E-code (fluted or European lens) conversion

[MrPolak]

At some point I began toying with the idea of switching my '64 Deluxe over to e-code, or fluted, lenses. Some people merely switch out the clear lenses for fluted ones and continue using sealed beam or H4 headlight assemblies. This is far from ideal for the headlight beam pattern, defeats the purpose of using superior e-code headlights and becomes merely a styling exercise, and it makes beer taste bad.

Of course, you could spend a considerable amount on full European light assemblies, or you could do something... else.

For now, this is just a proof-of-concept. Improvements are already being made.

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The idea is to use a reflector only from new H4 or NOS R2 headlight, and use that reflector along with fluted lenses. There are differences between Euro and US headlights beyond just the lenses. The Euro reflector is wider in diameter than a sealed-beam US headlight, so the carrier is different as well. Here's a picture for reference with sealed beam in the middle row:

First step was to get a cheap Euro headlight. As luck had it I was able to find some for $10, NOS Fiat. Granted, these are R2 bulb headlights, and they're sideways, but this is science after all.

Then I bought some reasonably-priced Bosh lenses. These came in from Greece:

Then I took a hammer to them... while wearing full-body armor, of course:

As I mentioned before, the reflectors alone don't fit precisely in the housings because the lens, which is now gone, provides a means of centering them in the housing rings. So I had to cut some adapters from HDPE, high density polyethylene, or a kitchen cutting board, whichever you prefer.

The adapters have to sit snugly inside the housings while centering the reflector:

Don't forget to switch out the lenses. This takes precisely one more hand than you have available. As always, assembly is in reverse order of disassembly.

Once you put humpty-dumpty back together again, you can fit the reflector. Something needs to go back there to protect the reflector from these springs...

Here is the semi-finished proof-of-concept:

And the look we're after:

So now, how can I light these up? Need some of these:


http://www.rallylights.com/all/lights/light-bulbs.html?voltage=122

More to come...

[MrPolak]

I've tried another approach with my headlights, one which may be easier for anyone wishing to have functional fluted lenses.

I purchased these interesting H4 lights on eBay. They have no pattern whatsoever and a clear lens, so they function like smooth reflectors, but with the side effect of having light that's a beam that's a little less focused.

These are a direct fit:

The light pattern they produce is not as sharp as my smooth reflectors with adapter rings, but it is quite good with a more uniform spread.

[Z]

Cool! Do you have a link for those H4s?

[MrPolak]

I looked for more of them on eBay and could not find any. They come up from time to time as "diamond" headlights. Just make sure they are don't have a pattern otherwise.

[scottvw]

I took a heat gun to my H4's to get the lens off rather than hitting it with a hammer. You get the lens hot around the edge and the sealant will start to melt and you can get the lens off that way.