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splitjunkie
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Joined: April 04, 2006
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 Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 2:10 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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What do your housings look like?
If they look like this they are incorrect.
If they look like the ones that I posted along with the two other examples in this thread then you have the correct housings.
The early sealed beam units had park lights . Mine just don't have any bulbs in them.
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Chris
You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld
Last edited by splitjunkie on Thu Jan 28, 2016 2:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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splitjunkie
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| Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 2:22 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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| TheLadyBug wrote: |
| joe h. wrote: |
| TheLadyBug wrote: |
Thanks for all the help. 
So if I'm correct... The actual bucket itself doesn't have anything special about it for the early years except the code and the adjustments at 5/7.
The glass should have the oval in the middle, perhaps with or without the logo. Being feb/54 I can get away with 53 or 54 things as the change could have occurred around the time my car was produced.
The rings should be 2 rivet with no logo.
Am I on the right track? |
Almost. You need the single rivit rings with the Hella logo. The ones Rare Air has are correct buckets.
These are my original Jan '54. Late '53 dated.
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Thanks Joe. You've showed me that pic before and I couldn't find it.
Ok. The rings - I need to look at mine more closely.
So is there no park bulb in these early buckets? Or what is that bracket in there for? Or is it that no one has put the park bulb in? |
On the single rivet and Hella logo, They obviously changed them to no logo and two rivets at some point. When was that and where is that change documented?
What is with the date code on yours and rareair's?
According the the date code thread it should be one alpha followed by two numbers as they are on mine.
| EverettB wrote: |
Hella
1950 and earlier parts are stamped with a MM DD Y sequence where MM=Month, DD=Day, Y is a letter indicating the year.
1951 and later parts are stamped with a sequence consisting of 1 alpha character and 2 numeric digits.
The alpha character is the year where:
1949=H*, 1950=I*, 1951=J, 1952=K, 1953=L, 1954=M, 1955=N, 1956=P, 1957=S, 1958=T, 1959=U, 1960=V, 1961=W, 1962=X, 1963=Z, 1964=A, 1965-B, 1966=C, 1967=D
O, Q, R, and Y were not used.
The numeric characters are the week of the year.
Examples:
M 05 would be the 5th week of 1954.
07 26 H would be the 26th of July, 1949.
* H & I are unverified
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Chris
You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld |
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splitjunkie
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| Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 2:56 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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According to Everett '53 and early '54 only had the single rivet.
| EverettB wrote: |
To the best of my knowledge, only 53-early 54s have single rivet headlight rings, most 54s have dual rivets.
Corrections welcome but that is what I have seen on a few "original" 54s. |
My buckets came off of a '54 that I sold and appear to be unmolested. The little cotter pins on the end of the adjusting screws appear to be factory applied. One of the lenses is a later one but you can change the glass without removing the adjusting screws so I don't think the rims were ever changed on mine and they are both exactly the same.
They could have changed to two rivets between February and March of '54 so mine could be correct for March and incorrect for February. And of course there could also not be a hard transition date. There could be some overlap on the changeover.
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Chris
You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld |
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RareAir
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Location: 18 miles North of the border
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Jrb572
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| Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 6:53 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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| Rareair what is the extra circle in the center of the glass headlight cover for? I have at least one factory one on my 57 and it does not have that. It might not be correct but has a VW logo on the glass |
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RareAir
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| Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 7:05 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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| Jrb572 wrote: |
| Rareair what is the extra circle in the center of the glass headlight cover for? I have at least one factory one on my 57 and it does not have that. It might not be correct but has a VW logo on the glass |
I have no idea. The vestigial oval lens was already phased out by 1957
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1947 Typ 11a
1954 Typ 117
1956 Typ 151
1959 Typ 117
1959 Typ 265
1961 356B
1966 Typ 151
1966 Typ 241 |
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TheLadyBug
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| Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 7:37 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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My buckets don't look like that photo, Chris. They look like rareair and joes. My date code is after joes which makes perfect sense as my car is a month later.
Mine are coded L1118 and L1018... And the code looks similar to the others as posted. As I interpret, late 53? My rings are single rivet hella logo, which I guess is correct. So I have the correct housings and rings. I had assumed they were completely incorrect since they had the glass changed/missing and so many other parts of the car had been swapped for later stuff.
I have 1 chipped incorrect glass. My unfortunate luck is that one of my buckets is in poor condition as the lens was missing and water sat in it, so it's very rusty and bubbly/peely with rust. I really just need one. I assume that they commonly rusted in the area by the park bulb.
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Charmaine
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1954 Beetle - because I can
2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily |
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EverettB 
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splitjunkie
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| Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 5:35 am Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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| TheLadyBug wrote: |
My buckets don't look like that photo, Chris. They look like rareair and joes. My date code is after joes which makes perfect sense as my car is a month later.
Mine are coded L1118 and L1018... And the code looks similar to the others as posted. As I interpret, late 53? My rings are single rivet hella logo, which I guess is correct. So I have the correct housings and rings. I had assumed they were completely incorrect since they had the glass changed/missing and so many other parts of the car had been swapped for later stuff.
I have 1 chipped incorrect glass. My unfortunate luck is that one of my buckets is in poor condition as the lens was missing and water sat in it, so it's very rusty and bubbly/peely with rust. I really just need one. I assume that they commonly rusted in the area by the park bulb. |
Can you post pictures of the bad housing? Sometimes they look worse than they really are.
The housings are steel and the backside is painted shiny black and the inside is painted silver.
The part that holds the headlamp is painted silver on both sides.
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Chris
You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld |
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joe h.
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| Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 7:56 am Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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| EverettB wrote: |
My friend bought a set of these.
They are ok but if you have them next to originals, the shape is wrong and the logos look like someone did them by hand.
Good luck finding nice originals though. |
Yeah, they aren't perfect by any means. I do have one original, and I noticed the differences, but there simply isn't any other options. Once I put them on the housings they look pretty good though. Thats one in the picture I posted.
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TheLadyBug
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Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 7:57 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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Sorry, I was away for a bit so I couldn't post pics.
Here's my buckets.
I think I'll hand sand them and see if I can repair that rusty portion. I don't think the metal will tolerate welding... Maybe tig?
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Charmaine
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1954 Beetle - because I can
2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily |
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splitjunkie
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| Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 9:16 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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Those don't look bad at all. The rust appears just to be surface rust. Have them glass bead blasted to get all of the rust off and you might have some minor pitting that can be smoothed over before painting.
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Chris
You know, a lot of these scratches will buff right out... Jerry Seinfeld |
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TheLadyBug
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Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 9:31 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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| splitjunkie wrote: |
| Those don't look bad at all. The rust appears just to be surface rust. Have them glass bead blasted to get all of the rust off and you might have some minor pitting that can be smoothed over before painting. |
Ok, thanks Chris!
I'll have them blasted and report back 
Does anyone have insight as to what silver paint to use? Codes?
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Charmaine
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1954 Beetle - because I can
2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily |
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TheLadyBug
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Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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| Posted: Sat Apr 09, 2016 8:42 am Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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Just thought I'd ask here; can anyone point me in the right direction for replacement rivets for the headlight rings?
Are these relatively easy to find or is it something specific? Also what do you recommend for a tool/method to place them properly? Any time I've installed a rivet, the item has not been so delicate.
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Charmaine
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1954 Beetle - because I can
2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily |
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THX 1138
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Location: San Francisco CA
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 2:05 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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| Does anyone know anything about the Hella single rivit ring with an arrow above the Hella or without the arrow? I was hoping it would be mentioned here. I have a Jan 53 car with one of each. Dont know which is correct. I got two different answers last time I asked. Someone said the arrows are on older cars making it correct for my car. But then someone else told me the arrows are on 54's and up till they went to the double rivit. Also was told the Hella stamp without the arrow is slightly bigger but I really dont see it. |
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TheLadyBug
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Location: Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
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| Posted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 2:25 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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Mine has the arrow, single rivet.
Feb 54 car.
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Charmaine
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1954 Beetle - because I can
2016 Golf highline - hubby’s daily
2016 Golf R - my daily |
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RockStock
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Posts: 3929
Location: England
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| Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 6:03 am Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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I have some questions regarding the US Spec Sealed Beam buckets…
1) Are the post 55 buckets tricky fellas to find too?
-the ones with the sidelight housing 90 degrees offset (‘Adjacent’) to the pre55 bucket sidelight housing (‘Inline’).
I have these 3 buckets. Two are T…1959. One is N, 1955.
2) Second question…the N bucket on the left has a 211 bus part number. The S buckets on the right have a 111 Beetle part number. What is the a difference between the 211 bucket and the 111 bucket?
Would a Bus always have a bucket with the 211 part number?
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janerick3
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Location: Colorado
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| Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 6:42 am Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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| RockStock wrote: |
I have some questions regarding the US Spec Sealed Beam buckets…
1) Are the post 55 buckets tricky fellas to find too?
-the ones with the sidelight housing 90 degrees offset (‘Adjacent’) to the pre55 bucket sidelight housing (‘Inline’).
I have these 3 buckets. Two are T…1959. One is N, 1955.
2) Second question…the N bucket on the left has a 211 bus part number. The S buckets on the right have a 111 Beetle part number. What is the a difference between the 211 bucket and the 111 bucket?
Would a Bus always have a bucket with the 211 part number? |
1. Like with any early parts, they eventually find their way into dumpsters or hoarder's collections.
2. 1955 or later bus buckets will always have a 211 part number and will always be labeled "links" (left) or "rechts" (right).
BTW, "T" date codes are 1958.
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Thanks,
Jan K. |
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RockStock
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| Posted: Fri Oct 15, 2021 8:39 am Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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Thank you Jan, again!
I would still like to know the difference, Bus bucket > Beetle bucket
The only one I can spot is one adjusting bracket is around 10mm longer on the bus bucket (bus left, beetle right):
The other adjusting bracket is the same size (bus left, beetle right):
Actual buckets look identical though.
The bus bulb holder is also stamped Right:
No markings on the Beetle bulb holder.
Maybe the difference is all to do with the tilt…more adjustment on the bus headlight because they lay sideways, or higher?
| janerick3 wrote: |
| BTW, "T" date codes are 1958. |
| janerick3 wrote: |
Hella: 1952 & earlier=?, 1953=L, 1954=M, 1955=N, 1956=P, 1957=S, 1958=T, 1959=U, 1960=V, 1961=W, 1962=X, 1963=Z, 1964=A, 1965-B, 1966=C, 1967=D
Bosch (Start at A in 1945): 1949=E, 1950=F, 1951=G, 1952=H, 1953=J, 1954=K, 1955=L, 1956=M, 1957=N, 1958=P, 1959=Q, 1960=R, 1961=S, 1962=T, 1963=U (3-digit numbering system starts in 1964) |
What happened to Hella’s R?!
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janerick3
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| Posted: Sat Oct 16, 2021 3:28 pm Post subject: Re: Headlights for 54 - what's correct? |
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| RockStock wrote: |
Thank you Jan, again!
What happened to Hella’s R?! |
It got pirated...
Actually, I think there was sensitivity in the mid-1950s to using the letter "R," as it was short for "Reich" only a decade earlier. Note that "rechts" (right) is spelled out on the bus bucket.
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Thanks,
Jan K. |
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