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Ok, don't go nuts on me telling me I can't put quad 165mm beams into my '86 240DL. It CAN BE DONE, and I'm going to do it in the next few weeks. It isn't overly pretty, but who cares? The president of the local rally club here in Waterloo, ON, has done the conversion and it works well. Anyways, as I'm scrolling around to check out possible upgrades to Hella H4's rather than sealed beams, I find these:
http://www.classicgarage.com/classicgarage/he-72146b.html
then, if you click the link to the bottom, you get to these:
http://www.classicgarage.com/16smalrech4.html
So my question is, has anyone ever heard of them/used them? Are they anywhere close to as good as the Hellas? They sure are cheaper, but I'm skeptical about cheap lighting. Any thoughts would be helpful. thanks,
Nate Gundy
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'86 240DL sedan, 260K miles, M46, K cam, 25/21mm sways, 260 front and wagon rear springs; http://valvespringcompressor.weblogs.us/
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I don't have an opinion on the lights...but I do have an 86 wagon...I would really like to see a couple of pics and a description of what you are doing...
Bret
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rust free in west Texas
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Yeah, when I get it done I'll try to get ahold of a digital camera and snap some pictures for the board. I'll definitely give a detailed description anyways. I'm only a few weeks away from moderate to good lighting; no more super sucky plastic buckets!
Nate Gundy
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'86 240DL sedan, 260K miles, M46, K cam, 25/21mm sways, 260 front and wagon rear springs; http://valvespringcompressor.weblogs.us/
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I wouldn't buy them. I've never seen a set of headlights made in India that had optics that were anything short of horrible. When you buy cheap H4s, you generally get bad performance.
BTW, I don't know that the "Hellas" sold by that company are any better. Notice that they don't say that they are Hellas, just that they are manufactured by them. Hella has plants in third world countries that make non-branded lights. The bulbs included with them are definitely bad.
I can't say for sure how their prices compare, because the website seems to be funky this evening, but try Susquehanna Motorsports at www.rallylights.com . I got the Hellas for my wife's VW Cabriolet from them last year, and they had the best prices I found on the internet, by far. They also include genuine Hella bulbs, and their prices on the bulbs are low enough to justify picking up a couple of spares.
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1991 245, 61k miles, looking for a 5 speed 92-93 245 cheap.
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Yeah, susquehanna is the place I've been looking mostly. I was just curious about these other lights--if anyone had any "wow, they really are great lights" kind of stories. Good call on the possible poor quality of the other "hella" lights on that site. Thanks for the info,
Nate Gundy
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'86 240DL sedan, 260K miles, M46, K cam, 25/21mm sways, 260 front and wagon rear springs; http://valvespringcompressor.weblogs.us/
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No problem, I found out that Hella makes non-branded poor quality lights by accident.
The best deal I ever found on H4s was at Wal-Mart back in 1986. They used to carry a strange variety of stuff in the automotive department, including mufflers and a full line of tune-up parts. For a while they had some H4s, and they didn't sell well at all. I happened by a store in Texas when they closed them out for $6 each. I don't remember what sizes they had, but I bought 3 pair of 7" rounds, and a friend got a pair of the big high-low rectangular ones. I used a couple of pair, and let them go when I sold the cars. I kept one pair till the early 90s, when I sold them to a friend to use in his 280Z. He never installed them, and I bought them back later. They came in generic boxes, and it wasn't till weeks later that I realized that they were Carellos. Of course, now I wish I'd bought all they had.
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1991 245, 61k miles, looking for a 5 speed 92-93 245 cheap.
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You want a REALLY GOOD low bux H4 4x6?
Why not get the Stanleys from www.danielsternlighting.com ?
That's what I use, and they're fantastic.
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For a stock '86 240, what's everything in addition to the Stanley's that one would need to complete an upgrade?
- side marker lights?
- adapting connectors?
- mounting hardware?
Thanks for your input.
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The issue is that the side marker lights from a pre-86 don't fit. You have to get the mounting hardware for the 165mm rectangle lights first. Apparently, you might have to remove the chrome trim on the grill for clearance. Then, you have to make up some kind of plate to cover the gaps, because the 80-85 quad beam bezels won't fit the '86 either. I'm going to use plexiglass, painted. Then for the corner lights, I'm going to bolt them on with L brackets I think. I'll show pictures when I'm done, but it's similar to whoever just recently showed pictures of mounting two 7" round lights. So yeah, it's going to be a bit of a chore, but I'm so darned sick of the big plastic light blobs that it'll be quite the relief to get some good lighting in the car!
Nate Gundy
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'86 240DL sedan, 260K miles, M46, K cam, 25/21mm sways, 260 front and wagon rear springs; http://valvespringcompressor.weblogs.us/
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I think the other issue is the grill. 87 + up have a lower profile grill that's wider than the tall hood 78-85 240's grill.
I have an 84 & 81 240s and want to convert one to the quad round lamps form the 4x6 rectangulars. I have been on a quest for a trade or freeebies. I found a set in the junkyard and they wanted $50 per side!!! Dream on. I've got 2 extra sets of quad rectangles with buckets and hardware in my garage now. One pair is new. I made my own headlamp covers from clear plexi, but I want that retro-70's round lamp look. J.C. Whitney sells the round lamps without the H4 bulbs. AutoZone has Wagner, Krypton and Sylvania bulbs which seem OK. I've always got my bulbs free from the junkyard and other cars I've bought for parts. You can find the bulbs you need in just about anything from GM & Fords to Imports. Just make sure to wipe them down with alcohol to get the grease from your hands off the bulbs, otherwise they won't last very long. I've got years of use from freebie bulbs.
The dumbest thing I've done is buy a headlamp bulb from the dealer for $36.
No more.
Ben
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My 7" swap.
Currently, it's still at this stage, though ...
-- Kane
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Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40
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That doesn't look so bad to me....at least in the dark. What's wrong with it? Ditch those little driving lights already? I thought they looked kinda cool. What are your inner cover pieces made out of? anyways, good luck on finishing it up, and in just a few weeks I should have some nice pictures up of quad beams!
Nate Gundy
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'86 240DL sedan, 260K miles, M46, K cam, 25/21mm sways, 260 front and wagon rear springs; http://valvespringcompressor.weblogs.us/
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Ended up being a bit tougher to get flat acrylic lined up, so it's an 8x10 acrylic box frame now. And the driving lights don't fit behind that.
I'd like to get the 8x12 size (which MCS does make), though I've yet to find 'em locally. I'll prolly break down and just get it online.
The filler piece is aluminum gutter mesh.
-- Kane
--
Blossom II - '91 745Ti/M46 ... Bubbles - '74 144GL/BW35 ... Buttercup - '86 245GL/AW70 ... The Wayback Machine - '64 P220/M40
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I've been eying those as well as the Hellas, but at $42 a piece, they're about the same. Now I guess it's a matter of choice. That's one vote for the Stanleys anyways. We'll see what my budget might allow.
Nate Gundy
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'86 240DL sedan, 260K miles, M46, K cam, 25/21mm sways, 260 front and wagon rear springs; http://valvespringcompressor.weblogs.us/
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