Taking the pragmatic view....

[Bakdraft007]

I have been mulling over changing my Dimm / fogged / old headlamps for some time now. Getting excited about getting some super bright new LED units.

Then I added up the cost of: back units, reflectors (cheapest I could find ), bulbs, connectors etc.. and ended up with a £356 bill.

The thing is, I hardly go out in the dark or bad weather. Can I really justify the expense?. OK the originals are like candles, but the roads I am on are mainly well lit, so what do I really gain?. Added to the fact the my day car is a BMW X3 with the top headlamp options which are the best you can get. Well they are impressive but after a while driving you really do not notice them. My wifes SLK has normal bulbs and by comparison to the X3 they look like candles but I doubt Mercedes think they are candles.. so I think ' really... do I need to spend £356'

I just priced up replacing the units I have, with plain old 4 x H1 sealed beam units... Total bill a bank breaking £44.

I usually get everything the best for my Stag, but this once.... I am saying no. £44 will have to do. Besides I will probably not have any issues at the MOT I still have other more expnsive things for the stag in my sights.

I am wondering how often others have had to give in and go cheaper...

Dave

[trunt]

Not sure how you use your Stag but I sometimes need to remember just how I will be using my classic, or more to the point not using it. Unless it’s a daily driver how often will you actually be driving at night? If you are like me most trips are done in the summer and in any case I don’t rush around.

Super bright lights would be nice, my Audi has those super lights and they are addictive! But I would make the same decision, However I would consider adding relays to make sure they are working at maximum brightness.

Terry

[wilf]

Dave - so long as you do things properly, doing them on a budget is absolutely fine, and spec'ing your car for your personal needs is perfect..

It is lucky that many of us "upgraders" can supply our own labour, because I am pretty sure we would not pay commercial rates for others to do what we do.

[DJT]

The rear reflectors can be rejuvenated using chrome spray paint suitable for plastic. Rear stop/tail LED bulbs aren’t that expensive. I have followed several Stags in poor visibility and, believe me, getting the rear lights done is far more important than doing the fronts. H4 headlights can be made much brighter by re-wiring them using relays with new supply wires and earths. They can even be wired up 4/4 or 2/4 depending on your preference, and will be as good as any modern car using Halogen lights. LED headlights are a bloody nuisance IMO.

I can highly recommend these stop/tail bulbs. Other suppliers are available.

https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/collections/brake-tail-light-bulbs/products/2-x-bay15d-red-stop-tail-led-2835-brake-rear-light-glb380-p21-5w

[Phil S]

4 new headlamp shells 2xh1, 2xh4 with pilot light £64, set led bulbs to give 2 dip and 4 main beam £50, money well spent as I use mine in the winter so dark mornings and nights. well worth it in my books

[dasadrew]

The rear reflectors can be rejuvenated using chrome spray paint suitable for plastic. Rear stop/tail LED bulbs aren’t that expensive. I have followed several Stags in poor visibility and, believe me, getting the rear lights done is far more important than doing the fronts. H4 headlights can be made much brighter by re-wiring them using relays with new supply wires and earths. They can even be wired up 4/4 or 2/4 depending on your preference, and will be as good as any modern car using Halogen lights. LED headlights are a bloody nuisance IMO.

like he says!

[brian0443]

Yes, it's all been said. After 40 years, aged wiring and connections, I measured supply voltage to main lights at just over 10 volts enough to activate the relays which with the full 12 volts brought the lights back to near modern standards.
An important safety side effect was that the current levels through the ancient looms, switches, and connectors are now dramatically reduced.
Brian

[KOY 23]

Relays yes. Rear LED’s Yes. Aftermarket LED dipped Headlights NO.
LED's do not yet have the lumens/mm2 of a halogen filament, therefore the light emitting area has to be greater to get the required light output, hence you don't get a good focal point and the beam is scatttered to the annoyance of oncoming traffic.

[Neil in Deal]

Evening all,

Yes, I agree about replacing the rear tail lights / brake lights with led's. they are so much brighter than conventional filament lamps, won't burn out and other road-users will see you sooner.
Good tip to "rejuvenate" the rear reflectors with chrome paint - though looks on mine like someone's REALLY sealed 'em in, with a grey epoxy-like sealant .......
I have replaced the inner main beams with new units fitted with led's, and they certainly are much brighter.
I plan to fit new outer units with dual filament led lamps in the near future, and as others have mentioned it's a very good idea to check the black earth leads for condition and actual earth connection, as volts simply "disappear" if the connection is poor.Relays will be fitted to further reduce the load on the existing wiring as much as possible.
We all have to "cut our cloth to suit our pocket", so if the existing headlights are corroded and need replacing, you can obtain good quality replacements for not too much expense, as others have said.

Neil.

[mjheathcote]

I managed to buy a replacement set of genuine Lucas headlights with "Halogen" on the glass, mind you that will be 30 years ago.
As it hasn't been a daily in that time they are still good.
Consequently I've resisted changing them being very OEM, however I did try to buy a set of cibie CSR headlights maybe 10 years ago but cibie stopped making them.
Like you it is rare I drive mine at night, but when I do, a late summer evening, they do seem inadequate.
My Maser has OEM projector Hid headlights that are very good, and my BMW OEM Led headhights, probably not as good even with 15 years between them!
Hid are dead now really, and LED are getting better.
Both Philips and Osram do replacement LED bulbs, so not the £20 amazon specials but around £100.
I do fancy giving them a go in my 20 year old Pinin, which again the halogens are just so dim these days and I do drive that at night a lot.
So in future I see myself swopping out the H1 bulbs for LED bulbs, keeping the OEM Lucas headlights.

[Stagdad]

Rewiring mine with relays to take the high loads from the old switches and wires made a world of difference. Cheap and very effective

[DJT]

Rear lights:

17B955C2-7C48-44F3-A9A1-05E80C01BB8D.jpeg

Rear lights and Reversing lights:

8808F79E-EDE1-4FFF-940C-919D7AA9D5EA.jpeg

Stop lights:

7A14FC5E-C207-488F-A9B5-6B2430487C4F.jpeg

[malc4d]

You don't need to by the H4s with the pilot(side) light. The car already has a super place for the pilot/side/parking light

[Neil in Deal]

Dave,
Felt like reaching for the sun glasses, nice and bright!
Mike,,
I had a full set of Cibie halogen headlights on my Dolly Sprint way back in '78'79, and they were superb, with a really well-defined dip beam. Really good in fog/torrential rain or snow, very little scatter.
(As an aside, I fitted them after a drunk wandering in the road took exception to me tooting the horn at him and he threw a 50p coin at the car, smashing one of the original Lucas units!)
I did see some Cibie units for sale on a certain website (from a reputable company) and it was going to be about £225, BUT apparently NOT suitable for a Stag, and I probably would have had to modify the outers to take an H4 led dual-filament lamp and I wasn't taking the chance on them not fitting the buckets.....pity, excellent lights with a '70's look would have suited the car. The prices for genuine old stock Cobie lamps has sky-rocketed in the last few years - I think my full set was something like £65 back then.....ah, the good old days....I remember when we were all shocked when petrol rose above 50p a litre in the '70's....

Neil.

[Alacrity]

What about these?

There was a test by a German firm on headlights I read somewhere, was it on this forum or on the Stage Fans Facebook page. Made interesting reading. I too am looking at LED headlight conversion. I have them for the dash & have them fitted already to the stop/tails & indicators.