Headlamp lens
Comments
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Hi Geoff, broke one a few years ago and it made me investigate that there is 2 types of hudson lens. Usa and export. The USA ones are used only within the USA whilst the world used the export design. The export has an x stamped on the bottom next to name. It looks much nicer (personal view)
Head Light Lens/Glass - measuring the underside/back. The height is 19.6cm & width is 19.2cm. There are several brands and the size also suits other vehicle makes.
I found mine using a vintage headlight lens enthusiasts website based in Canada. Will try and find the site if you need.
Cheers ken0 -
Thank you Ken. I should have considered the possibility of export models being different. this is of course r.h.d., but the only difference I was aware of was the placement of the filaments in the bulbs, which here low beam dips to the left0
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Our club member Phil did send me this information when I was looking back then..."There are three manufacturer lenses that I am aware of the will fit your headlight buckets -Bi-Ray by C.M Hall Lamp Co,Depress Beam by C.M. Hall Lamp CoRiteway by The Corcoran Brown Lamp Co"X" brand (there is a big X underneath at the bottom. Part no underneath up top of #129001.From time to time, they pop up on ebay USA. I have bought headlight lenses from the following person before and found him to be very reliable and approachable. Every month, he has an advert in Hemmings Motor News - HEADLIGHTS, headlight lenses, headlight parts only, 1914-39. Donald Axelrod, 35 Timson, Lynn, MA 01902, PH: 781-598-0523; Location is Massachusetts, United States. You could also try Donald Axlerod in the States. I think that this is his email address - Hdlthqtrs@aol.comxx"
Cheers ken0 -
Geoff,
If you don't already have it, I have a copy of an old Skinned Knuckles article that is in effect an interchange manual for headlight lenses for 30s American cars. I found it useful when trawling the internet for replacement Stabilite lenses after I broke 2 trying to install them. It allowed me to find them on eBay through dimensions and serial numbers. I got them for a fraction of specialist dealer prices because the sellers didn't list them by car/model. A case of "knowledge is power " !
Please private message me if you'd like a copy emailed to you.0 -
Geoff I p[probably have one Ive got about 30 or so different ones just need size0
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Got heaps of bulbs as well do you know my ph number
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Trevor,
please do you have any Stabilite or Tribeam lenses ?0 -
No Sorry0
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Trevor, C.M.Hall, Depress beam, 7-9/16" diameter.0
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Geoff, what is the date on that issue; I have most all of the SK issues except a few at the very beginning. Good for 'old car people'. Thanks~~0
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It's me, not Geoff, who has the SK info. Please PM me if you want copies.
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Sorry, didn't want any more copies, just wondered what that date was; But I do have a master index of all articles, had forgot that !.0
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Update - have obtained a replacement lens locally, thanks to all those who offered help. And a tip, when removing these lenses, they are a real pain, as you have to push the lens back and down at the same time. Problem is the gasket has shrunk, and the lens catches on the lip of the reflector and won't come out. Use a thin knife blade at the top of the lens and keep a little pressure outwards with the blade and ease the lens out that way. And replace the gasket with a thicker one so that the lens sits proud the lip of the reflector.0
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Sorry to disagree with you here, Geoff, but please DON'T use a thicker cord gasket. That's how I had one of my lens breakages.
The extra thickness of the gasket meant more resistance to the lens slotting in and the extra stress broke it.0 -
I must clarify that my advice relates solely to my experience with the headlights and lenses fitted to 1934 and 1935 cars. On these, I should probably be regarded as the world's leading expert having broken three of the darned things ! :'(0
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Old Fogey and Geoff, what are you using as a headlight glass gasket? This is something I need to turn my mind to before long.0
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Bob,
It's a white soft cotton cord you can get at DIY stores in the UK - and I'm sure elsewhere. You can get it in several thicknesses. It looks like oversized shoelace.
If you want me to send you a sample (I think I've got some left), please PM me.
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With all these '30's cars and any cars before sealed beam headlights, where you have to remove the lens to get at the bulb, be sure to put several blankets with some thickness on the floor before trying to remove the lens. Especially those where you have to push and tilt the lens This is so if the lens slips out of your hands and falls to the floor you don't break it. They are not making those any more you know.0
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The '36 headlamps have flat cork gaskets, and it should be flush with the edge of the groove in the reflector. When I said thicker, I meant restored to the original thickness. Over a period of 84 years the cork for some reason has dried out and shrunk somewhat! The cork strip fits around the outer groove of the reflector, and the lens is located by a raised circle in the reflector. I don 't know about '34 models, but with the correct thickness gasket I have no trouble slotting the lens in and out.0
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When I rewired the 35 T I bought the head light gaskets from Don Axlerod. I tamped them into the groove with a drift. Snug fit. As Geoff indicated, they were flush with groove and the lens go in & out nicely. The original gasket had small sections missing and the remainder snapped off in stiff chucks.0
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Can anyone tell me about 1937 Hudson headlamp lenses? I thought I was told once that they were a one or two year only lense? Also is there a difference in 37 Terraplane vs Hudson lenses?
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AFAIK 36 and 37 both H & T lenses are the same but don't take that as gospel, wait for someone knowledgeable to respond.0
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Tom,35 Terraplane said:When I rewired the 35 T I bought the head light gaskets from Don Axlerod. I tamped them into the groove with a drift. Snug fit. As Geoff indicated, they were flush with groove and the lens go in & out nicely. The original gasket had small sections missing and the remainder snapped off in stiff chucks.
When I got my car, it had the cord stuff in the headlights and it looked like it had been in there for a long, long time. It could well have been original. It would certainly have more "give" in it than cork strip when it comes to coaxing a lens into place.
I have never encountered this type of lens fixing on 1930s European headlights that all seem to have the lenses set into detachable metal rims - a far safer system.
This push fit system appears to be unique to US cars and really seems like a disaster waiting to happen from the get-go. Except that it meant the manufacturers would get to sell more lenses, I can't see the point of it being used back in the day.0 -
I agree totally. The old system was much better with the reflectors slipped in to slots in the housing and the lens clipped in to the rim. However, it is what it is, so we have to make the best of it. Only alternative is to get a conversion kit and fit sealed beams, but the originals do look nice. As an aside - when I was teenager, and developed a growing interest in cars, you could always tell when a Ford was coming towards you at night, due to the dim lights. Seems Henry ordained that reflectors were to be nickel instead of silver, cheap glass was used in the lenses, (which had a yellow tinge), and cheaper wiring was to be installed. This amounted to around $10 per car saving, which on a turnover of a million cars was extra dough in his pocket!0
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Delyth,
I could see the use of different material for the gasket on your car as what was on hand may have been used. I think the stiffness of the cork may help as you push down and in on the bottom half of the lens & reflector then lift the lens up slightly and rotate it out of the housing. You hear the reflector springs creek as you push the lens / reflector itself down & in, which at first made me wince thinking I was going to break something.
The head light bucket is slightly elliptical, the horizontal center being the shorter of the two axis. As you lift the lens up you are moving up toward the vertical long axis. I kinda think of it as a cleaver design, using math / geometry to hold the lens in. Clean and maybe more aerodynamic. Per Geoff, “the originals do look nice”.
Not being round I'd think the tooling costs may have been more.
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Those are cool with no metal trim to hold it in. Sort of similar to 36 ford0
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Cool maybe, but also a bit of a bad idea40indianssgmailcom said:Those are cool with no metal trim to hold it in. Sort of similar to 36 ford
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1935 Terraplane.
Anyone Familiar with the Headlamp inside guts, More precisely the Pressure Springs and tabs and where i can get some ?
I believe there are 3 springs in each lamp ?0 -
Donald Axelrod - the headlight guy. You can look him up on the internet.0
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