quality in the AES supplied units (i.e they were a mirror, not just paint). Both sets were new too! |
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cactus
Part of things
Posts: 372 
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Mar 10, 2018 21:46:54 GMT
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I have genuine Lucas upgraded units
for sale NOS.
I have now sold the car they were for.
Let me know if you're interested and
I'll get you more details.
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Mar 12, 2018 22:55:32 GMT
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As vitesseefi said the Cibies are the best if you have the coin. Coming a close second are the Wipac QuadOptics. If you put good bulbs into both that will leave you with a decent set of headlights. GE OE spec or Osram Nightbreakers will be perfect here; the former being if you have a Halfords tradecard . As for a budget choice the Autopal lights are a good shout. But I've seen vendors sell them in varying qualities, including two main BL ones who really should know better. I got my last set from Auto Electric Supplies (AES) in Kineton for less than £30 for the pair. With the GE bulbs for a further £7 IIRC I was very happy with the light output from the '77 Carina as mapling may be able to say now. The same branded lights in the Stag from another supplier were terrible! It could have been the cheapo bulbs they gave and the lack of relays which also potentially contributed too. But the reflectors looked to be a superior quality in the AES supplied units (i.e they were a mirror, not just paint). Both sets were new too! For definite and Ive now replaced the centre set for the same spec ChasR fitted so rocking 4 up of the same. Gives you loads of options with lamps too if you want to upgrade! Not that the cars been out much recently given the weather.....  |
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sb
Part of things
Posts: 725
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Mar 13, 2018 17:58:55 GMT
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I got the 4 for £50 lot you see on ebay everywhere, mirror coating is good but not sure on beam pattern as they havent been fitted yet. Swapped the bulbs for Osram H4 and LED H1. The LEDs absolutely swamp the H4 high beam, definitely worth upgrading too.
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ChasR
RR Helper
motivation
Posts: 10,194
Club RR Member Number: 170
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I got the 4 for £50 lot you see on ebay everywhere, mirror coating is good but not sure on beam pattern as they havent been fitted yet. Swapped the bulbs for Osram H4 and LED H1. The LEDs absolutely swamp the H4 high beam, definitely worth upgrading too. I've looked at LED bulbs. Two things that put me off are: 1) Heat production: they heat up alot, and have melted some OE applications in some instances! 2) Beam pattern: Are you OK to take a shot of that? It is interesting to see LED alternatives outside of the tailor-made headlamps available. There is another way to improve 5.75" lights. BMW E30 lights. They will however look a little different and will require more modifying than any of the suggested solutions to fit. |
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sb
Part of things
Posts: 725
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I got the 4 for £50 lot you see on ebay everywhere, mirror coating is good but not sure on beam pattern as they havent been fitted yet. Swapped the bulbs for Osram H4 and LED H1. The LEDs absolutely swamp the H4 high beam, definitely worth upgrading too. I've looked at LED bulbs. Two things that put me off are: 1) Heat production: they heat up alot, and have melted some OE applications in some instances! 2) Beam pattern: Are you OK to take a shot of that? It is interesting to see LED alternatives outside of the tailor-made headlamps available. There is another way to improve 5.75" lights. BMW E30 lights. They will however look a little different and will require more modifying than any of the suggested solutions to fit. The heat produced I would honestly say is on par with a regular bulb but its produced by the driver outside of the headlight rather than in it. For me that doesnt matter too much, they have 3 large braided fins that sit in an all metal enclosure so nothing to melt. Beam pattern is uncontrolled as mine are high beam only. |
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Mar 14, 2018 19:18:24 GMT
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i fitted LEDs to my e39, cost £30 and it's transformed it, bulbs come with fans and heat sinks. I'll swap back for the MOT to halogens but so far they seem really good, white lines and cats eyes now leap out at you
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