headlight recommendation for my Duster

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mad dog

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Good morning FABO, Can someone recommend headlights for my Duster, Im thinking about stock run of the mill ordinary plain ol headlights from your local auto part store, im interested in what brand and what watt you guys like. Im sure a lot of guys went the LED route, im not there yet...thanks for any suggestions you may have...Rich
 
Even "stock" Halogen bulbs will be a lot better if you start off with a relay kit.

The Hella conversions are nice, but priced per each, and does not include wiring or relays. I would see if Crackedback is still providing his kits if you aren't much into wiring, and/or lack the terminals and proper tools.
Maybe get crackedback's wiring kit, but pair it with the lights from this kit. It does include wiring and relays, but it is a "generic fit" kit, and the wiring would need to get balled up someplace.
Search Toyota Parts and Accessories
8111060P70 - Toyota Headlight Assembly | Toyota Parts Overstock, Lakeland FL
MSRP is $23. You get 2 Koito headlights for 1/2 the price of one Hella
 
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One problem with many new production sealed beams is they manufacturers haven't been maintaining the quality.
If you want a good sealed beam, then may be better off with used old stock. (plus relay harness - especially if installing the higher wattage 6014 lamps)
Most halogen sealed beams draw less current on low beam than even the original 6012 lamps. The Nighthawks were an exception. The current production Nighthawk sealed beams are made in China and poor design - not the same as produced 5 years ago.

The Hella "Vision Plus" is probably the least expensive decent halogen lamp available. Use a good quality bulb (not what comes with it). Aim them properly and use a relay harness to power them.

Current Sealed Beam overview from Dan: Sealed Beam Headlights
 
If your looking in the new old stock market:
6012 Might see a 2 on the glass on the older ones. nominal rating 50/40 Watt
6014 Nominal rating 60/50 watt (about 1970, although many new cars continued to be sold with 6012 for several more years)
H6014 60/40 W (around 1977)
Since 1984, with 35 watt low beam typically marked H6024 (A notable recent exception being the GE Nighthawks)

Here's some pictures of the older vs super junk Nighthawks
www.forabodiesonly.com

plug & play head lights

I have a 73 duster but would like a brighter head light that is in the car now. Is there a head lamp out there that I can put in place of the stock one's maybe led that can just plug into the connection's in the car. Life's been busy the car has been ready for 4 year's ready to go. IT'S NOW...
www.forabodiesonly.com www.forabodiesonly.com
 
ok so im liking the Hella vision plus , sounds like a good system, slantsixdan likes this also... heres my dumb question cuz i know very little on this topic, since its a halogen conversion and essentially a 2 piece unit, will it fit in the headlight housing on my 73 Duster?
 
I updated both mine and my sons car to these LED with projectors and fit in the factory buckets and retaining rings. Might want the relay kit as mentioned, I rewired both of my cars. Good coverage at night.

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Dang the cost of LEDs. Just do an H4 conversion. Get some good quality E code headlamps and some GOOD bulbs and install one of @crackedback's relay wiring harnesses. Remember, LEDs in our old cars are probably illegal in all 50 states. Not that that stops people from doing it, but the chance is there for a ticket and I bet it wouldn't be cheap.
 
I went with the ebay ones and they have worked without issue, forget the over priced ones out there lol
 
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Man, don't get some cheap BS chinkesium junk ebay crap. We're talkin about lighting here. Here, get this.
www.rallylights.com

Hella 7" Round E-code Hi-Lo Conversion Headlamp Kit.

Check out the deal on Hella 7" Round E-code Hi-Lo Conversion Headlamp Kit. at rallylights
www.rallylights.com
Choose your bulbs. I'm not real good at bulb selection, but @slantsixdan can tell you which bulbs are the best bang for the buck, but that's the headlamp kit. Then, get @crackedback's relay wiring harness. That does two things. It takes the headlight load off the headlight switch. It also puts alternator voltage at the headlights making them much brighter. You won't regret it.
 
mad dog said:
ok so im liking the Hella vision plus , sounds like a good system, slantsixdan likes this also... heres my dumb question cuz i know very little on this topic, since its a halogen conversion and essentially a 2 piece unit, will it fit in the headlight housing on my 73 Duster?
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Yes. At least all of the ones I've tried.
Do check the wire cable route. One night the headlamps were going out on my Barracuda but the bulbs and fuses were OK. Found the original wires (especially the left low beam feed) was rubbing on the metal bucket tripping the breaker inside the switch. I made the relay harness modification myself so should have seen that when I tied it in.

I don't think there's a legal issue anymore with E-code lamps properly marked.
The Hella Vision Plus lamps have DOT automotive specs and the three nibs to mount a mechanical aimer so should be legal in any state.
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Technically they should have an HB2 version of the the H4 bulb. I wouldn't worry about that.
 
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The Toyota H4 kit is a great deal. Call your local dealer and ask for #8111060P70. If I recall, it was around $20-$25 for the pair.
 
RustyRatRod said:
That does two things. It takes the headlight load off the headlight switch. It also puts alternator voltage at the headlights making them much brighter. You won't regret it.
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I'll add one more. It reduces the maximum current that will ever need to go through the firewall connection.
 
Many are surprised at how well even the factory or halogen lights perform with one of my relay kits. Thanks to those who recommended my kit which was built/designed with our mopar systems in mind.

Bright doesn't equate to good light when driving. Many LED's throw a lot of light, just not in the right spots. Think flashlight that you can focus the light. A good headlight focuses light in areas.

If you buy one of those cheap relay harnesses, carry extra relays. Wire that looks like 12 or 14ga externally may not actually be that size for wire inside insulation. Take it completely apart to verify all the termination are done properly. If any instructions tell you to hook it up at the battery for "Full battery power", run. :)
 
Crackedback is right about relays and good wiring, and his kits are A1. I consider his warning not quite strong enough about those cheap Chinese harnesses all over the place on the internet. Best avoid them altogether; they have a nasty way of failing while you're in the middle of using the headlamps to stay alive; maybe a spare relay in the glovebox will save you, and maybe it won't. Truly, if it's a choice between gambling with one of those and living with the limitations of the stock wiring, the second option is the smarter and safer one. Fortunately those aren't your only two choices.

There are no longer any worthy sealed beams on the market; they are all garbage. If you gotta-gotta-gotta have original-type headlamps, pick up a pair of old-stock Philips, GE, or Westinghouse halogen sealed beams; the older the better.

If you want good headlamps, pick wisely; there is a mountain of garbage on the market, and it's all hyped as an "upgrade". The Hella items are passable if you get good ones—not great, but relatively affordable. "If you get good ones" needs more attention than usual right now, because Hella had a major freakin' "oops" not long ago in the 3rd-rank production line they moved these lamps' manufacture to awhile back, and the glass lenses on them were so fragile that a significant proportion of them were not surviving the trip across the ocean, and a similar proportion of the survivors were breaking spontaneously on warehouse shelves or in transit to stocking dealers or end-user customers. Hella recalled all of them some months back, then set about refilling the pipeline (not a high priority; 7-inch lamps don't sell in nearly the volume they did decades ago), but there are still fragile ones in the wild.

If you decide to go to Hella anyway, these, specifically, are the ones you want, not the "E-code" (ECE); Hella's ECE 7" round headlamps are poorly focused—aim the lows where they should be and the highs are up in the trees; pull the highs down where they should be (straight ahead) and the low beams end much too close to your front bumper. There are (much) better brands of H4 headlamp, if what you want is a lamp with a facetted glass lens that looks like it belongs on a classic car.

LED headlamps: there are good ones, and they don't necessarily have to look like they came off a '15 Honda or a spaceship. But there's also a(nother) mountain of garbage, including the "Holley" (brand only) "Retrobright", which is beyond bad and into unsafe territory. You don't even have to spend a giant pile of cash; read this (and post #10 in that same thread).

Whatever headlamps you get, they gotta-gotta-gotta be aimed correctly.
 
slantsixdan said:
Crackedback is right about relays and good wiring, and his kits are A1. I consider his warning not quite strong enough about those cheap Chinese harnesses all over the place on the internet. Best avoid them altogether; they have a nasty way of failing while you're in the middle of using the headlamps to stay alive; maybe a spare relay in the glovebox will save you, and maybe it won't. Truly, if it's a choice between gambling with one of those and living with the limitations of the stock wiring, the second option is the smarter and safer one. Fortunately those aren't your only two choices.

There are no longer any worthy sealed beams on the market; they are all garbage. If you gotta-gotta-gotta have original-type headlamps, pick up a pair of old-stock Philips, GE, or Westinghouse halogen sealed beams; the older the better.

If you want good headlamps, pick wisely; there is a mountain of garbage on the market, and it's all hyped as an "upgrade". The Hella items are passable if you get good ones—not great, but relatively affordable. "If you get good ones" needs more attention than usual right now, because Hella had a major freakin' "oops" not long ago in the 3rd-rank production line they moved these lamps' manufacture to awhile back, and the glass lenses on them were so fragile that a significant proportion of them were not surviving the trip across the ocean, and a similar proportion of the survivors were breaking spontaneously on warehouse shelves or in transit to stocking dealers or end-user customers. Hella recalled all of them some months back, then set about refilling the pipeline (not a high priority; 7-inch lamps don't sell in nearly the volume they did decades ago), but there are still fragile ones in the wild.

If you decide to go to Hella anyway, these, specifically, are the ones you want, not the "E-code" (ECE); Hella's ECE 7" round headlamps are poorly focused—aim the lows where they should be and the highs are up in the trees; pull the highs down where they should be (straight ahead) and the low beams end much too close to your front bumper. There are (much) better brands of H4 headlamp, if what you want is a lamp with a facetted glass lens that looks like it belongs on a classic car.

LED headlamps: there are good ones, and they don't necessarily have to look like they came off a '15 Honda or a spaceship. But there's also a(nother) mountain of garbage, including the "Holley" (brand only) "Retrobright", which is beyond bad and into unsafe territory. You don't even have to spend a giant pile of cash; read this (and post #10 in that same thread).

Whatever headlamps you get, they gotta-gotta-gotta be aimed correctly.
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Thanks, Dan! I would have recommended the Cibie E codes, but the good real ones are getting hard to find. Do you still have some?
 
RustyRatRod said:
I would have recommended the Cibie E codes, but the good real ones are getting hard to find. Do you still have some?
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The Cibie headlamps went out of production in 2019. They were in production for many years, with declining volumes, and the tooling was allowed to grow decrepit. Once the maker (Valeo) could no longer squeak a plausible proportion of the lamps past conformity-of-production testing with a straight face, they discontinued them. Dribs and drabs of leftover stock show up from time to time, mostly from the last couple years, but they really skidded very badly from what they once were, and they cannot in good faith be recommended. There are also cheap and completely nasty "reproduction" (i.e., knockoff) Cibies; these aren't headlamps, they're headlite-shaped trinkets not worth a nickel.

It's sad, of course, that such a storied brand as Cibie was allowed to sputter and die—same goes for Marchal, and Carello—but the picture is much rosier in terms of the functional aspects that really matter when you're driving, because there are current-production lamps quite a lot better than most of the Cibie 7" round designs were even before they skidded.

(And yes, I still have a stash of the best of the good ones, new old stock, for fellow headlight freaks and others who hafta have 'em)
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