carrera headlight bucket question

[froggert]

the headlights on my 87 carrera are pretty much useless. i think holding a maglite out the window would provide better illumination down the road than the existing h5's.

so i'm trying to fit a euro h4 lamp with old vw/356 rings and buckets, since i prefer the look of the rounder clear glass. the new bucket won't fit into the existing opening as the four tabs that the h5 bulb fixture attach to are in the way. can anyone confirm that they're not there on the pre-87 911's before i start cutting away? i know i won't be able to go back to the stock h5's, but if what i'm trying doesn't work i'd like to at least be able to put in the regular h4's.

thanks.

[mercman]

I just did this install today however, I used true Euro H4s. There are no clearance issues with the tabs -- in fact I zip tied the light to the tab for more security. My car is an 83 and has these tabs. As long as you don't move to reinstall sugar scoops, you should be ok.

[porwolf]

Here for comparison the head light buckets of my 79 SWC where I replaced the original sugar scoops with asymmetric Euro H4 headlights with German H4 50W bulbs. Great light improvement. I also installed headlight relays. The 4 tabs in my buckets are for attachment of the original sugar scoop sealed beam light fixtures. They are not needed for the Bosch Euro H4 lights. They go over the lip on the top side of the bucket and are attached to the threade tab on the bottom of the buckets.

[porsche moose]

the lights will fit but the rings for 356 wont fit you need 911 rings just did it

[80-911SC]

On my SC I did the H5's with silver star bulbs and a relay kit .. I can see pretty good ..

If I was you I would do the relays to go along with the early lights ... make a world of difference in the voltage getting to the front ....

[froggert]

thanks for all the responses. car already has the jwest relay kit. lighting is still scary on back roads with no street lights and lots of deer.

porsche moose, what did you put on your car? i was able to fit the 356 rings on the car by themselves this morning with a little work. it's the 356 bucket that interferes with the 4 tabs. i couldn't get the stock h5 ring onto the 356 bucket and h4 lamp as is. looks like it would take some grinding and need new holes for alignment screws.

[Mr. Merk]

Any updates on this?

[froggert]

What do you want to know? I've gone through a few headlight iterations in the last couple of years. Currently running 7" LED headlamps in first gen VW Bug buckets with H4 trim rings.

[Mr. Merk]

Originally Posted by froggert

What do you want to know? I've gone through a few headlight iterations in the last couple of years. Currently running 7" LED headlamps in first gen VW Bug buckets with H4 trim rings.

I ordered the 356/early beetle buckets from EIS. Did you have to hack the tabs? I was under the impression that we were to use H5 rings (which I have) but I think I've also purchased a set of H4 rings that are up in the attic.

[froggert]

You'll have to use H4 rings with the buckets. The holes are different between the H4 and H5. It's been a while, but I think I had enough clearance after pushing the tabs back slightly.

There's a newer thread where someone modified the H5 mounts to retain the stock mount/aim setup with a 7" headlamp. It's too late for me but might be an option for you.

[Mr. Merk]

Having trouble getting mine to mount flush. Really gate to hack up my mounting tabs

[DNickel]

I just replaced my H5's as they were almost as bad as a Ford F150 and they are bad
I bought a Euro kit from fuchswheels.ca and they fit just fine with the old tabs in place. I did have to bend the top lip out a bit to get the new rings to catch as the new seals were so thick (not 30 years old and crushed like the originals) I couldn't get the single bottom screw started.
I put in LED lights (both main and parking) while I was at it