I was wondering if anyone could advise me on this. How do I go about changing the headlights for ones that actually light up the road ahead rather than the quaint candle-in-a-jar-look they currently have?
I have virtually no knowledge of electrics but Im guessing it might be more than just putting a new bulb in them?
The car rarely ventures out after dark so I don't want to throw too much money at it unless I absolutely have to. Are there any guides out there anyone knows of?
Welcome to the world of 1970's electrics :lol: I've not upgraded such things myself but it can be done. However, be very careful to make sure the wiring, relays and switches are matched to the upgrade or you risk a fire.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Grant Archer
I would recommend fitting relays to the dipped beam circuit. Its not too difficult and involves no cutting of the original wiring and makes a huge improvement with standard bulbs.
My car was like driving with candle powered headlights. Some people say they just drive with main beam on and people don't complain... Its also a good idea to upgrade the circuit with relays to relieve the stress on the control stalk for dipped/main beam which gets burnt and wears out.
I think the cars were only fitted with relays for the main beam circuit originally.
I will try and find a link - Xweb used to have an excellent guide by the user Bob Brown but last time I looked it had lost its diagrams and images. Costs about £20-30 if you buy all the components online and make it yourself with a soldering iron and heat shrink. Apparently you can buy ready made items but I'm not sure where from?
In short the bulbs are fine - its all the power circuit connectors degrading over the years - I think.
I have done the Bob Brown mod on my GF and it worked great. My car failed its MOT last year on dim headlights so I did the mod and added a pair of Ring Xenon Ultra headlight bulbs and things are hugely better. Took about 2 hours to install once I had all the parts (relays from EBay/Amazon) and fitted nicely underneath the headlight access covers with a home-made mounting bracket. Total cost with the bulbs was about 30 quid and worth every penny!
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