Headlight upgrades

[Sport/Truck]

Heres what I've concluded.
The relay conversion is worth it, and I'm having my harness made with it.
The beauty about this mod is it will allow feature upgrades to the headlights. In theory I can use a upgraded head light, and if it gets broken I can always drop in a standard sealed beam to get home.

The hella H4 high/low beam will fit just like stock using the original plug from the harness.
The H1 (high beam only for GMC) wold require me to open up the area behind the lamps assy. (according to a guy at rally lights). I'm not sure about cutting on my already painted radiator support for a headlight! So I may look at something different.
Anyone know what lights that fit without making a permanent modification for only that light?
s/t

[mrein3]

Originally Posted by 67dragtruck

My Hella housings did not require me to change the sockets so if the sky falls as you talk about, the $8 bulb from anywhere still goes right in and works. The only other mod there was the relay upgrade which you liked.

Tom

My point is what do you do if a rock takes out the part you plug your $8 bulb in to? Are you going to find ONE replacement or are you going to have to buy another set. I'm thinking you're stuck buying another set. And the $8 bulb.

If you stick with sealed beams you just stop anyplace on the planet that sells parts and get a new one.

Oh and the light from a sealed beam, with the relay upgrade is all you need anyways. If you roll your own relay upgrade your in for $10 worth of relays and less than $10 worth of wire AND you can use the old time religion sealed beams you already have in your truck. Getting a halogen sealed beam if you already don't have them can wait for what you got to get burned out or taken out by a rock. Its a no brainer in my book. Putting in those aftermarket systems is like an art major taking theoretical physics. You can take the class and the grade will count to your GPA but you don't need it.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by Sport/Truck

The H1 (high beam only for GMC) wold require me to open up the area behind the lamps assy. (according to a guy at rally lights). I'm not sure about cutting on my already painted radiator support for a headlight! So I may look at something different.
Anyone know what lights that fit without making a permanent modification for only that light?
s/t

I would contact Daniel Stern and see if the Cibies would fit. Many years ago I had four Cibies in our '66 Corvette, and the low beams were impressive, very very nice. But the high beams, with the H4s and the high-only H1s, were simply dazzling -- unlike anything I had ever seen at that time.

If you're going to upgrade to halogens, I would urge you to find a way to get H1 high beam lamps also. The two different beam patterns (H4 high/H1 low) complement each other very well. You won't regret it.

[Dingfodgy]

[QUOTE=mrein3;2913195]My point is what do you do if a rock takes out the part you plug your $8 bulb in to? Are you going to find ONE replacement or are you going to have to buy another set. I'm thinking you're stuck buying another set. And the $8 bulb.

If you stick with sealed beams you just stop anyplace on the planet that sells parts and get a new one.

Oh and the light from a sealed beam, with the relay upgrade is all you need anyways. If you roll your own relay upgrade your in for $10 worth of relays and less than $10 worth of wire AND you can use the old time religion sealed beams you already have in your truck. Getting a halogen sealed beam if you already don't have them can wait for what you got to get burned out or taken out by a rock. Its a no brainer in my book. Putting in those aftermarket systems is like an art major taking theoretical physics. You can take the class and the grade will count to your GPA but you don't need it.[/QUOTE


....what if a rock falls off a dump truck and trashes your new windshield.
....what if you have a catastrophic failure of a tire and destroy one of your wheels.
....what if your carb inlet cracks, your engine catches fire and your truck burns to the ground.
....what if, what if, what if.

Just as you'd never upgrade your headlights....I'd never put rear disc brakes on my truck. They're not necessary. However lot's of people do for many different reasons.

This entire board revolves around something we don't need. None of us really needs a classic chevy or gmc truck, but we want them and like them and some of us are inclined to improve them with modern technologies that make them more reliable, safer, faster, cooler, and all around more pleasant to operate. Others are steeped in tradition and want to keep them as close to original as possible. and some don't give a s*#t either way and just drive 'em till the wheels fall off.
In essence nothing we do to our trucks, or even our trucks themselves are necessary for the preservation of life, but are vital to some of us for the quality of life we wish to have.

Now to answer the question. Here's the order of business I would recommend if you want to upgrade your lighting and retain the stock appearance.
1. Do the relay upgrade.
2. Get some Hella or Cibie H4 housings and bulbs. If this is cost prohibitive, go to your local Autozone and get some Sylvania or Wagner halogen sealed beams.
3. If in time you want to upgrade to HID- you will have to get the housings with a clear lens and faceted refletor to get decent results, or you can get housing that look like a typical sealed beam unit, but actually contain a projector. I think you can get them @ SUVlights.com.

Any setup other then factory sealed beam type lamps will most likely require some modification of the core support behind the inside lamps for clearance and accessibility reasons.

Good luck!