T-3 Headlights ??

[hilandr452]

Some guy at a body shop my friend owns (who instantly recognized my Longhorn truck) told me this story about how my headlights are very rare and could be original because they were only made in the seventies. Three out of four of my headlights have an inverted triangle with a T-3 in the center. He wanted to make a deal with me for all three traded for a pristine bumper for my truck. Is this guy pulling my leg?



Dan

[LockDoc]

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I think T-3's were made back in the 50's and 60's too. I know there are two different styles, small logo and large logo and one style is worth more than the other. There are a lot of them on eBay and the prices are all over the map.

LockDoc

[tcb-1]

T3's are still out there, but good ones are getting harder to find. I still have the original T3's in my truck as well (thanks Keith).

if the guy wanted to trade for a pristine original bumper, that sounds like a decent deal.

[hilandr452]

Here's a pic of one.





Dan

[71 super]

The smaller versions seem more common (at least on ebay) take a look and see what turns up- find a replacemnt set of 4 and trade him your three for the bumper I recently found two sets for my two restorations and both sets are working, imo they rank very high on the cool points for originality.

[special-K]

There`s a small logo T-3 that doesn`t have a triangle.Those are more rare.

[lowrollin70gmc]

Trade them and toss in some halogens. I realized what my chevelle's were after I threw them out and my dad asked me if I still had the originals. My bad, and yes they still worked.

[Longhorn Man]

i've been told they are made in reproduction, making your headlamps nothing but 40 year old bulbs.
I would trade them for a pack of generic ssmokes and buy new lamps myself.

[special-K]

It`s a cool factor to have T-3s.But,would only matter to me on a 100% restoration.Just like bias plies,factory clamps,and original looking battery.They are worth some coin.
I have some 1157s from`72.WIW?

[JimKshortstep4x4]

T-3's are being reproduced and they are brighter then the originals. Here is a link for anyone interested.

Jim

http://www.lectriclimited.com/mainpage.htm

[72BlckButy]

I've been curious with T-3s for a while now. I recently acquired a set, and my '69 still had one remaining, but they are different. Not in the side, not in having vs not having a triangle, but in the texture/design within the triangle.

I will have to look at them again just to confirm, but IIRC, two of the blubs have a "lined" texture that run from top to bottom; where as the other bulb has a semi-rough looking texture within the triangle area.

[hilandr452]

There is a texture difference between the three I have as well, which I had guessed as the difference between high beams and low beams, since that seemed to be the correlation.

That was just a guess though.



Dan

[72BlckButy]

Nice observation Dan! You might be onto something, but I do know all the bulbs worked in the hi/low beam setting on my truck.

Who knew there could be such a history behind headlights....

[leddzepp]

The Truck Shop sells the T-3 headlights too. I believe 4 of them are $129. I do not know which style they are, as I have never looked closely at them. I wonder if they are original or not...hmm, I might have to ask next time I am down there.

[Musclerodz]

The different patterns will tell you what year range they were made if you know what is what. I do not know which T-3's are being reproduced. Unless you are doing a concours restoration, I would not bother with old or new ones

[mbgmike]

Originally Posted by Longhorn Man

i've been told they are made in reproduction, making your headlamps nothing but 40 year old bulbs.
I would trade them for a pack of generic ssmokes and buy new lamps myself.

at $6.00 per pack i would trade 1 for each bulb.
They are making them again so i wouldn't trade for a decent bumper