7 inch budget lucas-style round headlights

[itchyfeet]

Ok fair excuse, hope you get better soon

[Oldiebut goodie]

Put a washer under that screw head and then you will be applying pressure across the clip rather than just the hole circumference. Or use a cheesehead.
3mm stainless is easy enough to bend with those bends - I have no trouble as I use it for mounts for Webasto pumps. It is just that it is too much in this application.

[itchyfeet]

No not easily for the average DIYer, 3mm sheet needs an internal rad when you bend it or it will tear on the outside, there is barely room between the screw head and the adjuster ring for 3mm material, let alone a rad, anyway it seems we agree on something at least, it's too much.

It's up to the person making them what they use but I'm happy with what I have suggested at 1mm thick steel, there probably is thinner jubilees out there, so make sure it's at least 1mm.

What I have found is that I don't like the look anyway , the brackets look ugly.

[CJH]

I've just bought a pair of black Defender bezels - they were cheap enough to take a risk. There seems to be enough meat around the securing screw holes that it might be possible to drill new holes if the existing ones don't line up.

[itchyfeet]

Much better solution and will look good, fingers crossed

[Oldiebut goodie]

I picked up some standard Lucas chrome bezels - the lugs don't line up at all so that was no go without changing all our fitments which I am loathe to do.
I have already been through all this palaver some time ago when I originally posted on how to fit them!

[CJH]

Yes, I saw your post earlier in this thread, but I couldn't tell from your photo whether your chrome bezels have the same tab arrangement as the black ones I've ordered, and you did refer to 'three' tabs. There seem to be so many tabs on those Defender bezels that there must be some angle that they'll work at, even if I have to swap nearside to offside and/or drill new holes.

[California Dreamin]

I dont know how much sheetmetal work you have done but you would never bend 3mm thick material to make this clip.
2mm may just be possible but I suspect it would be too thick also.
The part you are fixing it to is actually 1mm ( just measured it) so In my opinion there is no need to make them thicker.

I have made some more with slightly longer bends and fitted it up, I have had a go trying to move the headlight and I can't ( remember the lugs stop it moving so there is no force bending the brackets), I then used a spring balance to see how much force is needed to move them, at 8kg it sprung out enough to clear ( the lights weigh 0.5kg) it seemed to just spring and not bend, it was the screw that gave way somehow, once retightened it fitted fine so no permanent bending happened.

So I am happy it's strong enough.







Still no pic OBG?

Ah! i see, able to withstand the sideways weight of a set of spring scales lol oh...and a cable tie...

Martin

[itchyfeet]

Obviously you must be right how could anybody else know more than you

[California Dreamin]

Ah man....I was having a laugh....you are doing a great job mate, don't let me put you off.
That's the trouble with the written work..it's difficult to determine if someone is joking or being serious. I still think a strip of jubilee clip is too soft....but your pics and explanations are spot on.

Martin

[itchyfeet]

No I understood perfectly, you doubt my solution, I test it to prove it is strong enough and you laugh at it and say you think you are right anyway.

Typical teacher attitude in my experience.

[Oldiebut goodie]

And when was the spring balance last calibrated?

[California Dreamin]

Your solution works, what I doubt is the rigidity of the jubilee clip...that's all.

And saying you tested it? You didn't test it at all....your spring scale reads ZERO and the cable tie clearly isn't under any strain.

That's why I wrote what I did.....

You were aving a larf mate, at least with the picture you posted...

Perhaps I should also mention that another member already came up with the 'bent Z clip' idea around 6 months ago. This was after my initially 'spotting' of these cheap lamps around 18 months ago. This is what began the debate over fitting them.
The manager of the Castle Marina Branch in Nottingham ordered them in for me just so I could look at them and report my findings on here (I have a later 4 lamp version but thought people on here might be interested in a cheap alternative to older round Tungsten lamps to improve their lighting)


Martin

[itchyfeet]

Get real how many hands do you think I have to hold the headlight, pull the scales and take a photo, thats just a pic of the setup to illustrate yet you say I didn't test it.

I then used a spring balance to see how much force is needed to move them, at 8kg it sprung out enough to clear ( the lights weigh 0.5kg) it seemed to just spring and not bend, it was the screw that gave way somehow, once retightened it fitted fine so no permanent bending happened.

[itchyfeet]

Perhaps I should also mention that another member already came up with the 'bent Z clip' around 6 months ago after my initially 'spotting' these cheap lamps over 18 months ago, that began the debate over fitting them.
The manager of the Castle Marina Branch in Nottingham ordered them in for me just so I could look at them and report my findings on here (I have a later 4 lamp version but thought people on here might be interested in a cheap alternative to older round Tungsten lamps to improve their lighting)

yes I'm not claining this was my idea but no details of how to make the clip were given, people were asking for somebody to make and supply them so I thought I'd try and come up with a easy solution for people but to be honest I wish I hadn't bothered.