Big Blue's Transformation

[Gary Lewis]

[...] the truck is staged in the driveway 25' from the garage door and I have tape on the door where Daniel said to put it. So I'm ready to jump into action when it gets dark.

Sure it's going to work. I equipped Big Bro with LED beams (clear beams with LED bulbs), and I am half satisfied. Much more light at night than regular H4, but no easy adjustment between high/low beam.

Result, everybody flashes Big Bro at night, looks on high position all the time.

I am following Big Blue's new beams story, very interested about the results. Maybe will go that way too.

LED's in a shell designed for halogen bulbs is a no-go. The LED's don't put out light in the same plane nor position as halogen, and won't come close to giving a proper beam. That is why Daniel strongly recommends using them.

As for Big Blue, I got the headlights installed, sort of. But I had some problems that I plan to sort out tomorrow:

• Camera Settings: Apparently my camera doesn't show me the f-stop and shutter speed for pics it has taken, so I couldn't set the camera to manual mode to take pics of the new headlights. So I'll have to put the SD card in my shop computer and have Photoshop tell me the settings tomorrow.

• Aiming: I misunderstood Daniel's instructions for aiming the headlights, and by the time I realized my error I was cold and ready to quit for the night.

• Boots: The boots that come with the Koitos do NOT want to go over the connectors. So I installed the headlights w/o the boots. But tomorrow when it is warm I'll lube them and bet I can get them over the connectors.

Tomorrow I hope to get everything squared away and then adjust the headlihts and take pics after church tomorrow night. But it may be Thursday before I get them posted.

[BigBrother-84]

LED's in a shell designed for halogen bulbs is a no-go. The LED's don't put out light in the same plane nor position as halogen, and won't come close to giving a proper beam. That is why Daniel strongly recommends using them.

As for Big Blue, I got the headlights installed, sort of. But I had some problems that I plan to sort out tomorrow:

• Camera Settings: Apparently my camera doesn't show me the f-stop and shutter speed for pics it has taken, so I couldn't set the camera to manual mode to take pics of the new headlights. So I'll have to put the SD card in my shop computer and have Photoshop tell me the settings tomorrow.

• Aiming: I misunderstood Daniel's instructions for aiming the headlights, and by the time I realized my error I was cold and ready to quit for the night.

• Boots: The boots that come with the Koitos do NOT want to go over the connectors. So I installed the headlights w/o the boots. But tomorrow when it is warm I'll lube them and bet I can get them over the connectors.

Tomorrow I hope to get everything squared away and then adjust the headlihts and take pics after church tomorrow night. But it may be Thursday before I get them posted.

Gary, thanks for the update.

Too bad this adjustment has to be done by night, which is never warm these days...

LED's in a shell designed for halogen bulbs is a no-go.

Yep, I was aware about that, the shell I bought are supposedly expressly made for LED bulbs.

Nevertheless, the result isn't the one I expected, as I mentioned earlier.

Anyway, waiting for your sequel!

[Gary Lewis]

Gary, thanks for the update.

Too bad this adjustment has to be done by night, which is never warm these days...

LED's in a shell designed for halogen bulbs is a no-go.

Yep, I was aware about that, the shell I bought are supposedly expressly made for LED bulbs.

Nevertheless, the result isn't the one I expected, as I mentioned earlier.

Anyway, waiting for your sequel!

There is a very good market for shells that look like halogen shells but are made for LED bulbs. But since LED bulbs vary so significantly they'd only work correctly with a specific LED bulb.

Holley has come out with their version but I have it on good authority that it isn't "there" yet, although it is better than all others like it. Supposedly they are working to resolve the problems, but unless you want headlights that look "different" the best thing today is what I'm going with.

And one of the beauties of going with something from Daniel Stern is that you can get an answer from him. I got two answers from him after I quit and sent him a message at about 7 PM last night. And now I understand what I was doing wrong - and he's rewritten his instructions so others don't have that same problem.

[Gary Lewis]

There is a very good market for shells that look like halogen shells but are made for LED bulbs. But since LED bulbs vary so significantly they'd only work correctly with a specific LED bulb.Holley has come out with their version but I have it on good authority that it isn't "there" yet, although it is better than all others like it. Supposedly they are working to resolve the problems, but unless you want headlights that look "different" the best thing today is what I'm going with.And one of the beauties of going with something from Daniel Stern is that you can get an answer from him. I got two answers from him after I quit and sent him a message at about 7 PM last night. And now I understand what I was doing wrong - and he's rewritten his instructions so others don't have that same problem.

Ok, I'm ready to align the headlights tonight.

 

Got the boots on the shells, and I was wrong in how they go on. Using just a bit of grease they slip on the back of the shells and let the connections of the bulbs poke out the back. So the connector doesn't have to go through the middle of the boot - which it does NOT want to do as it is too big.

 

And I got the specs from the pics so I know how to set the camera via Manual mode. That'll let me compare the old sealed beam's output to that of the new Koitos.

 

Plus I got clarification from Daniel that says:

 

*Each* lamp is adjusted on low beam such that the horizontal cutoff at the top of the left side of its beam is on the *B-B* line, and the kink where the cutoff bends upward is placed on or slightly to the left of that lamp's own point *C* , as described in the text. Once you have aimed the left lamp, you stop paying attention to the left *C* mark and aim the right lamp with the right *C* mark.

 

To 'splain that a bit, the "C" mentioned is the center of the bulb/headlight. And the "B-B" line is a line below the centerline by the # of inches shown in a table, which is based on the height of the headlight off the ground. In Big Blue's case with his headlights are at 44" so the B-B line is 3" below C, or center of the bulb/headlight.

 

Here's what that is supposed to look like for each headlight, and you can see that on the left the horizontal cutoff is right at the B-B line while the angled cutoff crosses the C, or center of the headlight:

 

 

[Gary Lewis]

Ok, I'm ready to align the headlights tonight.

 

Got the boots on the shells, and I was wrong in how they go on. Using just a bit of grease they slip on the back of the shells and let the connections of the bulbs poke out the back. So the connector doesn't have to go through the middle of the boot - which it does NOT want to do as it is too big.

 

And I got the specs from the pics so I know how to set the camera via Manual mode. That'll let me compare the old sealed beam's output to that of the new Koitos.

 

Plus I got clarification from Daniel that says:

 

*Each* lamp is adjusted on low beam such that the horizontal cutoff at the top of the left side of its beam is on the *B-B* line, and the kink where the cutoff bends upward is placed on or slightly to the left of that lamp's own point *C* , as described in the text. Once you have aimed the left lamp, you stop paying attention to the left *C* mark and aim the right lamp with the right *C* mark.

 

To 'splain that a bit, the "C" mentioned is the center of the bulb/headlight. And the "B-B" line is a line below the centerline by the # of inches shown in a table, which is based on the height of the headlight off the ground. In Big Blue's case with his headlights are at 44" so the B-B line is 3" below C, or center of the bulb/headlight.

 

Here's what that is supposed to look like for each headlight, and you can see that on the left the horizontal cutoff is right at the B-B line while the angled cutoff crosses the C, or center of the headlight:

 

 

Got the headlights aligned last night. And I took pics. The low beam shot from the night before of the sealed beams was taken with the camera set on Automagic and it selected a shutter speed of 1/8 second, an f-stop of f/3.7, and 800 ISO. So for the Koito pics I put the camera on manual and dialed in those same settings so we could compare the pics.The side-by-side pics are the low beams, with the sealed lights on the left and the Koitos on the right - unfortunately out of focus. Note how the Koitos pick up the towels covering bushes on the left and the other garage door on the right - which the sealed beams don't do. And note how the sealed beams project two oval blobs of light with almost a gap in the middle. But the Koitos fill in that area in the center.And the pic below those two is of the Koitos on high beam. Unfortunately I forgot to take a pic of the sealed beams on high, but rest assured that they didn't have the intensity nor spread of the Koitos.I drove around the neighborhood briefly last night and have two observations from that:

• The Koito low beams are very different to drive with than the sealed beams. The Koitos have a much wider range and yet they have the sharp cutoff. So you see more close to the truck but, as designed, it cuts off down the road a bit to save the oncoming driver's eyes.

• The high beams really reach out! When you bring them on things way down the road light up.

I really like the Koitos and Tungsram +120's and think they are a great addition to Big Blue. Plus, they are legal and won't hurt the eyes of the people I'm meeting.

[BigBrother-84]

Got the headlights aligned last night. And I took pics. The low beam shot from the night before of the sealed beams was taken with the camera set on Automagic and it selected a shutter speed of 1/8 second, an f-stop of f/3.7, and 800 ISO. So for the Koito pics I put the camera on manual and dialed in those same settings so we could compare the pics.

The side-by-side pics are the low beams, with the sealed lights on the left and the Koitos on the right - unfortunately out of focus. Note how the Koitos pick up the towels covering bushes on the left and the other garage door on the right - which the sealed beams don't do. And note how the sealed beams project two oval blobs of light with almost a gap in the middle. But the Koitos fill in that area in the center.

And the pic below those two is of the Koitos on high beam. Unfortunately I forgot to take a pic of the sealed beams on high, but rest assured that they didn't have the intensity nor spread of the Koitos.

I drove around the neighborhood briefly last night and have two observations from that:

• The Koito low beams are very different to drive with than the sealed beams. The Koitos have a much wider range and yet they have the sharp cutoff. So you see more close to the truck but, as designed, it cuts off down the road a bit to save the oncoming driver's eyes.

• The high beams really reach out! When you bring them on things way down the road light up.

I really like the Koitos and Tungsram +120's and think they are a great addition to Big Blue. Plus, they are legal and won't hurt the eyes of the people I'm meeting.

Very sharp!

Thanks for details Gary!

Seriously planing something for Big Bro...

 

[Gary Lewis]

Very sharp!

Thanks for details Gary!

Seriously planing something for Big Bro...

Sounds good, Jeff.

Got a bit done today. Installed the headlight doors - twice on the passenger's side as someone forgot to clip the turn signal in.

And I lubed the exterior mirrors so they can swivel nicely should we have to on the trail.

Here's a head-on shot of the headlights and the doors, and then a before & after that was intended to show the difference in the headlight doors. But since the lighting is different it doesn't show as well.

[1986F150Six]

Sounds good, Jeff.

Got a bit done today. Installed the headlight doors - twice on the passenger's side as someone forgot to clip the turn signal in.

And I lubed the exterior mirrors so they can swivel nicely should we have to on the trail.

Here's a head-on shot of the headlights and the doors, and then a before & after that was intended to show the difference in the headlight doors. But since the lighting is different it doesn't show as well.

Very nice, Gary.

[Gary Lewis]

Very nice, Gary.

Thanks, David. It was a free upgrade since I had the tape and paint. I'd been considering doing this for some time, so when I pulled the doors off to install the new lights I thought "Now is the time."

Edit: I should have explained that I used SEM's Adhesion Promoter to ensure that the paint sticks to not only the plastic of the headlights that had been originally painted but also to the little bit of the "chrome" which I painted.

When I started masking the doors I realized that there are several "steps" in them where it goes from the forward-facing part to the side-facing part that was to be painted. And it looked to me like the factory wasn't too careful in how they masked because much of the last step had black overspray on it. And since cleaning that up wasn't going to be easy I left it exposed and painted it. But I worried that my cheap paint might not bond well to the "chrome" so I used SEM's Adhesion Promoter liberally hoping it would facilitate the bond. We will see how that works.

[ArdWrknTrk]

Sounds good, Jeff.

Got a bit done today. Installed the headlight doors - twice on the passenger's side as someone forgot to clip the turn signal in.

And I lubed the exterior mirrors so they can swivel nicely should we have to on the trail.

Here's a head-on shot of the headlights and the doors, and then a before & after that was intended to show the difference in the headlight doors. But since the lighting is different it doesn't show as well.

The contrast does look good!

Given the width and wheelbase I expect Big Blue to be wearing more than just a few new pinstripes from the Ozarks.