Before I Break Something...'37 Terraplane headlight lens removal

The first trick is to place a pillow and a couple blankets under the lens, lest you fumble and drop it.

The second trick is to use a slotted screwdriver and remove the screw on the underside of the headlight shell. Actually, if it's the original-type screw, you may be able to loosen it until it drops down a bit -- there are two sets of threads on it, the bottom set of threads merely holds it in place after it's dropped down and released the lens.

The third trick is to press inward and downward on the bottom of the lens. If you have sufficiently loosened the screw, it should actually move inward. (If not, then simply remove the entire screw). Since the sides of the lens are actually narrower than the front rim, the top of the lens should move outward slightly -- or at least downward slightly, and a slight gap will open up.

At this point I take a thin piece of plastic -- you didn't really want that Visa card, did you? -- and poke it into the gap at the top of the glass and carefully work it sideways around the glass, gently forcing the glass out. This is tricky because if the glass doesn't want to come, you might break it. All the time you are pushing down and in at the bottom of the lens with your other hand. Your third hand is at the ready, to catch the lens if it pitches out.

Working gently, you should be able to ease the top of the lens outward enough to grab it with your fingers, then gently pull it out of the shell (sort of in an upward direction). Did I mention gentle? All three of your hands should now be fumbling around the perimeter of the lens trying to ease it out and trying not to drop it. The reflector will actually pivot forward at the top, following the glass partly out of the headlight shell.

Okay, it STILL may not come out. At this point I get mad and (after carefully loosening either end of the stainless edge trim around the opening of the shell) I "peel" the trim out and away from the edge of the metal, until it's off. This effectively makes the opening in the shell, larger. The glass invariably comes out. This is not recommended for it's hard to fit that edge trim back onto the edge of the opening. It may get bent during removal. Ask me if I care...

Once the lens is removed you can change the bulb. Push it inward and turn counter-clockwise to release. Also, take the opportunity to polish the silver reflector. I've heard people say they use Tarn-X (available at antique stores and the like), others like silver polish. But do NOT rub hard or you will take the silver off. Use a very soft polishing cloth and move outward from the center, not circularly. Don't touch the silver of course.

You might want to take the opportunity to remove the reflector and solder a ground wire to the socket itself, then feed the ground wire out of the headlight shell and through the radiator shell to the nearest place where you can screw it to the car's frame.

If the bottom reflector spring is badly rusted, you can get a repro from Duke Marley in N.C. (see the HET Roster).

If you're not in a rush, take the time to try to find a good strong headlight bulb and use that as a replacement. 32 candlepower was standard, but you can find 50-32 (hi-low beam) bulbs and even 50-50 if you look hard. Or replace with one of the new 6-volt quartz halogen bulbs sold by Little British Car Company (the Australian manufacturer of them actually sells them directly at Hershey every year).

Finally, check the condition of the gasket behind the perimeter of the lens, in the channel around the reflector. If bad, you can make your own. I went to a model train shop and bought the cork roadbed that they sell, and sliced it into thin strips. They fit right into the channel on the reflector and are nice and pliable.

Replace the lens carefully, reversing the removal process. Bottom is pushed in and down, then top is pushed backwards and down. Make sure you got the bottom side down; rotate lens to make sure it's straight, before tightening the screw at the bottom. The screw may not seat correctly in the bottom reflector spring so don't force it, try to rotate the lens to see if you can work the spring (behind the reflector) sideways slightly so the hole lines up with the screw. If you put a couple drops of oil on the screw and work it in and out (before replacing the lens) then you should be able to turn it by hand mostly, and not force it. Be sure to use all three hands to replace the glass, and keep those pillows and blankets handy.

Wow, last time I spoke to him about the clips, he seemed to have a gazillion of 'em and no one was buying. How things change!

Back in the 70's I needed some so made one up out of some steel strapping I happened to find. Actually, it wasn't half bad but I was happy to find the real thing some years later. With the right tools -- punches, cutters, etc -- it would seem relatively easy to make up some. The whole concept (of how the lights go together) was pretty funky though. There has to be a better way to hold that lens in!

I had been happy with my halogens until the moment (5 years ago) that I turned them on and both lamps blew out simultaneously! Upper and lower beams. I have no idea what happened, except that someone suggested it might have been a voltage surge, possibly caused by a faulty voltage regulator. I replaced the regulator and bought replacement halogen lamps but haven't had the guts to put them in yet. That's $50 in bulbs up in smoke instantaneously, if it happens again. Wish there was some sort of "voltage fuse" I could wire into the circuit, whenever I finally work up the courage to replace the halogen bulbs in my headlight sockets!

Both of my headlight sockets have soldered ground wires that run back to the frame. I also have a dual headlight relay (bypassing miles of wire and corroded switches). Hid the relay behind the left dashboard panel, which I installed hinges on for easy access the relays (one for radio as well) and turn signal stuff.

Well of course you could carry spares of the old-style incandescents with you but still, that $50 still hurts. (At least you are in the same country as the guy who makes the halogens!)

Seems like there'd be some gizmo to splice into the wiring circuit to prevent such voltage surges. Someone suggested a "zener diode" but what do I know about that stuff? Somewhere else, it suggested that a faulty headlight relay (I have a dual one) could cause this problem but again, what do I know?