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I stopped by NAPA to buy a replacement headlight and they couldn't seem to cross reference it. It's a GE 4030 7 inch headlight. Has anyone else run into this?

Any tips on sourcing one?

Thanks

Tinpan

Believe the 4030 has been obsolete for several years but Dons Bulbsdonsbulbs.com/cgi-bin/r/b.pl/4030~general-electric.html says they have 14 in stock for $227 ea.

The modern replacement is a 6006, difference being a different lens pattern and the added 3 "pimples" on the glass for modern aiming equipt which the old bulbs didn't have. Napa used to carry them but it appears they have switched to only stocking the Halogen lamp version.napaonline.com/Catalog/CatalogItemDetail ... am-Halogen-/_/R-LMAH6006_0325912246 Perhaps other parts stores still carry the incandescents.

If you do go to modern bulbs you may want to replace both at the same time because looking at the car head on there is a distinct difference in the look of the bulbs because of the different pattern.

Just a quick note, indeed the 6006 is a more modern equivalent. The halogen version, H6006 is more widely available, but I personally have had trouble with the Wagner brand of that part number. They're very difficult to aim properly-- no matter what I did (and yes, I have a Hoppy headlight aiming device), they always lit up the entire road on low-beam and REALLY lit up the road on high beam. Not necessarily a bad thing, but on tours people complained I was blinding them all the time, even after I deliberately pointed them at the ground almost. There's something screwy with the beam pattern, at least in the pair of H6006 I purchased.

I slapped a set of GE 6006's back on, aimed them, and they set up perfectly.

For purists or those concerned with judging deductions, plenty of posts on AACA about folks who have bought the 6006 bulbs and carefully ground off the 3 aiming "pimples" for cars that originally used the "plain" sealed beam.

Drew, probably incorrectly manufactured bulbs with the filaments not aligned with the lens. I ran into this problem some years back with a set of halogen replacement bulbs (not a Packard). I could not get them aimed to throw the right beam pattern. Returned them and reinstalled the original bulbs and all was fine.

Bulb filament alignment with the lens was especially important in the pre-1940 era where headlights had separate lenses, bulbs, and reflectors. Pre-focused bulbs like GE's Mazada were considered to have high quality.

(o{}o)

Thanks, after talking with my mechanic it looks like the 6006 is the wayy to go. The blades on the bulb are shorter, do you think they'll still work?

Thanks

Tinpan

In the past I have bought 6006 bulbs from Bob Drake Ford with out the three bumps, don't know if he still sells them

Quote:

Yeah, I won't do that again. A dozen years ago I was charged $15 per alignment nib to grind and polish it off - or $45 per headlamp - and I had to supply the headlamp.

About a year later I saw that Bob Drake was selling nib-less headlamps for a lot cheaper. Did you need 6V or 12V?
bobdrake.com/Categories2.aspx?Id=0c51984e-a1b0-4741-831d-7bd2bee51a5e

More expensive than the modern 6006 but not nearly as bad a price as the original numbered bulbs. Unfortunately Drakes 6v repros are out of stock at the moment.

Is that the round 2 filament(hi-lo beam) you're after?
It's late now, I'll check tomorrow if I have a NOS set.
I bought a bunch of NOS headlamps at auction, and I know several fit the P, halogen and non.