Halogen Headlights

[Rob Glasgow]

I can’t guarantee it, but I’m pretty sure that when I bought my 3 year old California 1960 BT7, it came to me with Lucas sealed beams. Maybe between 1959 and 1960, Lucas developed a left hand drive sealed beam headlight To install on their US export cars.

 

[Joe A]

I have two problems with the Holley Retrobright headlights:

1). The lens pattern does not look like the original Lucas pattern.

2). They are emblazoned with ‘Holley’ on the lens.

The retrofit LED units I linked to in my original reply (#2) are complete units with reflectors, look similar to the original equipment headlights and are marked Lucas on the lens and hopefully will provide a noticeable improvement in lighting output and brightness along with the advantages of less heat and lower power consumption. Since I already run hyperbrite LED bulbs for my parking lights, turn signals and brake lights these Classic Performance supplied units therefore meet my specific criteria and may do the same for others wishing to retain an original appearance….

Guido, JoeCA, et al.

Had I been aware of the existence of other matched pairs of vintage-look LEDs with reflector assemblies, I may have given them precedence over the RetroBrights which look especially good on a Chevy or a Ford.

I appreciate your point of view, Guido.

That said, I had the choice of going with the slightly amber or warm LEDs or else the brighter blue-white modern LED arrays. I chose the latter because I leaned more toward what I felt is superior lighting conditions under testing. I mention this to emphasize that my focus was on the lighting quantity and quality.

The name "Holley" is certainly visible but not objectionable to me.

Below are photos . . .

 

[John Turney]

I can’t guarantee it, but I’m pretty sure that when I bought my 3 year old California 1960 BT7, it came to me with Lucas sealed beams. Maybe between 1959 and 1960, Lucas developed a left hand drive sealed beam headlight To install on their US export cars.

That timing agrees with Anderson-Moment.

 

[Rob Glasgow]

The India made headlights arrived yesterday and I thought I'd give you my evaluation.

The Good News
They were very cheap. $45 for both delivered to California.
The shipping was quick. One week after ordering.
They are labeled Lucas, although the logo is not quite the same as an OEM.
The supplier was good in communicating with me.


The Bad News
They were very cheaply made.
The lens is very cloudy. I guess that why the photos on ebay are a bit out of focus.
The overall quality is bad. Bulbs were made poorly, lens were not sealed to the reflectors all the way around.
The reflectors have a segmented surface which is not that noticeable since the lens are cloudy
The lens are thinner than the original so you have to install a gasket behind the unit or it will rattle and twist in the mount.
There light pattern is not very focused and the low beams are directed 15 feet in front of the car.

Bottom line, they do produce a bit more light than the OEM Lucas units, but nothing to rave about.
Because the lens are so cloudy, the car now appears to need cataract surgery......

So, this proved the adage that you get what you pay for. If was a fairly inexpensive lesson and lead to a good discussion of the forum so that is worth something. I'm going to put my old OEM Lucas bulbs are back on the car once I locate one more usable unit. One of mine lost the low beam.

Photos below
1. Looking thur the back of the new unit to show how cloudy it is.
2. Side by side New and OEM
3. New unit showing the strange segmented reflector.
4. OEM Lucas units on High Beam
5. New version on High Beam.

 

[Editor_Reid]

The India made headlights arrived yesterday and I thought I'd give you my evaluation.

The Good News
They were very cheap. $45 for both delivered to California.
The shipping was quick. One week after ordering.
They are labeled Lucas, although the logo is not quite the same as an OEM.
The supplier was good in communicating with me.


The Bad News
They were very cheaply made.
The lens is very cloudy. I guess that why the photos on ebay are a bit out of focus.
The overall quality is bad. Bulbs were made poorly, lens were not sealed to the reflectors all the way around.
The reflectors have a segmented surface which is not that noticeable since the lens are cloudy
The lens are thinner than the original so you have to install a gasket behind the unit or it will rattle and twist in the mount.
There light pattern is not very focused and the low beams are directed 15 feet in front of the car.

Bottom line, they do produce a bit more light than the OEM Lucas units, but nothing to rave about.
Because the lens are so cloudy, the car now appears to need cataract surgery......

So, this proved the adage that you get what you pay for. If was a fairly inexpensive lesson and lead to a good discussion of the forum so that is worth something. I'm going to put my old OEM Lucas bulbs are back on the car once I locate one more usable unit. One of mine lost the low beam.

Photos below
1. Looking thur the back of the new unit to show how cloudy it is.
2. Side by side New and OEM
3. New unit showing the strange segmented reflector.
4. OEM Lucas units on High Beam
5. New version on High Beam.

Excellent report. Thanks.

 

[John Turney]

You might find something here, I've bought a few Lucas lamps from them: Rogers Motors.

 

[Bob_Spidell]

Tangential to this discussion:

You're Not Imagining It, Blinding Headlights Are A Real Problem

If you ever drive at night, there’s a good chance you’ve noticed an increasing problem with blinding headlights. In some cases, people are simply driving around with their high beams on, but that doesn’t fully explain the problem. Anyone who’s flashed their lights at an oncoming driver to let...

jalopnik.com

 

[Joe A]

Good article Bob.

No doubt the height above ground of the light source from our many SUV lighting systems makes it tougher on the eyes of oncoming drivers . . . and the blue-white light can be harsh. I do get "flashed" occasionally while driving my Yukon with the low-beams on.

And here the term "flashing" does not refer to the other driver exposing body parts that propriety suggests should be kept covered.

The underlying argument in the article also suggests that vertical cut-off will be important. Keeping the low-beam light aimed low can help.

 

[Guido36]

The problem of being blinded by high mounted headlamps is particularly challenging for drivers of cars with a low seating position - that would include Healeys. Way before the advent of modern lighting technologies and high riding SUVs and trucks I learned this when I bought a Marcos 3 litre in 1971. With an overall height of 41.5” - eye level was probably no more than 34” at best and a mandatory minimum headlamp height of 24” pretty much any oncoming headlamps were challenging. Today it is far worse and it is not uncommon for high riding vehicles headlights to be above the eye level of a Healey driver.

Here is another article on blinding lights….

https://www.hemmings.com/stories/why-are-headlights-so-bright/

 

[John Turney]

No only higher trucks and SUVs, but people who put bright LEDs on them. I've had to endure oncoming off-road LED light bars that will blind you 1/4 mile away.

No change to adaptive headlights will change some people.

 

[Guido36]

I received the Classic Performance LED headlights as noted in my post #2 above but sadly, have to report that what they sent was a generic made in India headlamp unit that bears no resemblance ro the Lucas item they show on their website. These have a distinctly modern lens pattern. Three emails over four weeks querying whether theyy accidentally shipped the wrong headlamp units have met with zero response. A follow up telephone call with voice mail message has met with the same result so far. So, based on my experience I am putting the purchase into dispute with my credit card company and returning the product that was shipped.

Subsequently I have done some further research and found a UK supplier who specializes in motor cycles but provides period appropriate Lucas headlamp units as well as other brands with LED bulbs or just the bulbs alone for retrofit to classic cars.

http://www.norbsa02.freeuk.com/goffylighting.htm

LED Headlight bulbs British Pre-Focus + H4s

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They offer right hand dip, left hand dip and vertical dip solutions - be sure to specify voltage, polarity and dip pattern when ordering! I am ordering a pair of their vertical dip LED bulbs to retrofit a pair of original Lucas LeMans 24 headlamp units to retrofit my Healey….