I'm looking to upgrade the headlights on my 66 Coronet. Has anyone else done this? has anyone used this kit?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/272123532990?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Linky not worky, at least for me.

There's two ways to provide more effective lighting from the headlights. One is to route the power more directly from the alternator to the lamps using relays (and fuse). You can do it yourself or buy a kit. End result is less voltage drop which equals brighter lights.

Second is to change to a more effective lamp. Unfortunately there is a lot of marketing hype out there.
My suggestion is to look for SAE/DOT and/or E-code marked lamps. That will assure you the lamp meets a minimum standard. I really like the seperate bulb and housing arrangment with H4s for the hi/lo lamps. You can't go too wrong with a Hella's "vision plus" line. Cibie and Bosch also have good lamps of this nature. Not sure about availability in the 5.75" round 4 lamp system like your Coronet has.

Another option is to use the best halogen sealed beams you can find. IIRC the GE "Nighthawks" are mentioned by some of the more reputable experts as being better than most others.

Final option is the least original looking, but some people like, and that is lamps with LEDs. Lots of junk, but also some legit ones.

ps. some links on my website's forward lighting page

http://www.ebay.com/itm/66-67-68-70-DODGE-CORONET-EURO-XENON-HID-x4-HEADLIGHTS-/272123532990
Will give you blue lights. If you don't like the blue then you will have to buy 4 new bulbs. I recommend Phillips xtreme vision. Brightest normal looking lights I have found.

Yeah, that Ebay kit is a lot of hype, it is NOT an HID setup, despite the title. It's a halogen H4 kit. The misleading advertisement would put me off that kit.

You'd be better off looking for Bosch or Hella H5001/H5006 H4 conversions. Same result, better parts. Summit Racing has the hi/low healamp in Hella as a kit (outer ones), inner ones would be another kit. But unless the supply is upgraded, as mentioned above, it's a waste.

yep those are the ones I was looking at! says it comes with white bulbs!

Bulb color isn't too important, its the color on the road. Seriously, there are a few bulbs with a bit of blue tint on the glass that don't put out blue light. Yellows to whitish is the best for seeing what is on the road. There's some debate over yellow having an advantage in fog and rain.

Susquehana Motorsports has rep for decent quality relays and wiring. For plug and play custom, hunt around FABO FBBO for people who make model specific relay harnesses. I made my own for the Barracuda, but just bought a plug and play for my Wagoneer. Saved me the time hunting for US or EU made relays, connectors and wire. Well wire is actually easy - the marine supply stores have good stuff.

Vision plus is certainly a decent line of H4s. Totally legit. The SAE requirements call for a slightly tighter spec version of the H4 bulb, but they are interchangeble.

Do NOT use overwattage bulbs on the stock wiring!
If you go H4 + H1 overwattage is a tempting option. But its not needed and could cause a fire or trip the breaker.

If the its still not bright enough with the bulbs that come with it, search what is currently recommended on candlepower forum. You can get more light on the road at same wattage, sometimes at the cost of slightly shorter life, sometimes just thorugh better construction.

If you want to see some comparisons, granted for 7" round and rectangular lamps, go half way down this page I posted a table compiling "Hilldwellers" test results on a couple of jeep vehicles. Notice the whenthe Hella lamp got the "Delta Blue" H4 bulb its light output plumetted. In some spots it measured light was worse than the XJ's old fashioned sealed beam. You'll have to look at the photos to see if you think the pattern was better.

It says super white. If you look that up you will find it is bluish and doesn't light up the road as far as a straight white bulb. I have tried all kinds of bulbs and colors including the Sylvania ultras and the best light up the road bulb I found was the Phillips xtreme vision. I have 6 sets of test bulbs that are pretty much useless. These are standard bulbs but I tried the xenon and cree LEDS but they a bunch of add on equipment to work. Although they are the brightest and whitest.

crackleback sells a relay kit that is top notch, also have him wire it so when on hi beams, the lows come on too. its the same setup as used on new cars...look up quad beam for more info. tim

I think its "crackedback"

Be very careful of the wattage, although higher wattage bulbs are a great temptation the stock wiring cannot handle it. I actually had my dimmer switch start to smoke. If you want higher wattage do the relay thing. Remember all the power flows through the amp meter and it has a load tolerance. With relays you can really lighten the load there and get a true 12v at the lights.

I used the Hella conversion headlights on the '69 coronet, and installed relays. They seem plenty bright. Not sure if they meet US standards? I think they may be Euro spec?

You sir are correct. He's a good guy and knows his stuff. Sells a good and simple fix to dim dash and headlights

I'm sure they are good. Hella has several e-code versions. They also have a line of lamps that meet SAE (US standards). The box will say "Vision plus". To check the lamp itself, look at the markings on glass lens. It will have E in a circle, SAE or DOT on it (which means the manufacturer certifies it meets the applicable standards). Aiming is slightly different for e-code verses the VOR or VOL US standard lamps.

As a replacement part, I think it is up to your state's rules and regs whether a European standard is acceptable. Most (maybe now all) do. New Jersey was one that did not (15 years ago) and because most inspections were done by the NJ DMV (or their contractor) the markings and three nubs for the headlight aiming machine were critical.

Page with US Marking Codes Performance Requirement, SAE J1383. 1985

Detailed list of ECE and SAE markings Dan Stern on Markings


Of course we all refer to our electical systems as 12 volts. But in reality, they operate at higher voltage and this is important because voltage will effect output. There is a minimum threshold where the halogen bulbs noticably dim - IIRC somewheres between 12.7 and 13.4 Volts.

You'd be surprised what a relay kit and some inexpensive Halogen lights will do for performance.

The stock wiring is horrible and a lot of relay kits are reboxed chinese built items that I can buy for less than $5 per unit. If you buy a cheap kit, check every single crimp throughout the system. My kit is well thought out using only tyco/bosch relays, no chinese relays. Kits are put together correctly or the end is cut off and re-crimped, no exceptions. They also hide pretty well within the stock harness.

I'll say this, you want redundancy in the system. Any kit that has one wire feeding power to both high and low beam relays is not the best approach. What happens if that one fuse or breaker pops as you are cruising down the street? It gets DARK and there is no way to get the headlights back on before you stop!

They also "suggest" a location to pull power that is a big mistake on mopars with the bulkhead/ammeter. Even our old mopars DO NOT pull power for the headlights from the suggested location for a reason.

As another member mentioned. The low beam lights in some of those kits usually require additional fixes to the wiring harness in order to work properly. I'm not a big fan of the "New" lighting because in lots of cases it's not an improvement over a halogen and good voltage.

Light performance degrades exponentially to drops in volatage. In other words a 10% drop in voltage will result in a greater than 10% reduction in light output. Put 6 volts to a 12 volt bulb, will it emit 1/2 of the expected output or barely warm the filament?

I appreciate the recommendation regarding my kit from the members here. I always strive to provide a great product at a reasonable value.

Plenty of choices out there for items, some are much better than others. Very few are put together in the US... As I say, "Pick your Parts, Pay your money."

I used Crackedback's system on my 68 b-body. Wow, what a difference! Upgrade was easy to install and he is great to deal with. Also sells the amp meter bypass. Headlights are now bright white vs dingy yellow. Highly recommend!