Headlight Upgrades

A common query is fitting halogen headlights!

So, to address this, here is a project done by Bryn on his red BGT.

By the way, even if you don't want to shell out on new halogen lights, many people report an improvement just by fitting the relays.  It reduces the load that the headlight switch has to carry and not only does it offer a better light output from the existing lights, it also apparently improves the dash lighting slightly.

But first, a few notes, and thanks to Bryn for the article.

I was given my Halogen headlights by Simon Baker who sourced them from CARS in Derbyshire.

Whilst fitting it is worth rust-proofing the bowls, and remember that the rubber bumper cars had the sidelights integral to the headlight unit (which you can see in the photo above).  Phil Earl fitted the r/b units to his 1972 car giving him four sidelights.

Below the photos show the sequence for re-fitting the headlamps.  The first is the wing all cleaned and rust free!

The next photo shows the main bowl in place with the Waxoyl covering everything!

This shows the the supporting bowl in place with springs connected, and more Waxoyl applied to the back of it!  As Bryn notes further down, the sidelight fouls on this bowl so it is necessary to modify it by cutting some of the support bowl prior to fitting.

This is the back of the Headlamp with rubber grommet fitted and the opening for the sidelight to be fitted.

Here's the completed unit complete with stone guards.

As I was given the stoneguards and the clips provided did not work, I made some up out of P-clips that I straightened and cut to size. As you can see, I have also colour coded my rims - I bought a new set but the fit was awful, so I roughed up the old ones and sprayed them body colour.

By Bryn:

I cheated on this for convenience and bought the 2 relay kit from Moss. Being a typical bloke though I didn't bother reading the instructions so I've at least saved face there!

I looked at the diagram provided. Did some "ruff" measuring. Decided where to put the relays for a neat looking installation, and started running the wires. Wanting absolute maximum light for my money I choose to wire the lights direct from the battery live terminal, under the car, with the heavy grade wire and protective tubing in the kit, through to the relays running the new wires alongside the existing loom. I had to add some more wire to the Moss kit as I chose to mount the relays on the passenger side of the engine bay on the radiator mounting panel.

Once the kit is fitted the original loom carries the current needed to turn on and off the relays, whilst the new wires carry all of the current to power the lights. There is no loading on the headlight switch in the cabin now, which is normally the first point of failure and often the main reason for poor current to the lights. One relay connects the dipped headlights and the other is the main beam.

The Moss kit comes with bullet connectors and sleeves, female spade connectors, and tubing for the new wires etc. I used the tubing on the new wire underneath the car but once into the engine bay I used traditional wiring loom tape to wrap the new wires and the old loom together to make up one tidy looking loom. The kit comes with a choice of either traditional metal brackets or moulded plastic housings, which also have slotted sides to hold the fuse mounts and allow multiple relay housings to slide together. I used the modern plastic housings and fuse mounts, which to me, gives a very neat professional fitting.

Probably due to my relay location and the fact that I didn't bother reading the instructions, I did need to buy some more bullet connectors. In between DIY and work it took me 4 weeks to complete the rewire. In terms of how many hours it took, I think you could do the same in a day, including wrapping the new wires and old loom together in loom tape.

Along with the rewire I also replaced the Wipac halogen headlights (I hadn't got round to refitting them to the car anyway) with Cibie's and power white xenon gas filled bulbs at 60/55 watts. One thing I found with the Cibies is that they will not fit to the existing inner bowl as the sidelight fitting fowls the inner edge. It just means cutting a small slot out of the inner edge of the bowls.

I've only powered them up in the daylight so far, but inside the garage it hurt to look at the front of the car with the headlights on. That has never been a problem previously. If, once I've driven the car at night, I want yet more light, I have no problems now, knowing that the new wiring can cope with higher wattages, something the old loom would be seriously struggling to do.

Edit. I worked late on the car so turned the garage lights off and turned the headlights on. Not road tested as yet but a clear improvement over what I had before.

Another small improvement is possibly a combination of the fast road head and the rewire, but I have noticed that there seams to be no alternator drag on the engine, with the lights on at tick over and nor do the lights dim as the revs drop. The engine ticks over at around 750rpm with the lights on or off. In the past driving the car at night with the lights, wipers and demister on at the same time meant the car struggled to tick over so I'm happy with this little improvement.