Aftermarket headlamps are pretty plentiful and relatively inexpensive these days, but there are times when stock early headlamps are preferred. In this case, my wife, Candy, had a pair of stock early Ford lights that belonged to one of her favorite uncles, Walter, who had them on a Model A doodlebug he'd used as a tractor at his home back East. After he passed on, Candy saved those headlights as treasured mementos, hoping I'd use them on one of my hot rods someday.
Well, since she recently started a hot rod project of her own-a Total Performance King T '27 track roadster-using Uncle Walter's headlights was a must. And, since she would use nothing else on her '27, I decided to see if I could convert them to brighter, safer 12-volt units, since I know she's gonna drive the wheels off that roadster.
The conversion was surprisingly easy and ended up working great. The original six-volt bulbs were replaced with 9003 halogen bulbs I picked up at the local auto parts store, and the conversion only took a few hours to complete. Take a look at the following images, and you'll see how simple the conversion is. I imagine the same basic steps would hold true with many styles of headlights from the 1920s and 1930s, so check it out.
After digging out Candy's...
After digging out Candy's prized headlight assemblies, I started the conversion by disassembling one of them to see if my idea would even work, and how difficult it'd be to accomplish. After eyeballing the situation, I ran over to the local parts store to check out my options, bulb-wise; I found the perfect bulbs in the form of a pair of H9003s.
The headlamps are simple items;...
The headlamps are simple items; I didn't expect the main bulb socket to be attached to the housing, though, but it worked out to my advantage.
Good ol' Uncle Walter would...
Good ol' Uncle Walter would be proud.
After removing the headlight...
After removing the headlight ring and lens assemblies, I was surprised to see the primary bulb socket was attached to the housing rather than the reflector. On the backside of the housing was one screw, which held the socket in place. You can see the reflector, as well as the main and auxiliary socket and bulb assemblies.
The reflector assembly received...
The reflector assembly received the main modification, since that's where I'd attach the new halogen bulb unit.
The headlight housing would...
The headlight housing would get its share of attention, as well. Here, you can see the hole where the retaining screw held the main bulb socket to the housing.
After choosing the H9003 replacement...
After choosing the H9003 replacement bulb assembly, my first concern was handling the bulb without touching the glass-since the oil from ones fingers will cause hot spots on the bulb, reducing its lifespan-and also without wearing gloves. I took a rubber glove, cut a finger off of it, and used it to protect the bulb glass.
The first step was to grind...
The first step was to grind off the socket sleeve protruding from the rear of the reflector. I ground it flush and then cleaned up the edges with a rat-tail file to remove any burrs.
I then carefully lowered the...
I then carefully lowered the halogen bulb through the hole and marked the back of the reflector adjacent to the three tabs on the 9003-style replacement bulb.
I then drilled a small hole...
I then drilled a small hole at each of the marks.
I attached the new halogen...
I attached the new halogen bulb to the reflector assembly using a trio of 10-32 machine screws and self-locking nuts.
After removing the bulb, I...
After removing the bulb, I then used a mechanical punch to mark the reflector for drilling.
So far, so good. Before installing...
So far, so good. Before installing the new bulb, I carefully polished the reflector surface with a bit of liquid chrome cleaner, being careful not to remove the reflective coating from the brass reflector assembly.
With the new bulb in place,...
With the new bulb in place, I turned my attention to the housing assembly. At first, I wasn't sure what the external socket was but quickly figured out it was where the original wiring connected to the headlight assembly. I decided it would be best to remove the connector socket and rewire the headlights internally, but to do that I had to remove the mounting stud and retainer assembly to gain access the external sockets.
I ground off the rivet heads...
I ground off the rivet heads and drove them out so I could remove, sandblast, and paint the mounting and retaining hardware while I was removing the external socket.
I came across a couple of...
I came across a couple of rubber wire conduits of unknown origin after a search through one of my junk drawers; I think they may have been from a pair of aftermarket taillights. The conduits had integral grommets that would work perfectly to replace the sockets removed from the exterior of the housings.
I reassembled the housings,...
I reassembled the housings, sandwiching the grommets under the mounting retainers, and replaced the rivets with screws and nuts.
As an aside, the second bulb...
As an aside, the second bulb and socket on the original reflectors will now be used as signal lights. I rewired the sockets and installed amber bulbs in place of the original clear ones.
One headlight down and one...
One headlight down and one to go, the job went quickly and was actually a really easy upgrade.
With the first one done, the...
With the first one done, the next will go quickly, I'm sure. Here, you can see the re-outfitted headlight on the left and the still-stock item on the right. A bit of cleaning and polishing will have them both up to par for installation and use on our modern roadways.
A trip back to the junk drawer...
A trip back to the junk drawer produced a pair of headlight sockets I believe were off a '57 Chevy I recently rewired. I added longer pigtails and then encased them in heat-shrink tubing and fished them through the new rubber conduit.
After completing the first...
After completing the first light conversion, I couldn't help but hook up the light to my battery charger to see how it worked-and it worked perfectly.