The 7" round is the world's most common headlamp size, even still today despite very few new vehicles using it; believe it or don't, there are now more good options in 7" round headlamps than there ever have been before. Unfortunately, there are also now more
bad options than ever before, and they're all hyped as an "upgrade", so you have to be skeptical and get well and truly educated before deciding what to put in. The Jeep JK Wrangler headlamps will fit, for example, but they aren't worth messing with if you want to see well at night.
Even if you ignore the enormous amount of overhyped junk on the market, even if you stay within legitimate headlamps that genuinely meet recognized technical standards, you can have whatever you want. You can have replaceable-bulb halogens (the
best ones are made in Japan by Koito); you can have BiXenons (Hella); you can have LEDs (JW Speaker; Truck-Lite, Peterson). It's all down to how well you want to see at night and what you're willing to spend. The legitimate BiXenons will cost you about $1500 for the pair, yowza. The best LEDs are the J.W. Speaker units in
chrome or
black. Less-expensive and still quite good are the
Truck-Lite and
Peterson units. The fun part: all these LED headlamps I've linked are made in America! You'll be shown a lot of "products like this" or "people also looked at" items—lookalike/knockoff junk, steer clear.
When you're figuring costs, keep in mind you will definitely want relays and better wiring for halogens (read
this) but not for BiXenons or LEDs because of their low current draw (lower than the original sealed beams).
Also steer clear of suspiciously cheap "HID headlamps" or "LED headlamps" that amount to a halogen headlight (usually a cheap and nasty H4) with an "HID kit" or "LED bulb" in them. No matter whose name is on them or what the vendor claims, these are a fraudulent, unsafe scam. First principles: halogen lamps need to use halogen bulbs. More detail
here and
here .
Whatever headlamps you put in, it's crucial to
aim them properly.
There are other good upgrades to bring an old vehicle's lighting up to snuff for use in modern traffic; see Allpar articles
here and
here, for example (featuring A-bodies!).
Previous discussions on this board about upgrading lights:
here and
here.
Full disclosure, I'm the Daniel Stern mentioned in the Allpar articles. Yup, I do sell lighting upgrade equipment, but not on the board here; we've got a board member who offers
real nice headlamp relay setups.
