Packard Forum Index » Pre-War (1899-1942)

Is there still a source of sealed beam conversion kits for my 38 coupe? With cruise nights running in to the dark hours this time of year , the old bulbs just don't cut it anymore.

I've heard that quartz halogen bulbs combined with new or resilvered reflectors are better than sealed beams.

Have also heard that new reproduction Model A reflectors are cheaper than resilvering your old ones.

Good wiring and a headlight relay completes the system.

I have had good luck with halogen conversions on older motorcycles. My Packard came with halogen conversions (the previous owner mentioned it was fairly pricy), and frankly, I was very excited and figured that would be neat. As I got into working out the gremlins, I noticed that the aftermarket amp gauge drew way down with the headlamps on, yet charged well in the park and off position of the headlight switch.

At about the same time, I wondered, "why was the amp gage not working?" I have seldom seen a bad amp gauge. I disassembled the amp gauge and found it had jumped the discharge stop. Fixed that, and thought, hmm, generator barley breaks even with the headlights on, amp gauge needle yanked over discharge stop.

Changed out to sealed beams, and presto, car charged with headlights on, amp gauge behaved perfectly.

Here's what I don't know: what the wattage of the low and high beams are. Very possibly they were abnormally high, and basically an improper application.

I would strongly suggest finding out what the low and high beam wattage is and compare to what the wattage of the originals were. I have certainly had good luck in other applications (usually where an alternator is utilized)

Best of luck,
Jim

Here's what I did on my '38. I went over to a store that deals in parts for european sports cars. Bought a standard 7" sealed-beam type" quartz halogen assembly. They are made very much like so called "sealed beams" USED to be made in the USA - meaning, a metal reflector GLUED onto the lense. You break out the lense, save the reflector - a little grinding and it will fit in back of the Packard "Flex Beam" lenses on '35-39 cars.

There are still a lot of 6 volt VW's running around, so you should have any problem locating the 6 volt quartz halogen bulb that fits the modern reflectors.

Yeah - they do pull more amps than the original 32 cp bulbs that came "stock". Quite a bit more. You might want to put the car on a "trickle charger" after a long night run if that means a lot of low speed driving where the generator is not delivering full power.

Fortunately, the V-12's had a considerably more powerful generator than you pre-war eight cyl. guys. You might have to consider buying one of hte SIX volt alternators that are coming on the market - I saw in one display a 6 volt alternator that from the outside looked EXACTLY like the Delco Remeys of that era. Yeah, I know, Packard carried a "mix" of electrical equipt. in its inventory - happens that most "Seniors" I have seen had Owen or Auto Light.

Oh yeah, I drilled holes in each reflector for the parking light bulb - now if you look at my headlights, you can't tell they arent "bone stock" unless you look VERY carefully and see the shield over the quartz halogen bulb !

The 6 volt halogen bulbs are available from JC Whitney. I installed a set of Bosch halogen conversion lights in my '47 which is of course a direct fit. I wired the lights through a relay to save the switch through 10 ga. wire and teh difference is quite an improvement. I haven't noticed any problems with battery not charging with the original 35 amp generator.

The "reason you havn't noticed a problem with your 35 amp. generator"...is..BECAUSE YOU HAVE A 35 AMP GENERATOR !

Again except for us guys with the Twelves, everyone else with PRE 1940's era Packards has small capacity generators. That is why I suggested the guys with the pre war eights who want to go to the MUCH brigher and hence MUCH safer quartz/halogen, get one of those new alternators that LOOK from the outside, like a generator of that era.

Not to provoke you into a tirade on the topic, but there are those of us who value authenticity; I find the lights on my 34 Eight to be more than adequate as long as the reflectors and resilvered occasionally and have good wiring.

C'mon - man...."adequate" for WHAT !

Of course I agree with you that when PROPERLY coated (silver in the old days; there are firms today that can "aluminize" your reflectors for light reflection that is apparently at LEAST as good as the original silver, but does not tarnish in the corrosive air of most of our cities) and a PROPERLY maintained electrical system (good wiring, good grounds, etc) they are adequate for what they were designed for. That's the key - the conditions they were designed for !

I am not technically competent to discuss, nor do i have the technical equipment to prove it, how MUCH more light the modern bulbs will produce.

I can ASSURE you that I share your belief in keeping things authentic! Someone said we dont "own" these things; we are merely custodians of history. So I have all kinds of guilt feelings about the few "compromises" I have made on my own Packard ! Am NOT going to put a "BIG BLOCK" angine in my Packard!

But if we are going to to get these old relics out on the road where people can SEE these valuable contributions to history, so as not to be hazzard to the car, ourselves, and other traffic, I RELUCTANTLY suggest some MINOR compromises for safey's sake.

I dont want to be TOO much of a hazzard to traffic behind me, so I have reflectors hidden inside my tail-light housings (great article on how to get a cheapo Walmart lantern reflector into pre-war tail-light shells-see PACKARD COMORANT Pp. 10 July 2008).

I changed the "rear end" final drive ratio, so I would not be TOO much in the way of modern traffic ( well..I find myself in the right hand lane with even heavy trucks going by me these days, even at my normal 65-75 mph !) without over-revving. Traffic even on SUBURBAN streets these days, is moving MUCH faster than it did on early 1930's highways!

So I DISAGREE with your premise pre-war non-sealed beams are adequate for TODAYS's driving and RELUCTANTLY agree with the quartz-halogen mod.

No first-hand experience here, but I read some years back that the optimum reflector plating for headlamps was rhodium, a semi-precious metal of the platinum family. Though no doubt more expensive than silver and perhaps not as easy to find a source, it resists tarnishing and was claimed to have the same "color" response (i.e., spectral color) as silver.

never used it myself, but found this website on rhodium plating. sounds simple.http://www.essortment.com/lifestyle/rhodiumplating_skvm.htm