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ok i quickly figured out this evening that my headlights arent very bright and i guess these older trucks dont have high beams? so id liek to invest in some of those halogen ones from LMC or something. any specific recomendations? and for any of them, how do you swith to the high beams?? thanks.

patrick

Foot switch?

a better investment would be the shop manual for your 63, Patrick! have you checked if/when all 4 of yer headlights work? are they properly aimed? is your electrical system up to snuff?

Bill

Go to your local auto parts store and buy the replacement bulbs for your application. A bunch cheaper, but answer why you don't have High beams first.

I recently replaced the lights in my Toyota truck with the Sylvania Silver Stars. Big difference and suggest you consider them if they are available for the older vehicles.

You should have a foot dimmer switch on the floor. If the high beams don,t work you may have burned out bulbs or a bad dimmer switch or connector. You can buy halagen bulbs at any parts store allthough the ones LMC have are cool looking. It,s a good idea to put relays in the circuit.

IN addition to checking the footswitch and putting in replacement bulbs (and properly aiming them), you might consider incorporation two relays into your headlight wiring (high and low beam) that'll get more juice to the bulbs and tax your wiring harness/switches less, thereby producing brighter headlights. Search the forum for Relay's to find Alan Horvath's article on it, very handy.

Personally, I converted to H-4 headlights- The kind where you replace the bulb but not the lens? I've found the conversion kits all over the place and they do put out brighter light! Look at your FLAPS or e-bay under 7" headlights, or whatever. Probably cheaper than LMC...

Got my conversions from speeddway, h4 bulbs

oh ok i had no idea there was a footswitch im completely new to these old trucks haha. my dad just told me where it was (im 16 this is my first project truck). im so used to clicking the wiper switch on the 95 suburban haha i had no idea they installed them as a footswitch. anyway ill see how the bright lights look now, but i still think id like to invest in some halogen headlamps.

Now thats funny. (but understandable when you are 16)

Yup. Funny. My 16 year old had a time learning how to shift the three on the tree after learning to drive a four on the floor. Like the flip down license plate to refuel that was discussed here recently.

haha yea earlier i ran into the problem of which type of gas to put in the truck cuz i was worried because its old but i just put super in so it should be straight. and i used the high beams a few seconds ago and they work fine but i think i want some brighter halogen headlights at some point.

it depends on what engine you have in it you might not have to buy super it might just be a waist of money.

Consider:
Relays allow the 'big' wires close to where they should be located, thus giving those accessories the full power for functional operation. Smaller wires trigger the relay (on- off) from the remote truck cab.
http://alanhorvath.com/54chevy/mad_electrical.php

do a search on relays and how to wire them.
if using Alan's diagram the headlight wires come to the (2-hi/lo) relays after the foot switch (& small trigger wires from the cab)

You wanna see funny...

Watch my 22 year old sister start my '46.

"Brendan! It's not cranking! The Key won't go any farther!"

"Are you using the stomper?!"

"What stomper?!"

It's gonna be really funny when I teach her how to drive a stick in it.

~#~#~#~#~#~

As for the headlights, I'm gonna jump on the bandwagon and suggest relays also. Relays are cheap (at least for the 12v application that you're using) and after you've got them in and you've gotten stuff adjusted properly, you can reassess the need for halogen bulbs.

If you still want to have halogen bulbs after you've done the wiring upgrade, you shouldn't run into any problems.

so does someone want to tell me what a relay is?

edit: nvm i found an explanation in another thread:

http://www.stovebolt.com/bboard/cgi-bin//ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=001521#000003

All you need to know about automotive use of relays....

http://www.6066gmcguy.org/BoschRelay.htm

A relay is a kinda Remote control
switch. Lets you run more juice to somthing without burning out your switch on the dash
(the little switch turns on the big one)

sounds like i might have to try and figure out this relay thing for my truck, i need some more brightness out of my lights.

thanks cletis

Also go for the H-4 lights! More light is always a good idea.
Speed

LOOK @ these Sites::::::

http://www.classictruckshop.com/clubs/earlyburbs/projects/head/lights.htm

http://www.humanspeakers.com/audi/headlight-simple.htm

http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/images/HeadlightRelayWiringDiagram.jpg

http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/WiringHeadlightRelays.htm

I'm 55 and it took me at least 5-10 minutes to find the battery on my truck when I first got it! HA! I kept staring at the engine compartment, like a deer caught in headlights!

Here's my explanation about relays:
Understanding Relays

And it doesn't hurt to know about fusible links, either:
Understanding Fusible Links

I put Halogen replacements in my truck ... got 'em from my local auto parts store ... NOT expensive at all ... and wow! What a difference! See what I did Here

I went to Autozone, and picked up a pair of the 7" halogens, they were pretty cheap to boot. They did brighten up the road much better, so much better that I kept getting flashed by other drivers with the low-beams. lmao
David

I almost forgot, when you do go to replace the headlights, make sure that you DO NOT mess with the screws that is for the "beam" (headlight adjustment screws).

Look for the 2-3 flat tip screws that are on the "tabs" of the aluminum headlight bezel, these are the ONLy screw that chould be removed when replacing the headlights.
David

Hey, David

Congratulations on your brighter experience!

Sounds like you may need to adjust the angles of your headlights.

It's a very simple procedure to adjust your headlights -- I have a step-by-step example at my site:
CLICK HERE

I converted my "55 using tri-bar Lucas style lamps with Siverstar H-bulbs, much brighter than even halogens.I've seen them for the 5" lamps as well. I'm not running any relays and haven't had any problems at all.

Alan, I did readjust them so they were now beeming more toawrds the ground. I only had them on for a little over a month when a idiot at a 4 way out in the country side around 8pm that didn't know how to use a 4-way, took out the front clip on the '62. Engine was toast too.

Now i'm running a '64 GMC front clip, and GMC tail gate, with a V8 & auto trans.
David

Sorry to hear about that fiasco, David!