When my UK, RHD car was first MOTd, the examiner cracked one of the new, repro headlights I had fitted. He also commented that the beam did not have a very clear flat top cutoff. At that time, out of meanness, I decided to smash out the cracked lense and I glued the glass from one of my original headlights onto the new reflector.....it projected a better beam of light.
Those new headlights are now 14 years old and are scrap. You can get RHD lights, but they are a bit expensive and will still have the poorly cast prism structure on the lense.
Autobella sell some inexpensive, LHD headlights that they say are of a superior quality to those commonly available. Other than being wrong handed, they also lack the little sidelight as featured on UK cars. This is a source of dampness and then corrosion and I am happy to forgo that.
Drawing on my previous experience, I carefully removed the lenses by using a craft knife to scrape and gouge out the sealant that secures them. Fortunately, it is quite soft. With great care, using thick gloves and glasses over my eyes I eventually levered the lenses out, taking care to vacuum away all the bits of sealant and keeping the reflectors inverted.
The original Carello lenses will be inserted on a bed of PU sealant and I will have the satisfaction of saving a little bit of money and having the best possible lighting (sidelights apart
and an original appearance to the car.
Those new headlights are now 14 years old and are scrap. You can get RHD lights, but they are a bit expensive and will still have the poorly cast prism structure on the lense.
Autobella sell some inexpensive, LHD headlights that they say are of a superior quality to those commonly available. Other than being wrong handed, they also lack the little sidelight as featured on UK cars. This is a source of dampness and then corrosion and I am happy to forgo that.
Drawing on my previous experience, I carefully removed the lenses by using a craft knife to scrape and gouge out the sealant that secures them. Fortunately, it is quite soft. With great care, using thick gloves and glasses over my eyes I eventually levered the lenses out, taking care to vacuum away all the bits of sealant and keeping the reflectors inverted.
The original Carello lenses will be inserted on a bed of PU sealant and I will have the satisfaction of saving a little bit of money and having the best possible lighting (sidelights apart
and an original appearance to the car.
