So---With Visa card in hand I called Gennie Shifter---

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Originally Posted by Don Shillady

Can I have a clarification on the H4 lights? I was just going to replace the sealed beams bulbs (early type halogen) in the stainless Dietz shells with the Speedway 910-61018 7" fluted bulbs. My wife's car is a 2003 Saturn and the headlights are really great so I assumed the H4 bulbs were like that. My "plan" was/is to keep the beautiful STAINLESS Dietz shells (Speedway 911-01007), replace the sealed beam bulbs with the 910-61018 7" and then add the Speedway kit 910-64150 for turn signals so as to end up with retaining the nice stainless shells, brighter lights and turn signals. Are these H4 bulbs the ones that don't last? I checked on this conbination with one of the tech guys at Speedway and he said it will work but there was no mention of bulb lifetime.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

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Don,
Take a look at this:

OK Dave, So I should buy the H4 setup and replace the bulb with a 9003?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don,

The turn signals inside the headlight shell don't work worth a darn. You can't see them with the lights on. I installed them - then threw them away.

Thanks Henry, I wondered about that. I looked at a neat '29 Shay here in Richmond that has that style light and could see them but not clearly so at night they are certainly marginal. Still I want the brighter headlights even if I have to use external turn signals. I guess I will take another look for motorcycle lights with threads that can hang below the headlight buckets but they have to be small due to the curve of the fender. It is a darn shame about the verticle "arm" on the stock '29 cowl lights. Restorers turn them into turn signals but there is only one nut on the inside to hold them and with the weight of the lamp you would have to really tighten that nut to keep the lamp from swinging down and besides the most beautiful part of a '29 body is the swooping cowl sides and it would be a shame to clutter them up with cowl lamps. I am attaching a picture of my neighbor's restored '29 sport coupe to show the cowl lights which he converted to turn signals but you can see there would be a lot of tendency for those lights to swing down. Deuce cowl lamps are closer with straight in bolts but they are larger and would also spoil the shape of the cowl.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder.

Don,
Yes - buy 9003 bulbs - H4 bulbs really stretch legality as do the lights installed in the headlight bucket. As Jack said, the integrated lights really can't be seen.

As far as OEM cowl lamps, on an original style car, there is a wood block and a separate arm that they bolt to rather then the actual cowl steel. On my '31 they also serve as part of the cowl band retaining system. There are lots of other choices available - and you can even choose commercial trucking,marine or motorcycle lights. What I personally don't like are the $10-12 lights like shown here. They are way too common, weather pit within a year, and the bulbs are expensive specials.

I have had a couple of hot rods with the chrome body turn signals as pictured above, sorry they were removed and other options were searched out.
After I installed a set of the Speedway headlight turn signals, and I found that you definetly cannot see those, I returned them for a refund.
So I decided to make a concerted effort to find a light that was small and would mount inside the headlight and be seen day or night.
Well I have found them. They are currently being manufactured at this time.
They are an LED light, very bright. And they are small, 1.5 inches long and 3/4 inches high. And they are easy to mount. You just have to drill a hole in your reflector and then plug in the wires from your existing turn signal. Reassemble and you are on your way.
I will show some pics here. These are the first ones that I made and they are going to be exactly like the ones in thepics. You can mount at the bottom or the top of the headlight reflector.
No price yet. I will post after I have a few packaged and reeady to send.
Craig

Hey, a full-fendered '29 with a dropped bar! I am very interested to see the test that DennyW mentions and to find out how you do it. For what it is worth I have found that LED side markers will fit exactly into the space between Model A bumper bars, but (!) so far I do not see an easy way to hide the wires along the bumper brackets. Black plastic wire covers almost work but look pretty clunky upon closer inspection.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Okay here are two pics I took tonight one of the Tsig on and one off. They can be seen very clearly straight on from a distance with the H4 lights on. But they do not photograph that well because of glare. I am sure there is some way to take a clearer picture but I am not a pro.
Please note the bulbs in the 28 are H4 bulbs. You can purchase the reflector and bulb socket to add to your 28 29 30 31 and 32 headlight buckets.
Thank you for the nice comments on the 28.
Craig

Boxstr, If/when you post some more pictures of how to install the LEDs in the headlight bucket reflectors (particularly how to nibble out the oval hole) it would be great to see some pictures of the whole car. I should have noticed the lack of door handles on a '28 but thought it was just part of your smooth look. I would be interested in seeing how you cool the engine with the non-louvered hood sides. Shroud, electric fan, etc.? On the headlights, the combined conclusion I get is that I could retrofit the H4 reflector kit in my Dietz buckets, add a 9003 bulb and then nibble out the hole for the LED so we need more info on where to get the LED and some comments on the flasher to use with the LED. I really like orange too but my wife said no so I finally sold her on metallic wine/maroon.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Don, if you look at the pic of the bottom of the reflector it is actually just a hole that I drilled out. No nibbling. And I would assume that you might be able to find a reflector for the Dietz???
I will be taking step by step pics of a how-to-add the LED Tsigs.
The 28 is running a Buick V6,TH 350 trans, 9 inch Ford RE. The temp gauge barely gets off the peg. It is running an electric fan. I will include a few shots of the motor later.
Craig

Hey, nice side curtains too! I hope you can include a good picture of the side curtains and the part of the top just behind the doors. C9x has pretty well convinced me to go with a LeBaron Bonney top in my price range and he has neat Lexan quarter windows but I would like to see yours too. I was a big fan of the Buick V6 but got brainwahed by the SBC crowd and now may have to continue to detune it for better mpg. Although I have just a 300 HP stock 327 cam I will use 1.5 rockers on the intake and 1.6 on the exhaust as my only hop up besides some simple head work. What model V6 do you have in terms of the cu. in.?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

Boxstr---I love your roadster pickup. There were a few days last fall when I would REALLY have liked your sidecurtains.---Brian

Thank you guys. It is a really fun truck. The Buick V6 is a 231 with a 500 CFM carb. polished Holley manifold and chrome headers. It gets 20-22 MPG. I just replaced the TH 350 trans, resealed the motor and replaced some rubber lines with steel. Also a new slip yoke and u-joints. Ready for a trouble free summer of crusing.
I am seriously thinking of using this motor in a 29 2door 5 window coupe that I am going to build.
There is a thread regarding the side windows. You might check the archives.
Craig

Any progress with the LED? Maybe you can just tell us the part number and source and we can make our own?

I really like your side curtains. Any chance you could show a picture of how they fasten at the back edge?

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

I have the lites ready to go. I need to pull apart the 28 and take pics.
I do have some pics of the side curtains. Let me resize them and I will post here.

Okay here are th epics of my new side wing windows, I have glass, but they are so freakin heavy that if they slipped out of the holders it would take a fender or running board off. I had these made out of Lexan. This is the best way to travel in cool weather with the top up or down. The other things is they will swivel in and you can install the winter side curtains on and leave the WW's on
The other pic is of the side windows. You see the white clips. They fasten at the back of the top rail that comes down. You can see the white clips they are not fastened, for clarity.
I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions
Craig