Halogen headlights conversion.

[sprintchris]

Hi,

I posted on here a while back regarding fitting halogen headlights to the Sprint.

A member recommended Cibie units which I’ve found and are quite a price.

I know with most things you get what you pay for, has anyone used the Lucas or Autopal ones?

Are they cheap rubbish with a low light output? Or actually very good?

It seems odd a set with bulbs is £40 whereas a single Cibie is £50+

Can anyone confirm if they’re definitely worth the extra? Maybe the cheap ones are a real poor fit? Do they have the correct curve to the glass?

Opinions please!

Many thanks,

Chris.

[GrahamFountain]

I've got the autopal ones.

I've no complains about how bright they are. I had this car halogen'ed about 7 years ago, and it was a big improvement on the sealed beams. Also, you can fit brighter than 55 watt bulbs, certainly on older cars. As I remember from looking into this I could legally put 100/80W bulbs in my 1977 TR7 Sprint and the 1978 TR7V8, but not the 1980 TR7s. But that was a long time ago and the information came from Halfords. Looking on the web, it looks like it's legal on cars from before 1982, but I don't know if that's right. I wouldn't worry about the extra current because I have a higher output alternator and relays under the dash for both main and dip. But without those, I might be concerned.

The problem I do have is that both the autopal H4 and H1s I have are showing corrosion around the edges of the reflectors, the H1s rather more than the H4s, which are mostly still shiny. So I don't think it'll be many years before I have to replace the lot.

Mind you, it's worth pointing out that the bowls behind the H4's had both largely washed away, and the mountings for the H1's weren't worth keeping. So I guess that says something about the amount of wet n salt these lights have seen.

Graham

[sprintchris]

I've got the autopal ones.

I've no complains about how bright they are. I had this car halogen'ed about 7 years ago, and it was a big improvement on the sealed beams. Also, you can fit brighter than 55 watt bulbs, certainly on older cars. As I remember from looking into this I could legally put 100/80W bulbs in my 1977 TR7 Sprint and the 1978 TR7V8, but not the 1980 TR7s. But that was a long time ago and the information came from Halfords. Looking on the web, it looks like it's legal on cars from before 1982, but I don't know if that's right. I wouldn't worry about the extra current because I have a higher output alternator and relays under the dash for both main and dip. But without those, I might be concerned.

The problem I do have is that both the autopal H4 and H1s I have are showing corrosion around the edges of the reflectors, the H1s rather more than the H4s, which are mostly still shiny. So I don't think it'll be many years before I have to replace the lot.

Graham,



Mind you, it's worth pointing out that the bowls behind the H4's had both largely washed away, and the mountings for the H1's weren't worth keeping. So I guess that says something about the amount of wet n salt these lights have seen.

Graham,

Thank you for your reply, very helpful.
I doubt whether my car will ever see a road covered in salt, maybe not even rain, it’s going to be dry/summer use only.

As the Autopal are so cheap I might go for them and see how we go, if they’re brighter than the sealed beams then that’s a massive improvement in itself. It’s good to know you’ve used them and for some time with good results!

Best regards,

Chris.

[soe8m]

Yes there is a big difference.

Using quality lamps and bulbs will give more and a sharper light. A few years ago I did a test. A customer bought some new autopals and fantasy led H4 bulbs.
I said he had to fit himself because i wouldn't. After some discussion I showed him the difference.

Here is a link to the test. It's in Dutch but it will be clear to understand.

https://www.facebook.com/classickabelbo ... 6502206818

Jeroen

[GrahamFountain]

Yeah, I looked at LED bulbs a couple of years back and came to the conclusion that there were a lot of scammers out there, selling bulbs nearly good enough for a hand-torch. So all the ones I could be sure were going to be worth even trying, cost more than I wanted to pay. That's considering the small advantage they would give me and the risks they wouldn't be compatible with the reflectors and lenses I have. But then, I don't do a lot of night driving on unlit roads. The situation with the bulbs may have changed, however.

But the halogens that came with the Autopal lights, the reflectors (as they were new) and the lenses are/were all fine. One of the H1 bulbs seems to have broken in the crash - though it still worked till the connectors had gone on and off a few times in rebuilding the front end. To the best of my memory, the others have all lasted the 7 years or so with no issues - some might have been swapped in prep for an MOT and I didn't listen when I was told (The other day the wife said to me "You weren't listening were you?" Odd way to start a conversation I thought).

It's true that my lights mostly only see 20-30 mins use at a time and only winter time, to and from work. So with longer on times, the bulbs might have lasted less long. But bulbs can be changed. So even if the ones that come with are a bit shoddy, it wouldn't be the end of the world.

The big questions for me were: would they give enough light to make a difference over the old sealed beam units, which the do well (new sealed beams might have done that too, but I thought being able to change the bulbs was important); would they last, which they have to some extent; would they pass an MOT, clearly so; and would they dazzle oncoming traffic when set to pass the MOT.

The last one was an issue. I had to have them lowered a bit, because I was being flashed by oncoming traffic while on dip. I checked them against the wall at the end of our back lane, and both dips looked high to me - above level. But the MOT man said they were right. Still I made him adjust them and after that there were no problems. I still don't know what the actual problem was. I re-checked against the end wall, and he may have set them a bit lower than I might have, but they were ok enough for driving that I didn't change them again, and the mains were fine.

I did have some issues fitting the lights in the chrome rings for the new Wipac bowls - I had to tweak some of the mounting plates that came with the rings with pliers a bit to stop them rattling. But I don't know if that was the plates, rings, or lamps. I didn't fit them to the old rings, and it's a job I've only done once or twice before over nigh on 40 years. So I can't say if needing to do that is usual or not. But it wasn't a big issue anyway - if you can work a screwdriver to do this replacement, I'd be gobsmacked if you can't work pliers too.

So, I have to say I'm fine with these Autopal units, even if I really ought to change the H1 units soon - I expect I'll get a couple more years use still. And when I do, I'll probably get more the same, rather than upgrading - though that may depend on how rich I feel and whether I'm still Yorkshire or not.

Graham

[TrustNo1]

The bulb is just as important as the light unit, there is nothing wrong with autopal if you use a good quality bulb and are using the car for normal road driving, you should also fit relays to take the strain of the switch and wiring, if the wiring is in good order replacing the earths and making sure they have good contact is also a good move.

[Toledo Man]

I fitted the Autopal ones and the curve is flatter than the original sealed beam units and the light is better as well. I fitted relays which is still worth doing even if you stick with the sealed beam headlights.

[soe8m]

That's not quite true.

One of the pics in the test is an autopal with a Philips bulb. In the hella it gives a sharp line as it should. The autopal has a blurry line with the same bulb. As the line is the edge of your road illumination you can set the hella lamps as high as possible without blinding other traffic. Would you set the line of the autopal at the same hight the blurry part will blind the other traffic. The autopal has to be adjusted lower so the blurry part is the end of the road illumination ahead not blinding other traffic. Your actual line and effective illumination is now closer to the car so less.

The cibie valeo has a more sharper line and is the most effective.

Jeroen.

[gmsclassics]

Interesting comments. I changed mine to halogen a few years ago, bought off TradeMe, our version of Ebay and I continue to be astounded by the performance. Last WoF (MoT) I was told the edge on dip was so sharp I should adjust them up which I have since done. Intrigued by the comments I've just been out to the barn to see what brand they are and the dip units are in fact Autopal! I remember the bulbs (60/55) were unbranded. My main beams are Hella secondhand off a Jag. Driving experience on unlit country roads is no different to that of a new XF. I do keep all my cars in the dry when not in use, so can't comment about any corrosion, as there isn't any.

I did buy the ones with the park light bulb included and that is wired in permanently via an ignition feed so I use them as daytime running lights, something you need here as most drivers seem to think old cars are only driven slowly! Still have the standard sidelights.

Hope my practical experience is of some help

Geoff

[Bumpa]

I bought the four lamp halogen kit from Rimmers and it is Autopal lamps. They are OK, and a lot better than the sealed beams, but the quality of manufacture isn't great and the beam control is a bit ragged with a very high angled section to the left. They passed a recent MoT without comment so OK for the price.

On my MGB I have Cibie (Valeo) lamps and they are superb, better than on my modern VW. Beam control is excellent and after ten years out in all weather they look as good as new. When the Autopals on the Dolly need replacing, I will stump up for Cibie, at least for the outer pair.

[GrahamFountain]

Looking on eBay, I see the Lucas sets don't cost very much more than the Autopals. Anybody got comments on those?

Graham

[Bumpa]

Where are the Lucas sets made? I bet it's some eastern country so I wouldn't guarantee the quality being any better than the Autopal.

[sprint95m]

Do they have the correct curve to the glass?
Opinions please!
Chris.

Do they have to have the same curvature as ye olde sealed beams?
The choice is better if you compromise on this in terms of the headlamp performance, for instance.....

Following a recommendation from a fellow TDC member I used Jaguar XJ40 headlamps on a previous Dolomite.
These not only give excellent lighting but also are very long lived (over 25 years) but have flat lenses
and a price reflecting (no pun intended) their quality.........
https://www.britishparts.co.uk/jaguar-p ... -rhd-p3552

You forget just how good these lights are until you have to travel in a different car.....



As an aside,
I am going to fit Hella outer units to my Sprint because they have a sidelight facility that the XJ40 units don't have,
but still fit XJ40 inners.






Ian.

[cliftyhanger]

Where are the Lucas sets made? I bet it's some eastern country so I wouldn't guarantee the quality being any better than the Autopal.

Lucas don't make anything except boxes. They put it all out tho tender. So lowest bidder makes the stuff, and it goes in a green Lucas box....

[soe8m]

When you want the best lights you buy cibie/valeo and you have to pay extra for quality.

When it doesn't matter you buy whatever is the cheapest on ebay. Those are all around the same quality.

When you use 100w bulbs Hella is your choice. These have more internal volume.

Easy...

Jeroen.