c3vettelover

How in the world do you get the entire headlight assembly out??
I re-bonded the header to the nose and the dang driver headlight STILL drags on the body. So I thought I'd remove the assembly and check things out. "Thought" being the key word here....HOW do you get these things out of the car?? Do they come out as an entire assembly?? ANY and ALL insight is greatly appreciated.....

Thanks in advance

Edzred72

I just did the same thing a while back...so here goes.
The headlight assemblies are adjustable. Each assembly has a pivot point with bearings, one on each side. The pivot bearings are held in with 3 bolts on each side of each assembly. The outer ones near the fenders are a b*tch to get at. They can be loosened and adjusted all four ways. Up, down, lower & higher to get your headlight assembly centered. The AIM says 1/8" clearance from the body all the way around. I used 1/8" rubber spacers between the assembly & the body to protect the paint. Also wrapped tape around the opening for protection during adjustment.
If you MUST pull the entire assembly out.. Start by taking everything off the assembly. Headlight bulbs, bezels etc.. Disconnect two big springs from underneith, then a cotter pin that holds a pivot rod (sorry, my termonology is't the best) remove that pivot rod and the pivot bearing bolts mentioned above and she's ready to come out. BE CAREFULL, cause you can chip the paint on the body and headlight door very easily when removing those assmb.
It's hard to explain this without a diagram with correct terms, but I suggest you get a detailed pic from the assembly manual, parts catalog, service manual etc.. cause there are ton's of parts that make up those headlight assemblies, and you must understand how they work before you start playing with it. Not to scare ya, but it took me a LONG time to get those assemblies adjusted perfectly.
Hope I've helped
Eddie

perk77

Silvr77 do you know how to adjust the closing of the lights? The drivers side lights on my 77 stick up at the front edge about 1/8". Is there some way to adjust this to close tight?
Thanks

Star79

Much easier to "adjust" than to "take out". Also easier to adjust if you remove the hood and the grills in front. Silv77 is right, the 3 bolts on each side of the assembly (behind pivot point #2, #3 in picture below)give you about 1/2 inch of up/down front/back adjustment at the rear, and a little bit of "rotation". You can reach the outside ones from underneath or through the grill, it helps if you have anorexic arms. If you run out of adjustability and they still stick up in back you can shim the main bracket a bit with washers on the three bolts that attach to the v-bracket. The front is not so easy to adjust up/down, mine had shims between the mount and the attach points. There is a thick L-shaped stop with a nut/bolt on it to adjust how far they open, mine opened too far after I replaced the v-bar and hung on the bezel when closing, just needed to move that bolt in a bit to keep em down a little.

Silv77 mentioned all the stuff needed to remove the whole thing. If you just take out the bolt that is the main pivot for the actuator, #1 in picture below (easy to get if you remove the lights/bezels) you can move the doors up and down manually until you get your adjustment right. Better than using the switch and destroying your paint.

Good luck!!

c3vettelover

Thanks to everyone who replied! I was able to make a couple of simple adjustments to the mounts and stops to get the headlight door where I needed it.

Rowdy

Freepop

I'm glad I'm not the only one who knows this

Rolm

Great info. Now spray everthing with a light oil that should keep things from rotting.