Tintin

The Hella lights are really good, it is the sealed beam Halogens that are not so great. You can get the Hellas at :

http://www.rallylights.com/SearchRes...CategoryID=366

You really only need the hi-lo lamp, I can't even remember the last time I used the high lamps on my car in the last 15 years.. there is always oncoming traffic here..

JohnZ

Those are the T-3 reproductions marketed by Lectric Limited, and manufactured by Wagner Electric; I have them on my car too, and they work fine at night.

Remember that there are at least NINE in-line connectors between the headlight switch and the lamps (12V feed to the switch, switch internal terminals, switch external terminal to dimmer switch wire, dimmer switch wire to dimmer switch terminal, internal dimmer switch terminals, dimmer switch output terminal, output wire male/female connectors in the bulkhead connector, forward lamp harness connector to headlamp bucket harness, and bucket harness connectors to the lamp terminals). The front harness ground at the radiator support is just one more potential voltage drop location.

Doesn't take much aging/corrosion at NINE connections between the switch and the lamps (plus a questionable ground) to create a lot of voltage drop in the circuit; cleaning them can make a BIG difference in lamp brightness.

davepl

I just parted out a 69 Catalina that had all four dated original T3 lamps... but one low beam was cracked :-( I have 3 now though, if I can find a decent low beam.

Nowhere Man

69 GM cars have lined T3 which are much more plentifully then the early ones. But why bring a nine year old thread to tell us that

Frankie the Fink

Sylvania Halogen 5001 and 5006 bulbs will work fine, are plug and play and draw about the same current draw as T3s did but tons brighter....no need to cut up your headlight buckets, beef up circuits or change wiring.

T3s aren't generic -- there are lots of variants so chasing down repros that are correct for your car might not be possible - I don't know. I have two sets of original T3s for '63 that have clear silicone all around the electrical connectors so they might actually work for a while after being turned on - you never know...

davepl

Should be easy to find, 68-71 had the "lined" T3 logo as Nowhere man mentions.

Brought up the topic because I initially planned to get repros but have heard that the current repros look "milky" compared to originals, so was curious if I need to track down another original or two!

Looks like they're about $60 on eBay for a used original or a repro, but that's pretty steep!

Rich Yanulis

Buying reproduction bulbs is about as easy as it gets........

https://www.zip-corvette.com/60-67-t...-bulb-set.html

Rich Yanulis

I have a total of six original T3 bulbs.
The high beams are very easy to find, the low beams are much more difficult.

Driving at night with the originals is like using two kerosene lanterns.
They are sitting on a shelf in my garage.

I simply installed repro T3 bulbs for daily use.
They are as bright as modern bulbs with no milky appearance.
They look exactly like the originals, except that there is a little tiny "DOT" cast into the glass.

Frankie the Fink

I was speaking more broadly Rich; e.g. 53-72 selection...

Panama 58

Frankie, I am curious to know if the halogen bulbs that you are using (Sylvania) have the typical blueish light or are they more of a white to natural headlight cast? I don't want to put a halogen light bulb in and have that cheesy blue cast that many of them project. Thanks.
Garry

Frankie the Fink

My halogens are white as can be, I see no bluish anything in the beams, not from the cockpit nor standing in front....

I'll be switching them out for the new "plug and play" LED headlights when they arrive though...

Panama 58

Thanks. Are the LED's the ones you mention in another thread? A little pricey considering I rarely drive after sundown, but worth taking a closer look. Thanks for the intel.
Garry

Frankie the Fink

Yes. those are the ones... I don't drive a ton in the dark anymore but some of our later car shows in rural areas can make getting home a challenge - and my night vision is bad and worsening

davepl

I definitely wouldn't recommend night driving at high speed with T3s. I did enough of that in the 80s!

Just looking for a good set of T3s that will look good at Pebble Beach and be legal. If I were doing any night driving, I'd do an HID or LED conversion.... these are the ones in my GMC but they're a tad too blue (it's a blue truck).