by hotrodding
Lowering your Headlights
2:50 pm in Body and Paint by hotrodding
Lowering your Headlights on 1935 Fords:
Here you can see the standard headlight stanchions.
In this article we will show you how Rick Field, a hot rodder from Lithgow in NSW Australia has achieved the lowering of his headlights for his 1935 Ford Tudor. This method can be used on any headlights that incorporate the stanchions from the mudguards. With questions asked to various car buddies he could not find a suitable method to which he was satisfied with.
To do this on models like the 1936 Fords the stanchions are incorporated in with the construction of the mudguard, even with the fiberglass guards these both will have a different approach compared to the 1935 models. To do the 1936 models, you could use this method as shown in the following photos, though most people prefer to modify the headlight buckets on there own. This is done with the removal of the headlight mounting point at the base of the headlight and raising this up into the bucket itself with a large enough opening to fit the stanchion in side, then using metal formed in the shape of an oval tube or similar shape you may choose and weld that in place. The mount now becomes further up inside the bucket. One thing you must consider. Make sure there is no contact with the headlight itself once installed.
Either way you modify your headlights, you can only go to the maximum the mudguards will allow which is usually 30mm to 50mm unless you countersink them into the guards.
So out with his only pair of headlight stanchions, (yes they are hard to find today) I will share with you how Rick went about altering his own.
First you will need to find some stanchions that are rust free which can even be sourced from other model cars with similar mounting points. Just check out any old cars you might find in farmers yards or paddocks.
A standard 1935 headlight stanchion
Now you can compare the lowered headlight on the left guard with the untouched version on the right guard. You will clearly see the difference it can make. It all adds up to how many custom touches you can do with your ride. Using a billet grill adds more custom features. This way you keep the theme flowing throughout the whole project.
Here we have the modified on the left guard, standard on the right.
Now to do this Rick has made this quite simple, If you want to lower them, well just cut the required amount from the stanchions. Ok
You only need to use your imagination, as this is as simple as it can get.
Here you can see the many cuts Rick has made, as he now has to bring the centre in to match the top half.
Many cuts are required.
Here you can see where your limits are. Obviously to keep the headlight bucket mount horizontal you have only a certain amount you can shorten them by. Always remember the top has to fit back on or you can even modify that.
You will be limited on the amount you can cut.
All that’s required now is to weld them all together, a quick cleanup with the emery wheel and your just completed another stage of your ride. One thing I would do before welding is to remove the inner rust either by blasting or a dipping solution.
With welding complete a quick clean up, it's all done.
Here’s another look from a different angle.
Another really nice finished result by Rick Field
On this photo there is one more item to be shortened. That is the headlight mounting bolt. You can either shorten as you can see in the next photo or tap the thread up the shaft further and cut the excess off.
Last we need to shorten the headlight bolt.
You can see in the next photo how nice and neat they look when the headlights are tucked up close to the guards.
A much cleaner look for a Hi-tech ride.
Now go back to the first photo and just compare the difference between these two.
Thanks to Rick Field for this article, it all helps to solve those little jobs on your hot rod project that can make a big result when it comes to trophy time.
Happy Hot rodding
Dave Ailey.
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