Adjusting Headlights

What's the proper way to adjust the headlights when starting from scratch? Is there some type of target you set up or? It would be a 4 headlight setup.

The method of adjusting headlights on a car (and even a motorcycle) is the basic 25 feet from a wall, with markings on the wall of the centerline of the car or bike, center of the lamp to the floor and distance of the lamps apart transposed from the car to the wall 25 feet away. Here is a basic example of how the wall markings should be. You can find thousands of other illustrations even more complex or detailed....and more confusing.....and hundreds of youtube videos for every type of lamp and vehicle if you search "adjusting car headlights". I've pulled off of the road many times to a FLAT parking lot next to a building and pulled out the measuring tape and blue masking tape and tools (screwdriver) to adjust headlights on a car that were not right. Once you do it then it only takes about 10 minutes the next time.

MikeR

The difference between the different diagrams relates to the different lamp types and whether it is a two or four lamp system.

Since you are posting in the Restoration forum I'm assuming the lamps are standard sealed beams or halogen sealed beams. On these lamps you will see on the glass lens of each lamp three little projections for the aiming machine. The lens may be marked DOT or SAE depending on how old they are but not VOL or VOR. Therefore the target light patterns without a machine are the top ones shown in the diagram below (from Virginia regs).


Draw lines on a flat surface 25' from the lights per attached diagrams from the '68 Plymouth shop manual. Using the left drawing aim the lows beams. Then cover the lows and aim the highs alone.