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Thread: LED Headlight Upgrade Question

  1. #11
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    One thing I found that I don't like about the Hella headlights is that they're flat-faced. I think a tri5 should have "domed" bulbs like the original ones. So I'll be looking for a pair of halo bulbs which I think are cool (look at all the new cars) but they have to have a domed face, have to be glass (not plastic) construction, and accept an H4 bulb or be full LEDs. I don't want a sealed-beam with LED halos.

    Here's s ton of choices:

    https://www.octanelighting.com/produ...s/7-headlights
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  2. #12
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Here's a zillion more to confuse you.....

    https://www.carid.com/1956-chevy-bel...ed-headlights/
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  3. #13
    Registered Member BamaNomad's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by chevynut View Post
    One thing I found that I don't like about the Hella headlights is that they're flat-faced. I think a tri5 should have "domed" bulbs like the original ones. So I'll be looking for a pair of halo bulbs which I think are cool (look at all the new cars) but they have to have a domed face, have to be glass (not plastic) construction, and accept an H4 bulb or be full LEDs. I don't want a sealed-beam with LED halos.

    Here's s ton of choices:

    https://www.octanelighting.com/produ...s/7-headlights
    I like your logic there CN... Let us know what you choose and how it goes?

  4. #14
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    Personally I think LED lights look totally out of place on any old car, and actually look pretty dorky on many cars. The more I see them, the less I like them, which has turned into another fad. They looked cool 4 years ago. Too me, the headlights on most old cars are still the best. The soft white incandescent lights always look great, and part of the charm. I've had many cars that I would have liked to replaced the "modern" aero , usually clouded up $200+ea. headlights that didn't work that great, with a simple sealed beam glass headlamp that only cost $7 simply changed removing 3 screws. You could replace one in the middle of nowhere at night in 5 minutes. I always thought they worked great when aimed correctly, and you could see a long way with the high-beams on. Fuel mileage, and blending into the body work are why they have changed so much, not always for better light.
    Back the OP, you could simply buy good sealed beams, improve the wiring, and add a relay. Most important thing with any headlight is to find a shop that can correctly align them, just like you would with tires/wheels. They have to be pointed in the right way to work best.
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 07-20-2018 at 04:02 PM.

  5. #15
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    I agree with rescue dog. The led headlights just don't go with the 50's. The worst I have seen is the halo's. Looked outright grotesquely gaudy the very first time I saw them on a round headlight. On new cars I don't mind a strip of leds maybe going along the top of the lens. Looks like it's 2018. Maybe they can put led's on those rubber band tires just to see how ugly you can make a car. On the 55 I aligned my own headlights. If you can park it fairly level and the lights shine on the garage door, or a wall, you can get close adjusting them. Then drive it and see if you need a little more adjustment. I had it written down somewhere but can't find it, my friend a mechanic told me exactly how to aim the headlights that way. A set number of feet away, in PA I think it's 3° to the right and so many inches high. Switch to hi beams and the 3° offset goes straight, so it's easier to adjust then with the high beams on, then check with the low beams.
    Tony

    1955 Bel Air Sport Coupe

  6. #16
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    You can actually get pretty close just pulling up closely to a white garage door, marking a cross + with tape on the center of the beams, and backing straight away on a level driveway, and see if they move up/down, left/right as you move back.
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 07-21-2018 at 05:57 PM.

  7. #17
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    What's really annoying with some new cars, is when the hallow turns off when the turn signals are applied. Just looks plain stupid, and deceiving, if they even use them at all.
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 07-21-2018 at 06:03 PM.

  8. #18
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Wow some of you guys are really stuck in the past. I find it hard to believe that some guys still uses a carburetor that's been out-dated for over 30 years, still run white-lettered tires, think that anything with electronic controls is "too complicated", hack the fenders of their cars to make the tires "fit", and don't really want to see the road at night.

    Next we'll be hearing about how drum brakes "feel so much better" than disc brakes and how much "simpler" a single piston master cylinder is. Or maybe how manual steering just brings back the nostalgia of driving, and how a stock suspension allows the car to roll making it a much more "enjoyable" ride. I'm sure some of them would rather crank their windows down because it takes them back to their childhood.

    Stock incandescent headlights just plain suck as far as light output. It would be a lot easier, and better imo, to install 7" LEDs than to add relays to run inferior lights. And the LEDs last a lot longer and give much better light quality. Modern technology is so much better than the crap from 60 years ago and most guys have moved into the 21st century. But if that's what you like, and it's legal, by all means do it. Nobody cares.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  9. #19
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    My 08 Silverado had rear drum brakes, that had way better braking performance than my 02 Silverado with 4 wheel discs. It also had manual windows/locks that were not that difficult to operate, and the incandescent headlights where too bright, after getting flashed from oncoming traffic many times. Never had to replace the bulbs after 10 years either, and the stock suspension handled great. New cars are amazing, but with the countless electronic computer controlled systems on the car they have made them so complicated even the dealer can't fix some of them. It is not possible to make an old car anything like a modern car. ABS, airbags, stability control, countless safety features, and engine controls that makes 25 year old fuel injection tech not that much better than a carb.

  10. #20
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    I have a buddy that Hotrod mag did a 4 page article on was built with wildwood disk upfront and Impala 11 inch drums in rear, why he runs the shop in town that everyone takes their conversions that don't work to get them straighten out too, Cnut you just need to go but a new Corvette whatever, I don't know what top dog is anymore, or a Hellcat and its everything you want done. I have ran Halogens for years but no space ship lights or gang banger wheels for me.

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