Date: Thu, 5 Mar 1998 19:17:15 CST
Reply-To: Joel Walker <JWALKER@UA1VM.UA.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Joel Walker <JWALKER@UA1VM.UA.EDU>
Subject: more headlight stuff
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
got the new issue of the LiMBO newsletter today. and here's a solution to
the 86-91 square headlight replacement problem that i hadn't considered!!!
(although i still like the looks of the round headlights better :)
i can't include the pictures (see what you miss when you don't belong to
LiMBO??? :) but the look is basically stock, with the outer/larger lights
being slightly bigger than before/stock.
here's the article:
The Transporter, VOL. 10, #1, Jan-Feb, 1998. Page 6
This Old(er) Bus
Improving Your Vanagon Lighting
by Randy A. Bergum
Today's society is inclined to get more value for every dollar, whether
it be for housing, food, or automotive. If you have ever had to replace
your stock Vanagon headlights due to stone strikes or an accident, you
probably already know that the stock unit is quite pricey and still
leaves a few things to be desired. The greatest deficiencies of this
headlight are in the coverage pattern and brightness. My '67 bug had
Cibie European headlamps and Man-O-Man were they great! The low beam
provided an even blanket of white light, with a definite cut-off to
prevent blinding oncoming drivers. The high beam was aggressive and
had a lot of power in the area directly in front of the car for better
visibility at high speeds.
Our family has done a lot of desert driving on the way to the cabin in
the Sierras, and since buying our '90 Vanagon, I missed the old lights
a lot. Therefore, it was time to see what could be done. A trip to the
parts house revealed that the Hella 5x7" square lamps were very close
in profile, and the price was right ... about $40 each. I bought a pair
and took them home to see what could be done. The main differences
between the two styles of lamp were as follows:
Stock units: Slightly curved lens to match the profile of the front of
the van. Uses a non-standard bulb @ 45 and 50 watts lo/hi.
Mounts to the car with spot welded tabs and plastic
adjusting posts. Expensive to replace.
Hella units: Front lens is flat. Interchangeable left to right. Uses
H4 bulb, available in many combinations, 55/60W, 80/100W,
etc. Better driving and high beam patterns. Readily
available at affordable prices. Reflector housing has
various mounting bosses for different applications.
I removed the front grill from the van and the headlight buckets were
removed complete. Upon inspection, it was discovered that the new
headlights could be mounted directly onto the existing hardware by
making brackets that would locate the new lights in the same positions
as the old ones.
Gently prying out the adjuster screws from the headlight tabs, I
measured and wrote down the diameter of the mounting holes. Next, the
reflector housing on the new headlights was drilled and tapped at the
proper corners to accept new machine screws ... #8-32. These screws
are to hold a steel tube of 1/4" dia. x 0.035" thick by about 1" long.
Mount the metal tubes onto the new headlights and use for a pattern
for the rest of the bracket.
Using a strip of chrome-moly steel of 0.040" thickness, a collar was
made that fit around the light, touching the three mounting posts
made earlier. This collar was brazed to the mounting posts.
Mounting tabs were made with the proper diameter holes to fit the
headlight adjuster posts (as measured earlier). The tabs were clamped
to the collar, and then brazed into place. The collars can be made
out of anything as long as the dimensions are preserved. Remember to
paint the steel when finished to keep rust at bay.
To connect the lights to the stock wiring harness, I made adapters from
two H-4 pigtails found at the junkyard. Spade terminals were soldered
onto the wire ends of the pigtails to permit connection to the plug
that goes into the original headlights without changing anything.
When completed, the collar was attached to the headlight, the headlight
mounted onto the adjusting posts, and the mounting pan was reinstalled
on the front of the car. After test fitting the front grille where it
surrounds the headlight, a small portion of the grille was trimmed to
allow the edge of the headlight to poke through.
At night, the lights were adjusted by shining them on the garage door
and getting some rough adjustments. High beams should be centered, and
the low beams are placed by driving around in a dark area and simply
making sure the low beam cutoffs were located a few notches below the
horizon. Don't adjust them any higher, because the van pitches going
over bumps and we don't want to dazzle oncoming cars. Those of you
with access to the fancy adjusting machines can do it your own way.
After the adjustments were made, Viola!! Decent lighting once again.
To summarize my experience, this lighting retrofit was a bit of work,
but the results are worth the effort, especially if you want to retain
the stock look of your Vanagon. If there is enough interest, I will
make available a set of plans with the dimensions included.
Randy Bergum is a mechanical engineer who spends his spare time
restoring antique pipe organs, and carousing. Randy can be reached
at P.O. Box 6831, Fullerton, Ca 92834.
