86 headlight buckets

[turbizzy]

I bought a new pair of 86 style headlights from Daniel Carpenter and plan to install them on my 85. Can anyone here tell me what i have to do? I guess from looking at SVPU i have to get those headlights "buckets" right? I emailed Paul a whole bunch of times but he never writes me back. As far as the bulb goes, will i need to cut and splice in a connector for the new style bulb and where can i get them or are there bulbs out there that have the connector the same style as the old connector?

izzy

[Eyelawdoc]

86 Headlight Wire Connectors

Yes, you will need new connectors for the 9004 bulbs that go in the aero headlights. I believe both NAPA and Carquest carry them. 50resto does too: PE644 @ $7.95 each. You will need two.

I did the conversion in the fall of 85 to my 84 SVO. What I did was first remove all the old headlight mounting stuff. Then I installed the lights on the buckets and fit them into the openings and marked where I had to drill new holes to hold the "buckets" in place on the header. I driled the holes, removed the housings from the buckets and mounted the buckets with nuts and bolts through the header panel. I then rewired the connectors. Then I plugged in the bulbs to the connnectors, plugged the aero housings back onto the buckets and aimed the lights. Done deal!

[turbizzy]

Did you use new aero-style buckets or did you use the old style? I guess i just need the buckets. Where do i get them from??? SVPU isn't calling me back.

[Eyelawdoc]

The buckets I used were the aero style. They came from Ford. Back in 85 you could buy them new in the box! The earlier 84-85 non-aero buckets won't work. I would suggest that you be both patient and persistant with Paul. I understand he's pretty busy these days. Have you tried leaving a message on his voicemail?

Alternatively, perhaps someone parting an 86 SVO has a set of buckets. I never have verified if the buckets for the later 88-93 Mustang headlights will work with the 85.5-86 SVO aero housings. Maybe you could search the yards locally for a pair of 88-93 buckets cheap and see if they would work.

[turbizzy]

Headlight conversion

I just wanted to say that this weekend i did my flushheadlight conversion and it was pretty simply considereing you have all the parts. Eyelawdoc, i know you said you had to drill holes for the buckets but i didn't have to drill anything! There were already some factory looking predrilled holes for the bottom bucket studs and the top stud went into the old bucket adjuster with a washer to hold it in place.

One question though, i know i screwed up my wiring to my 9004 headlight sockets (BTW whats the difference between 9004 and 9007, which is better?) and i know i have wiring hooked up wrong since when i turn my on my low beams my highbeam indicator is on all the time. My question is if your looking at the 9004 headlight socket and the flat part is facing down, which plug is ground(black wire), lowbeam(red/black), highbeam (green?). In other words, i used generic 9004 sockets and the wires are all black and need to know which wires go where.

Thanx,
izzy

[Eyelawdoc]

Of the three wires on the 9004 plug, one wire is the ground wire. To determine which wire is the low beam, just twist one of the remaining two wires on the plug wires together with your low beam wire on the car (use a VOM to determine which wire this is on the car) and turn on your low beam headlights. If the low beam in the bulb lights you've got it right. If the high beam in the headlight bulb lights switch to the other wire. There, wasn't that simple and easy?

[turbizzy]

There, wasn't that simple and easy?

Well eyelawdoc, i understand what your saying and thats precisely what i did and everything works correctly however my highbeam indicator light in my dashboard is on all the time and seems to get brighter when i actually turn on my highbeams so... i guess i need to figure out which wire on the connector would be ground for starters. I know the wire colors from using my meter and the black is ground, red is lowbeam, and green is highbeam, i know that howevery i just wanted to know if by chance anyone knew which wire would be ground if your looking at the bulb pins.