LED Headlights for a Lotus Excel
Discussion
At this years NEC Resto show my (less-ambitious-than-usual!) live project was to upgrade the headlamps on my '90 Excel to LED units. As a year-round daily driver, with a commute along dark country roads, this seemed like a useful improvement.
The headlamps, and mounting rings to go with them, were bought from eBay, 7" units sold as for use on a Land Rover Defender. All in it was £95.
Mounting rings: https://ebay.us/m/oya4Qz
Headlamps: https://ebay.us/m/rikvnR
First job was to drill out the rivets holding the old mounting rings to the headlamp pods:
Before going any further, I wanted to check that the new headlamps would work OK. Couldn't be simpler - the existing connector plug for the old bulb plugged straight into the new headlamp, and it worked, dip and main beam.
The headlamp mounting ring has a flange protruding from the back, that is a larger diameter than the hole in the pod. I could have cut the flange off the mounting ring, but felt that might compromise the strength and stiffness of the ring, so instead I cut a larger hole in the pod. Fortunately, the old metal mounting ring was a perfect template for cutting a hole the right size. I used a wire saw, which was slow and tedious but did the job; other tools may be more convenient.
The new mounting ring was then simply riveted in place (washers both sides under the long rivets), and the headlamp mounted in place. Note that the larger section goes at the top - this was not particularly obvious, and there were no markings or mounting features on the bulbs to clarify this. This photo shows it without the trim ring, but the original trim rings do (just about) fit over, making the finished job look a lot tidier.
I adjusted the bulbs as best I could, just shining them on to the back of a camping chair placed a few metres away, but the MOT is due soon so they should be able to adjust them better.
Massive improvement in brightness between the old and new!
It was also very obvious that the beam pattern is much better focussed, with a clear sharp line between what is lit and what is not. This hopefully will mean that, despite being a lot brighter, it will be less dazzling for oncoming traffic.
Driving home from the NEC after the show, it was immediately apparent how much better they are - brighter, better reflection off roadsigns, seeing further into the distance. The "cold" light of the LEDs is not so "period", but that's something I'm happy to live with.
The headlamps, and mounting rings to go with them, were bought from eBay, 7" units sold as for use on a Land Rover Defender. All in it was £95.
Mounting rings: https://ebay.us/m/oya4Qz
Headlamps: https://ebay.us/m/rikvnR
First job was to drill out the rivets holding the old mounting rings to the headlamp pods:
Before going any further, I wanted to check that the new headlamps would work OK. Couldn't be simpler - the existing connector plug for the old bulb plugged straight into the new headlamp, and it worked, dip and main beam.
The headlamp mounting ring has a flange protruding from the back, that is a larger diameter than the hole in the pod. I could have cut the flange off the mounting ring, but felt that might compromise the strength and stiffness of the ring, so instead I cut a larger hole in the pod. Fortunately, the old metal mounting ring was a perfect template for cutting a hole the right size. I used a wire saw, which was slow and tedious but did the job; other tools may be more convenient.
The new mounting ring was then simply riveted in place (washers both sides under the long rivets), and the headlamp mounted in place. Note that the larger section goes at the top - this was not particularly obvious, and there were no markings or mounting features on the bulbs to clarify this. This photo shows it without the trim ring, but the original trim rings do (just about) fit over, making the finished job look a lot tidier.
I adjusted the bulbs as best I could, just shining them on to the back of a camping chair placed a few metres away, but the MOT is due soon so they should be able to adjust them better.
Massive improvement in brightness between the old and new!
It was also very obvious that the beam pattern is much better focussed, with a clear sharp line between what is lit and what is not. This hopefully will mean that, despite being a lot brighter, it will be less dazzling for oncoming traffic.
Driving home from the NEC after the show, it was immediately apparent how much better they are - brighter, better reflection off roadsigns, seeing further into the distance. The "cold" light of the LEDs is not so "period", but that's something I'm happy to live with.
Edited by rbgos on Monday 6th April 14:53
Edited by rbgos on Monday 6th April 14:54
Edited by rbgos on Monday 6th April 14:55
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