Marchal Ampilux Headlights

[ghalperin]

I installed my French headlights, but I'm on the fence on the looks. These are NOS headlights made in '68. They use H1 and H3 bulbs and the high beams are independently adjustable. I'm aware that they're illegal. How do you like them?

[skinnan]

not a bad thing....what do they look like at night?

[96blazr]

Mama always said: "if you have nothing nice to say, then don't say anything at all."

[Mollzyie]

I think they look pretty cool man

[Willie Makeit]

looks killer. hard to find?

[Stocker]

Where on earth did you find those? They are incredible headlamps.... rare as hen's teeth, they have not been made for a whole lotta years. Dunno about the yellow color though, that's likely to cause you grief legally. We put a clear set into a buddy's truck back in the early Seventies when you could buy them new. With separate bulbs and reflectors for high and low beams, the high beam was a bit lacking until we triggered the lows to fire on high beam too. Dynamite lighting, enjoy!

[ghalperin]

Originally Posted by Stocker

Where on earth did you find those? They are incredible headlamps.... rare as hen's teeth, they have not been made for a whole lotta years. Dunno about the yellow color though, that's likely to cause you grief legally. We put a clear set into a buddy's truck back in the early Seventies when you could buy them new. With separate bulbs and reflectors for high and low beams, the high beam was a bit lacking until we triggered the lows to fire on high beam too. Dynamite lighting, enjoy!

I restore '60s Porsches as well. So I have a lot of cool European Hot Rod stuff. Mostly lights, seats, steering wheels and wheels. These lights came from Europe. They were in the original boxes with 1968 dates. I'll probably use them on a few different cars, since I paid way too much for them. I installed Flosser H1 55W+50% low beams and Osram H3 100W high beams. The brightness is all about the bulbs and there is quite a selection of high performance bulbs available. I also installed a headlight wiring harness that connects directly to the battery with relays for each headlight. If I get a ticket, I've got a few sets of Cibie H4 headlights to replace them with.

I've been reading the instructions and all 4 bulbs are supposed to be on during the high beam operation, if the alternator is strong enough to handle it. For now, I'll assume it is and I need to jump the low beams to be on with the high beams.

[Stocker]

I agree, relays are a must, especially with lamps like that. I don't believe I knew Ampilux high beams required all four bulbs -- we just figured it out and made it work. H4 Cibies are a great second choice, I have been using them for decades and they are in my K20 now. Although I have never run high-wattage bulbs, a long time ago I had a pair of aircraft landing lamps (sealed-beam, 4 filaments, 250 watts each) that I put in at least 2 cars that I owned. Tapped into the high beam circuit to a relay that lit 'em up, though the alternator wasn't always too happy about it. Made plenty of light.....