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Led headlight conversion kit with Lucas headlight bucket

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AUSMHLY

AUSMHLY

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Is anyone using led headlights?
Found this link the other day.
Thoughts?

https://www.classiccarperformance.c...t-conversion-kit-with-lucas-headlight-buckets
BCLED_product_image_1024x1024.jpg
 
Bought a pair from LBCarco on sale for less than half that the other day. Haven't installed them yet. There was a recent, er, 'lively' discussion about them on the email list the other day. Generally positive comments; better illumination, of course, and significantly less current draw. Not concours, of course, but easily reversible. Got this in the latest Hagerty magazine:

IMG_0031s.jpg
 
Classiccarperformance states a Lucas lens. Confirmed... it is the same one Moss sells. What lens does LBCarco use?
Neither seller states what brand or model the led is. Not easy to compare apples to apples.

Would you provide a link to the led discussion, so I can get up to speed.
Thank you.
 
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Hi All,

I hate to be negative but I am not sure what the motivation is for this high cost LED headlighting conversion. Is it because they use quite a bit less amperage then Halogens? Or is it the amount of light they project? Maybe its their expected longevity. At the high cost of a conversion, I would appreciate knowing what I am missing that is motivating those who are making the change?

Since I have had to stop driving my Healey at night because of its low stance that puts me directly into the prime space for receiving the highest intensity light projected by most SUVs headlights. I had installed Halogens to compliment my driving lights prior to executing my self imposed night driving ban and also installed an alternator to provide the needed extra power. This lighting and power combination proved very effective during 12 years of night driving after installation and at a marginal cost of implementation of under $75.

So, why is an LED conversion worth so much more?

Enjoy being Brighter,
Ray(64BJ8P1)
 
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I try not to have to drive my Healeys in the dark, but sometimes you get caught, and I just want to see and be seen as well as possible. Someone on the email list made a snarky comment along the lines of "Gee, how did we all ever manage to drive our 6-volt cars with wimpy generators and crappy headlights and survive?" My reply was "When everybody had slow cars and weak lights it was a level playing field. Now, we're up against impatient soccer moms in gigantic SUVs in a hurry to get home from soccer practice while she's calling hubby on the phone telling him to put the casserole in the oven." Brighter lights won't necessarily save us, but they can't hurt, and having a couple hundred feet more vis on a dark and lonely highway would be reassuring.

Besides, I just like to experiment, and this is an easy one.
 
Hey Bob

Let us know how you get on and if it is worth it, I have been considering it for years along with changing the side/indicator lights, I have used LEDs in the instrument lighting, but to go the whole hog I will need to go over 'to the dark side' and install an alternator first, unless I buy in the expensive positive earth bulbs in LED format.

:cheers:

Bob
 
While I rarely drive my Healey at night, I just purchased and installed the LED kit sold by LBcarco simply because I'm in the habit of continually upgrading the car. Aside from putting the outer chrome rings back in place, the swap was very simple. At least one other member of our club, St. Johns AH Club, bought the same unit but has yet to install them. This was my first dealing with this supplier. I do agree with the observation about other vehicles and their overpowering lights, particularly those on what we used to call pickup trucks.
 
I bought the kit from Moss, but I haven't really had the car out after dark since, so the verdict is still out. At least to oncoming traffic, they won't look like yellow lights coming towards them__a dead-giveaway of an "old" car.
 
Don't want to hijack your post but I have Led's on the brake, side and indicator lights on my Neg. Ground BJ8. I've looked on the AHSpares and Ahead4Healeys Sites and they only seem to supply conversion kits and not spare bulbs.
They're all working fine but the law requires us to travel with a spare set of bulbs in Europe. Does anyone have a spec for bulb size etc?
AJ
 
mgtf328 said:
Don't want to hijack your post but I have Led's on the brake, side and indicator lights on my Neg. Ground BJ8. I've looked on the AHSpares and Ahead4Healeys Sites and they only seem to supply conversion kits and not spare bulbs.
They're all working fine but the law requires us to travel with a spare set of bulbs in Europe. Does anyone have a spec for bulb size etc?
AJ
Click to expand...

Looking up the Moss bulbs online was easy, as they give the exact name.

What I'm curious about is how do the bulbs work with the stock rubber boot?

Is water protection provided since the bulb is in the wheel well?

Are there clearance problems between the tire and rear of the bulb.\?

The newest bulbs have ribbons of woven metal hanging out the back instead of fans - will those work?

screenshot.1631.jpg
 
Those bulbs from Amazon have a couple of pretty negative reviews. Also 'The G9 Series are not offered in a dual beam bulb (which is high/low in 1 bulb).' That would be a deal breaker for me.

I haven't installed the kit I got from LBCarco, but I'll try to give it a go this week. IIRC, they came with boots but I couldn't see how to install them. Also, no fans or heat sinks (those look pretty funky).
 
Moss didn't sell Healey parts in the UK when I had My MGTF a couple years ago so I didn't think to look. It seems they do now. Thanks for that. I'll give them a call.
In answer to your question the boots are fitted to my car and they look standard to me. There's no chance of them fouling the wheel so perhaps they're not LED's after all. They're not standard bulbs though as the light from them looks different and is brighter.
I'll take the reflector off later today to have a look inside and take a picture.
Thanks
AJ
 
Ok I had a look. My indicators are standard bulbs but the tail/brake and front side lights are LED. The image shows the indicator (closest) and front side light (furthest). As you can see there is no danger of fouling the wheel and it looks to me like a standard rubber boot.

AJIMG_20190325_150646872.jpg
 
mgtf328 said:
Ok I had a look. My indicators are standard bulbs but the tail/brake and front side lights are LED. The image shows the indicator (closest) and front side light (furthest). As you can see there is no danger of fouling the wheel and it looks to me like a standard rubber boot.

AJView attachment 58215
Click to expand...

More concerned about the LED headlight bulbs fouling the tires. indicator bulbs not so much.
 
In wanting to have the best chance to be seen in all my British cars, I have converted all to all-LED. I had to find some Lucas H-4 and H-1 lenses for my XJ-6 Jaguar (5-3/4) enclosures, but once I did I installed the newest "version" of LED headlight bulbs (H-4) from www.superbrightleds.com . They are the most compact and easiest to install. Back in the day I liked and used Cibie enclosures, but I had trouble finding them for my XJ-6. I used the enclosures that Moss sells in both my Healey's. In each of my cars you soon forget about the cost when you see how much better you can see (and be seen).
 
Got the LBCarco 'kit' installed today:

IMG_0125.JPGIMG_0127.JPGIMG_0136.JPGIMG_0137.JPGIMG_0138.JPG

First shot is the 'kit.' The rubber boot is installed by removing the LED 'bulb' from its socket (just like a 1157; one of them was inserted upside down and it took me a while to figure out how to 'fix' it. Almost made a call to Jeff). Second shot is original sealed beams at low beam, third shot is LEDs at low beam, fourth shot is LEDs at high beam, last shot is the LED bulbs and lenses installed. The only thing I'm not entirely comfortable with is the lenses are all but flat, whereas the sealed beams had a significant convex curve, which generally fits with the all-around 'no straight lines' of a Big Healey.

I only had them on for a few minutes at a time but the heat sink was just warm. The photos don't really show the pattern of the lights; at low beam the pattern was like a trapezoid or upside down 'W.' The most concentrated light was fairly straight across the top, with the light diffusing outward and down. Note the car is only 5-6 feet from the wall; I'll adjust later if people start flashing their brights at me :wink-new: Overall, I'm happy with them for the price (about $90 with shipping and tax).
 
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