36 ford 6volt headlight improvement
- Thread starter KiWinUS
- Start date
Chris Nelson
Senior Member
It is an improvement, but I have a set and they are not as good as the late model sealed beam. I think it has to do with the 36 glass face.
blucar
Well-known member
There has been a lot of dialog on many of the online forums about halogen conversions to the pre '40 vehicles.. The general consistence has been that they don't work. From my own experience with my '39, I converted to 12v halogen, they did work very well.
The problem with the halogens is that the original '36-39 bulbs are what is referred to as being "pre-focused" ... the head light lens prisms are made to work with that type of bulb. The halogen conversion puts out a lot of light which is not focused on the road because the focus point is all wrong.
I converted my '39 back to stock reflectors and Painless' 12v Bright bulbs.. These bulbs fit the standard '36-39 socket. The light is more concentrated onto the road.
I know several people that tried mounting conventional sealed beams behind their stock Ford lens... This does not work very well because the stock lens prisms dis-fuse the light. There are clear lens available to use over the sealed beam conversions that work very well, however, you loose the stock look.
Many people have their reflectors chrome plated in lieu of the original silver plate and/or "glass" plating. Generally speaking, the chrome plate does not work as well as the original type of silver plating and/or the modern "glass" plating.
The problem with the halogens is that the original '36-39 bulbs are what is referred to as being "pre-focused" ... the head light lens prisms are made to work with that type of bulb. The halogen conversion puts out a lot of light which is not focused on the road because the focus point is all wrong.
I converted my '39 back to stock reflectors and Painless' 12v Bright bulbs.. These bulbs fit the standard '36-39 socket. The light is more concentrated onto the road.
I know several people that tried mounting conventional sealed beams behind their stock Ford lens... This does not work very well because the stock lens prisms dis-fuse the light. There are clear lens available to use over the sealed beam conversions that work very well, however, you loose the stock look.
Many people have their reflectors chrome plated in lieu of the original silver plate and/or "glass" plating. Generally speaking, the chrome plate does not work as well as the original type of silver plating and/or the modern "glass" plating.
Kurt in NJ
Well-known member
If you use original reflectors ,and sockets you can get direct fit halogen bulbs in 6V that will work with the original generator---
http://www.classicandvintagebulbs.com/page2.html
I have always bought mine direct from Anthony at Hershey ---still using the same bulbs I bought over 10 years ago -- there are other cheaper bulbs made in India,and China--made by people that don't use them.
When I first put them in my A it was a miracle, the lights were even bright at idle, and I had to lower the charge rate on the generator from using 50cp bulbs ---it now lights up reflector signs at over .3 mile(at least 8 light poles down the road)
http://www.classicandvintagebulbs.com/page2.html
I have always bought mine direct from Anthony at Hershey ---still using the same bulbs I bought over 10 years ago -- there are other cheaper bulbs made in India,and China--made by people that don't use them.
When I first put them in my A it was a miracle, the lights were even bright at idle, and I had to lower the charge rate on the generator from using 50cp bulbs ---it now lights up reflector signs at over .3 mile(at least 8 light poles down the road)
oldandtired
Well-known member
I was wondering if the 40/41 factory COE sealbeam headlights would work on a 36. The stalk is longer, like the one on the 35 passenger, but you could use the same spacers they use with the shorter headlight stands they used on trucks as opposed to the half-ton.The bucket is the same size and it is built for a sealbeam.
JM 35 Sedan
Well-known member
I use the same halogen bulbs that Kurt in NJ is using with stock '35 headlight buckets. They made a big difference. I feel much better and safer now while driving at night. When I leave the high beam up some modern cars actually flash their lights at me to turn them down to low beam. I think if I get my reflectors resilvered the headlights would be even brighter. The manufacturer claims 30% brighter than original incandescent bulbs.
harry goebel
Member
I had chromed reflectors in my 36. I replaced them with Bob Drake's reflectors with 12 volt bulbs, big difference.
blucar
Well-known member
I converted my '36 to sealed beams 55 + years ago... The first go around was to use '40 C**vy headlight pods, as shown in my avatar. I carefully scribed them into the fenders, bolting them in place in lieu of welding/leading them in place like everyone else did. When I got tired of that look I went back to the stock headlight pods in about 1964.. I used seal beam conversions for a '36-37 Ford truck with the truck headlight bezels in the original car type headlight pods.. The truck bezels are shorter than the car bezels, however they look just fine to me. The truck bezels attach to the pod using the original spring attachment. See attached pix...
I omitted the original Ford switch on the column, to accommodate the '40 column shift and added a dimmer switch between the clutch and brake peddle in the hole where the original starter switch was. I used a relay in the circuit in lieu of direct wiring, my 6v headlights are very bright.
I omitted the original Ford switch on the column, to accommodate the '40 column shift and added a dimmer switch between the clutch and brake peddle in the hole where the original starter switch was. I used a relay in the circuit in lieu of direct wiring, my 6v headlights are very bright.
