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Headlight Replcement Question On A 1970 Roadrunner

soundhd

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Have a 70 Roadrunner. The headlight bulbs that are in there now or pretty poor. Does anyone know what the best direct replacement lamps I can use? Assume some sort of LED. Nothing fancy just want to light up the road better at night.

thanks
 
I didn't want to put any extra load on the old wiring harness, so I installed one of Crackedback's relay kits and am now running halogens. Much better light, and the only load on the factory wiring is to trigger the relays.
 
Last year I installed 4 halogen lamps on my 1965 Coronet and it was a very nice improvement. I rewired the lamps and fed them through 2 relays-one each for high and low beams. I purchased lamps from Octane Lighting and ceramic lamp sockets from Autolumination (12 gauge wire for h-4 halogen, under pigtails).
I also swapped in a larger output alternator and electronic voltage regulator ( original was mechanical). This conversion also took the lighting amperage load out of the bulkhead connector and dimmer switch.
Mike
 
Last year I installed 4 halogen lamps on my 1965 Coronet and it was a very nice improvement. I rewired the lamps and fed them through 2 relays-one each for high and low beams. I purchased lamps from Octane Lighting and ceramic lamp sockets from Autolumination (12 gauge wire for h-4 halogen, under pigtails).
I also swapped in a larger output alternator and electronic voltage regulator ( original was mechanical). This conversion also took the lighting amperage load out of the bulkhead connector and dimmer switch.
Mike

That's what my kit is I got from Crackedback. Here is a link to his kits
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/mopa...y-headlight-relay-kits.140526/#post-910805304
 
Sorry to jump in.....many years ago, I just put halogen headlights in my '70 Roadrunner when they became available...never had an issue, never gave it a 2nd thought. Am I overloading my wiring?

Also, isn't there anything BRIGHTER for our old cars these days like LED or something like soundhd is asking? I mean, I would like something brighter than the halogens.
 
I also replaced mine with Halogens 3 years ago. 55 amp alternator and electrical regulator, other than that, all original.
 
Also, isn't there anything BRIGHTER for our old cars these days like LED or something like soundhd is asking? I mean, I would like something brighter than the halogens.

I actually haven't calculated the load on the wires, so I don't know if it is pushing the limits to install halogen lights. But I agree with PurpleBeeper: LEDs take way less power and throw a lot of light. I'd love a nice replacement headlight that looks like an original sealed beam headlight but is actually powered by LEDs.
 
The LED bulbs cost over $100 each and require a new headlamp housing like the ones Octane Lighting or other companies sell. However, theses usually require cutting either the headlight bucket or the radiator support or both due to the larger backend. Here's a picture for illustration purposes.

5167lPrUr%2BL.jpg


Unless you plan on doing a lot of night driving just buy the halogen hi and lo bulbs from NAPA for about $10 each and install the headlight relay. You can get a relay kit for your specific vehicle for about $20 on Amazon or Ebay.
 
I looked at Octane Lighting & they didn't seem to have any H5001/H5006 conversions, but I did see a few other companies on a quick search that do. For me, I do plan on doing a lot of cross-country night driving this Spring.
 
I looked at Octane Lighting & they didn't seem to have any H5001/H5006 conversions, but I did see a few other companies on a quick search that do. For me, I do plan on doing a lot of cross-country night driving this Spring.
You can try the better ones from Hella but you may have fitment issues as mentioned above. I bought these and the low beam kit for my 69 El Camino but returned them because I didn't want to cut any metal to make them fit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G7A9YS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G76Q9K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
  • HELLA's Halogen Conversion Headlamps replace the original sealed-beam headlamps in your classic vehicle with a modern, replaceable Halogen bulb
  • Based on European headlamp technology, HELLA’s Vision Plus produces a 50 percent more powerful low beam and a 25 percent more powerful high beam than standard halogen sealed beam headlamps
  • Replaces industry standard 5-3/4 inch sealed beam headlamps 4000, 4040, 5506 H5006, H5006LL, and H5009
  • Kits contain 2 lamps, bulbs, silicone dust covers
  • Lamps are ECE compliant and legal for on-road use only in Canada
 
You can try the better ones from Hella but you may have fitment issues as mentioned above. I bought these and the low beam kit for my 69 El Camino but returned them because I didn't want to cut any metal to make them fit.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G7A9YS/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001G76Q9K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1


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Geez... I'm missing something. I've been using this style of Halogen bulbs for $16 at Autozone for 20+ years and never modified a thing. I started using this type instead of the factory sealed beams around 1985 or so. Are the conversion/small bulb type any brighter?
 
I've read reviews on the Sylvania bulbs that said they were no better than oem bulbs.

The replaceable ones can use the brighter halogen bulbs. Also, you have a few options for color of light output.
 
FYI, if it matters, the bulbs from NAPA say "NAPA" at the center of each bulb. I think it looks kinda cool.
 
I've read reviews on the Sylvania bulbs that said they were no better than oem bulbs.

The replaceable ones can use the brighter halogen bulbs. Also, you have a few options for color of light output.
Thanks mechanic, but I'm still confused. The picture of the Autozone Sylvania H5001 & H5006 bulbs for $16 each ARE HALOGEN ALREADY.....they're just larger than the mini-bulbs used on modern cars....but still halogen. These have been around for 25 yrs.

I guess I'd need to find references to how many "candle power" each bulb has.... but my first guess is that the $100 bulbs are no brighter than the $16 bulbs....just a guess though since they are both halogen.

Please...anyone feel free to jump in & correct me with better information
 
Thanks mechanic, but I'm still confused. The picture of the Autozone Sylvania H5001 & H5006 bulbs for $16 each ARE HALOGEN ALREADY.....they're just larger than the mini-bulbs used on modern cars....but still halogen. These have been around for 25 yrs.

I guess I'd need to find references to how many "candle power" each bulb has.... but my first guess is that the $100 bulbs are no brighter than the $16 bulbs....just a guess though since they are both halogen.

Please...anyone feel free to jump in & correct me with better information
The Hella description said they are 50% brighter low beams and 25% brighter high beams than standard halogen.

If you are willing to spend the money the LED bulbs will fit the new lamp assemblies like Octane and Hella sell. However, all LED bulbs are not created equal. Some are better than others, as you would expect. They cast a specific pattern depending how they are made, too.

 
Thanks mechanic! I'm really the most interested in my low beams being brighter. I was just looking at my '70 Roadrunner front bumper and see two empty holes underneath that don't have bumper brackets attached. It made me think of adding e-body style road lamps or something.
 
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I use these headlight housings from Summit. And use Superbright LEDs. A lot less load on the system. I still used H5001s for the high beams.

E2015AF5-6124-4846-A27F-40579FF785F4.jpeg
 
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