Improvement no 7 - Headlights (Done in the 80's and just remembered)

I was talking by email to Jerry, my good friend from the States today, and when he mentioned improving headlights in his Chev truck I recalled the previously forgotten 7th improvement done to the Red Chev back in the 80's.

But before I talk headlights, let me introduce you to my good friend Jerry, his loyal companion Sadie and his Chev truck.

Now getting back to headlights, from day one when the Red Chev hit the road back in 1975, I was never happy with the headlights. I tried several minor upgrades, going from the original 11 candle power, that's correct, the power of 11 candles, to 21 candle power, with no success.

Going for broke I fitted 50 candle power thinking that would solve the problem. The results were still below expectations and the conventional globes as shown below were consigned to the parts cupboard, where they still live some 30 plus years later.

Out driving one Sunday afternoon I called into my local garage to fill up, and talking to the guy behind the counter about the Red Chev I mentioned my frustration with the headlights and that I had tried every possibility with a 6 volt system.

Try these he said, as he lifted 2 boxes from under the counter, being 6 volt Quartz Halogen globes as fitted to Volkswagen.

They will never work I thought to myself. My 6 volt genny wont have the output to power them. But I was desperate for a solution, as the alternatives were no night driving or a 12 volt conversion. Both of which were out of the question. I had decided back in '73 to stay with the 6 volt system, and to this day I am still happy with that choice.

Before I fitted the QH globes I spoke to a few Chev guys who were very negative.

" They wont Fire up"

"They will be way too hot"

"You will crack your lenses after 5 minutes"

Any way I pressed on, and pleased to say a trail blazer back then, as the Filling Station in the USA now has 6 volt Quarts Halogen conversion kits for Chev 4's.

The only difference from my conversion to the Filling Station kit, is I have mounted the globes from the front, whereas the Filling Station kit mounts the globes from the back, as per the standard H4 globe fit in modern headlights. As I was a bit rough in those days I took the easy way out, but it worked, and it worked well, and it still does.

I rewired a low beam wire back to the light switch to give me a true high and low beam as opposed to the original resistor in the light switch that simply reduced the voltage to the globe on low beam.

In the early days until I realised my headlights were mounted over an inch too high on the car as well as to high to the road surface it was common to be flashed for having headlights that were too bright. A pretty good indication I had a good light source.

I refitted the headlights in 2009 after discovering they were mounted too high during the Chev 4 Tour at Castlemaine, Victoria. There was a row of some 20 plus Chevs and a guy walking up and down saying your headlights are the right height, yours are wrong, your are correct etc. Four of us in the line up had made the simple mistake of fitting the adjusting bell on the bottom of the headlight shell on top of the headlight bar instead of being underneath. In my case it went unnoticed from 1975 to 2009. Hey you cant rush these things.

If you look at the fourth car on the left hand side of the picture below (The Red Chev) you will see that the headlights appear higher in relation to the others close by. If you double click on the picture it will go full size for a better look.

 I then found a posting on a Chev web site describing how to correctly adjust Chev 4 headlights. I can now drive at night confident that my headlights are up to standard, with a low beam that gives a good spread on the road, and a high beam that if I use does not blind oncoming drivers.

I still have to ascertain the amount of drain, if any, on the battery if I run the lights for a prolonged period, and that will come with experience. So far suburban night driving has not been a problem, and hopefully as I run a dual battery setup it should reduce the effect.

What do you think?

I have included a few more photos below

Thank you to Jerry for stimulating a few more grey cells back into action to recall this modification.

One of the best views on the open road

Your travelling along at a fast 45 to 50 MPH, hey that's fast for the Red Chev, and the road ahead is constantly under the eagle eye of the Dog Bone Radiator cap and Motometer. There is not a better site, and even though this shot was taken from the passenger seat, hopefully you will get the idea.

The whole time you are driving, the engine temperature is right in front of you, without taking your eye of the road, glancing down, or anything else. Even though I plan at some time in the near future to install a dash mounted water temperature gauge, the Motometer will always hold the key spot on the car, never to be replaced. After all we have been together for over 38 years. As I recall I purchased the Motometer at a Vintage Drivers Club meeting way back in 73, long before the Red Chev was reborn. The Dog bone radiator cap came shortly after from a Chev parts dealer in NSW.

Anyway, here is the reason for this posting, on the open road to Ballarat, during the 2009 Chev 4 tour at Castlemaine in Victoria.

And every so often, the Motometer likes to dress up for formal occasions.

2011 - 5th October - A few Jobs are Pending

With the arrival of a Zenith 14991 carby last week, and a 6 volt Tacho and Temp gauge from the States in the mail today, I now have a bit of development work to do, which will be a nice change from the normal repairs and maintenance.

These 3 items are part of the plan to make the "Red Chev" as Grant from Gippsland calls it, more pleasant and reliable to drive at highway speeds, which I am doing more of on a regular basis. The desired outcome is to be able to cruise at 45 to 50 mph with good fuel economy, and improved engine monitoring.

I will have to give some consideration to the location of the gauges, taking safety and visibility into account.  The simplest spot is under the dash in a double mount, but this could be dangerous to either driver or passenger in an accident. Chris from Sydney cut his leg to the bone on an under dash panel in his 28 during an accident several years ago. So if its too dangerous for me on the drivers side, I would suggest the same for the passenger side.

Drilling a hole in the dash sounds severe, but it can always be filled in and repainted. Fitting both gauges in the dash on the passengers side would be the easiest location, but not as visible as the drivers side. I am favouring this location, one on each side of the steering column, as they will be visible through the steering wheel, whilst inconspicuous to a degree.

A bit of playing around with 2 inch round stickers will be the test.

Below are the 2 gauges in question. You will see the tacho has a rev dial up to 3500 RPM.

Will I ever come close, don't think so.

A Sign for My Chev Shed or a Prompt for a A Sea Change - Who Knows?

Below is a sign that Grant, my good mate from Gippsland made for me as a surprise. It will hold a special place in my Chev shed, as soon as I can find a suitable location after a good clean up and reorganization of the work area.

I look at it and wonder what might have been if I knew as much about old Chevs 30 years ago as I know now. A different direction in life, a vocation that matched a hobby, we will never know.

A few words and a bit of artwork on a piece of plastic are now a valued possession along with the other bits and pieces that make up my Chev stuff.

Thanks Grant, for the sign, and your friendship.

I look forward to the two of us driving our 28's around in convoy, and make sure you keep a week or two spare in your diary in 2028.

Drive Them, Drive Them Again, And Then Drive Them Some More

Postscript to my 110 mile trip to Lardner's Park at Warragul yesterday. I started the Chev this afternoon, fired in less than 2 seconds, pushed in the choke straight away, fully advanced, ran like a dream.

These cars are meant to be driven, driven regularly, and driven for a distance at a moderate to quick speed.

My Chev always runs better during a trip after about 10 miles.

So to anyone with a vintage machine that only fires up once a month or so, drives a few miles around the burbs, and then put away for another few weeks:

Get out there and drive the bugger, it will do the owner as much good as the car.

This message is also applicable to trailer queens, parade princesses, or I'll just drive once around the block cause the traffic is a bit heavy.

Use it or sell it!

2011 - Last of the Chrome Bumpers - Lardner's Park Warragul - 2nd October

You could not have asked for a more beautiful day for indulging in your passion for Vintage cars, Classic cars, Hot Rods, Trucks, Stationary engines and Caravans. Take your pick, they were all there in good numbers.

Rather than me trying to to set the scene, let me quote (or should I say borrow) an excellent overview of the days activities from my good friend Grant from Gippsland, with a posting from his "Monty the Chev" blog.  http://montythe1928chevrolet.blogspot.com/2011_10_01_archive.html

Prior to meeting Grant at Lardner's Park, I motored from The Basin to Narre Warren to join up with fellow members of the Dandenong Valley Historic Car Club  http://www.dvhcc.com.au
and drive up in convoy to Warragul. In my case a round trip of 175 K's or 110 miles.

I was also treating today as a testing session as I have been working to make the Chev more "pleasant" to drive at 45 mph. Very pleased to report that the Chev now behaves better at highway speeds of 45 to 50 mph.

The only potential drama on the trip up to Warragul was a number of car breaking pot holes, which is pretty poor for a major highway. Luckily I was travelling behind a very nice little MGB GT V8, and every time he ducked and weaved I did the same, if you could say a 28 Chev ducks and weaves like a MGB GT. Not really. Having hit one at 80 K's you would not want to hit one in your daily drive at 100 K's.

I have posted  some photos below which I hope you will enjoy. Well done to the organisers for a great event. I'll be back next year.

And just to finish off, a few photos of some of the DVHCC members enjoying the beautiful weather.