Detroit Speed Midyear Headlamp Motor Upgrade
04-18-2014, 03:20 PM
#21
Safety Car
All that said, if I wasn't such a lazy cheapskate, the DS headlight motor conversion would be on my list of mods.
So, how come there're everyone who's expressed an opinion seems to think this conversion kit is the "bee's knees", but so many other well proven upgrades/mods get the pooh pooh treatment?
04-18-2014, 04:22 PM
#22
Safety Car
Trust me, there are plenty of Luddites on this board that will poo-poo this retrofit as well! This is clearly not the type of installation that someone would do on an all-correct car, but it is nice on a driver, especially one that already has non-working motors!
Regards, John McGraw
Regards, John McGraw
04-18-2014, 04:23 PM
#23
Both turn signals (park lights?) appear to come on while the headlight buckets are rotating out. An NCRS flunk, I suppose, but it would have been even more dramatic in 1963 if St. Louis had made them all that way. 
04-18-2014, 05:15 PM
#24
Burning Brakes
Dan
04-18-2014, 05:17 PM
#25
Team Owner
I don't think the number of conversions to the DS electronic headlights has reached the point to invoke the ire of "keep everything the way it came from GM" crowd. Won't be long though.
There is already another never-ending debate on electronic ignition conversions vs points taking place in a companion thread.
I still rebuilt my original headlight motors after the conversion and some future owner can put them back in if judging/originality is their goal...
There is already another never-ending debate on electronic ignition conversions vs points taking place in a companion thread.
I still rebuilt my original headlight motors after the conversion and some future owner can put them back in if judging/originality is their goal...
04-18-2014, 05:21 PM
#26
Team Owner
I think Mike Coletta may have done your conversion - in which case it is no doubt done correctly. So I don't know what else you might have going on...
Last edited by Frankie the Fink; 04-18-2014 at 06:01 PM.
04-18-2014, 05:42 PM
#27
I can hardly wait to do this to mine. I have the typical driver's side light that is VERY slow and usually requires multiple trips to and from the front to the switch. Once up, it is quiescent (Thanks Frankie the Fink for the use of that word today 
) but the same is required to get it down on occasion. I have so much to do to the 67 that I don't know when I'll get to this but hopefully soon. Oh yes, I have Pertronix too.
) but the same is required to get it down on occasion. I have so much to do to the 67 that I don't know when I'll get to this but hopefully soon. Oh yes, I have Pertronix too.
Last edited by Diablo427; 04-18-2014 at 05:45 PM.
04-21-2014, 09:33 AM
#29
Le Mans Master
I don't blame anyone for doing the switch to "lightning fast" either!
04-21-2014, 02:09 PM
#31
Safety Car
I have a good answer for this question. It's a safety issue, pure and simple. A stock HL motor that fails may very well jam the headlight bucket in a position where you can't even use the thumbwheel (ugh!!!) to get the bucket in the fully opened position. The DS conversion uses friction limited clutches to transfer the motor rotation to the bucket. You can raise the bucket by hand fully and easily even if the whole motor assembly craters.
04-23-2014, 10:39 PM
#36
Team Owner
So, looking at the video of the white Vette, I guess it also modifies the wiring so the park lights stay on when the headlights are on?
04-24-2014, 10:59 PM
#37
Race Director
04-24-2014, 11:46 PM
#38
Safety Car
Very nice upgrade. Also thought of going with this conversion but in the end, didn't. .. The simple reason was the car not seeing much nighttime driving - just a few times in all of last year.
04-24-2014, 11:51 PM
#39
Team Owner
So, I upgraded...
05-06-2014, 04:58 AM
#40
3rd Gear
Member Since: Dec 2011
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Gerry,
You can adjust the clutch on the motors to make it stiffer. I believe the procedure is spelled out in the install manual. but it is a simple process. It is just a simple friction clutch, and a couple of turns tighter on the clutch, and the problems should be resolved.
The only problem I had with mine, was since my car was a resto-mod and I wanted to hide as much wiring and controls, I picked up the headlight on signal all the way up front at the radiator support. Unfortunately, I forgot that the low beams are not active when high beams are on! The headlights would not come up if the high beams were active when you turn the switch on. As soon as I switched to low beams, the lights would pop up and stay up until the headlight switch was turned off!
They originally intended to pick up the power between the headlight switch and the dimmer switch, which is hot whenever the lights are in either high or low beam. Eventually, I will lick up power from the high beam as well (through a diode so it will not back feed to the low beams), but for now I just have to remember that if they do not pop up, I just need to switch to low beams.
Regards, John McGraw
You can adjust the clutch on the motors to make it stiffer. I believe the procedure is spelled out in the install manual. but it is a simple process. It is just a simple friction clutch, and a couple of turns tighter on the clutch, and the problems should be resolved.
The only problem I had with mine, was since my car was a resto-mod and I wanted to hide as much wiring and controls, I picked up the headlight on signal all the way up front at the radiator support. Unfortunately, I forgot that the low beams are not active when high beams are on! The headlights would not come up if the high beams were active when you turn the switch on. As soon as I switched to low beams, the lights would pop up and stay up until the headlight switch was turned off!
They originally intended to pick up the power between the headlight switch and the dimmer switch, which is hot whenever the lights are in either high or low beam. Eventually, I will lick up power from the high beam as well (through a diode so it will not back feed to the low beams), but for now I just have to remember that if they do not pop up, I just need to switch to low beams.
Regards, John McGraw
I have not seen anything on that in the doc ??