Hi,

I've never seen SEALED BEAM headlights lightning up anything but themself!  Al cars i own or have owned get the headlight assembly with a H4 bulb and relay upgrade because i drive them day and night!
Over here you can't pass the inspection if you have sealed beam headlights.

Mustsed

Ron68 wrote:

Whatever lights you use, if you use the original old wiring, you will not be getting the full 12 vdc to the lights. I installed the relays and wired the lights so that turning on the light switch closes the relay and supplies direct full battery voltage to the lights. I have two relays, one for low beam and one for high beam. It works for me. I don't know anything about how the LED lights might work with the original wiring.

Yep. I did this also and it made a world of difference.

Mustsed is right. In Europe sealed beams are not allowed, and here in the good old USA non-sealed beams are not allowed.  I do not remember why the difference.  It may have something to do with safety.

And non-sealed beams are brighter.

There is no point going to better bulbs if you don't install relays.  What will happen is that you will overload the headlight switch and trip its internal circuit breaker.  When that happens the lights will go off.  You'll be tempted to think its the switch; its not.

I installed relays and Sylvania Silver Star halogen bulbs 6-7 years ago now and they are brighter than the lights on my '06 F250.

Personally I love LED technology, but I think they look out of place on a classic. 
 

I really haven't followed the market for 7" headlights, since my 69 uses 5-3/4". Holley has just come out with SAE and DOT approved versions for the 5-3/4" and they are EXPENSIVE. They have the classic look. Most of the aftermarket LEDs shine up and too the side too much, endangering other drivers, and you- if it rains or in fog.
There are inexpensive DOT approved halogens (like Sylvania) that work much better than the OE lights, but you need relays and large gauge wire to really make them shine the brightest. After all, the light switch and related wiring and connectors are 50+ years old, and all the stuff under the hood has taken a beating from hot and cold temperatures and the elements.
The 5-3/4 size has been a problem until to now, because it was only used on the 69s, but all the other years use 7". The lower usage meant that it didn't pay to invest in the regulatory approvals for the 5-3/4. The advantage of LEDs is that unless your harness is really decrepit you won't need relays because they use much less amperage, and give more light. Personally I wouldn't use a light that wasn't DOT approved.

Last edited by Mach1Driver (4/28/2022 6:59 AM)

Mach1….if you look at the pictures closer, Hella does make a 4 headlamp system too.  part numbers are listed.  One of my reasons for taking the pictures was to have that information to share…hard to find sometimes on internet.

I ordered ours from Summit Racing.

TKO…Hella H4 in kit are 60/55watts. Same as my Sylvania halogens. Light is in better pattern.
I also have a 3G 130 amp alternator and 8gauge wire feeding my fuse boxes..original was 10 gauge wire.

Last edited by Nos681 (4/28/2022 9:56 AM)

Bearing Bob wrote:

Ron68 wrote:

Whatever lights you use, if you use the original old wiring, you will not be getting the full 12 vdc to the lights. I installed the relays and wired the lights so that turning on the light switch closes the relay and supplies direct full battery voltage to the lights. I have two relays, one for low beam and one for high beam. It works for me. I don't know anything about how the LED lights might work with the original wiring.

Yep. I did this also and it made a world of difference.

Totally agree, relays are the way to go.  Especially if your headlight switch is original.  Without relays, the full current for the headlights go through the switch, after 50-60 years the contacts in the switch have likely degraded and full voltage is not getting to the headlights.  Higher current draw headlights only make the matter worse.
I installed two relays, one for high beams, one for low beams.  I installed a new 15-amp circuit breaker from the battery to power the headlights.  The headlight switch now controls the relays and draw significantly less current through the switch.
I also installed a relay for the horns for the same reason.  Horns sound much better now.
Send me a PM if you want a sketch and a further description of my installation.

 

Nos681 wrote:

Mach1….if you look at the pictures closer, Hella does make a 4 headlamp system too.

I ordered ours from Summit Racing.

 
I'm not Mach 1, but I think he said he wouldn't use a non DOT approved headlight, which Holley makes but are hella (pun intended) expensive. And I believe Mach1 Driver is an electrical engineer, which is nice.

I would try the relays as a lot have stated before spending the money on LED's. You already upgraded the lights once. If the relays aren't good enough then maybe try LED's. 

Years ago, information was shared with me by one of my Navy buddies who rode motorcycles and knew a lot of stuff that I wasn’t aware of.

Here’s some information about helmet ratings by DOT and SNELL and ECE.
I also understand that a company can pay a fee to have equipment rated as DOT without independent testing…just the facts ma’am.

https://bestmotorcyclehelmets.net/motorcycle-helmet-safety-ratings/

I value safety and perform my own risk management.

Last edited by Nos681 (4/29/2022 4:33 AM)

I went with Dapper lighting.  They were expensive. They have the amber cut back also for the signal.

There LED so I could use the original harness. 

Steve69 wrote:

I'm curious if that is the stock hood scoop, just without the grill. It looks so much bigger than mine. Maybe I have hood scoop envy