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'69 H1 headlight questions


Alex69T

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My car was previously upgraded with H4 headlights, but a set of (original?, but mismatched) H1 lamps were included in the sale.

I'm considering refitting the H1 lights but have a few questions.

 

Here's what I have:

H1_Headlights_zpsd4eee125.jpg

 

1.  Does anyone know which lense is more correct for a factory RHD '69?

I've noticed "1 305 614 012" lenses are still available new on eBay, but I've never seen "1 305 614 009" lenses for sale.  Are these likely to be the originals?

 

2.  Also the reflectors, behind the lenses, have been painted silver.  Is this correct?  I would have thought a mirror finish reflector, like those on modern cars, would work better.

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Sorry Alex, I can't help you at all. To be honest I only clicked onto your post hopeful to see some images of your car that I very much adore. Hope you get the real answers you need!

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Clear top H1 aren't too common.

Is there any chance that the 009 is for LHD?

What I can tell you is that it is a common upgrade/improvement from H1 to H4.

I also believe that some electrical work is required to change from one to the other.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Alex,

 

the pair of lights you show are both H1 bodies but have different lenses. 012 has the correct triangular section of the lens on the LHS (as you face it) which directs light to the LHS of the road and does not dazzle on coming traffic. Its an easy check of the lenses as when you face the car from the front,  for a RHD car, this triangular type pattern should be on the same side as the steering wheel which throws light to the left (kerb side).  For LHD cars, you will note the lenses have this pattern on the left hand side of the lens.

 

009 lens as pictured can just be seen to have the LHD pattern on its lens so these lenses are not a matched pair. 

 

However, to find a clear top RHD lenses will not be easy as these are much rarer lights than H4's.

 

Its a pity the reflectors have been painted silver but many H1 lights suffered rust problems and reflectors deteriorated badly. They might be able to be replated as you can disassemble the lights down to component parts. I would investigate this as these lights are valuable in good condition.

 

I do have some new RHD lenses but these are for H4 lights and dont have the clear tops. They will work but the anoraks wont be happy seeing H1 reflectors with an H4 lens. Depends how anal you are about your car.

 

Hope this explains what you have.

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Thanks for your responses guys.  Phil, you have pretty much confirmed what I suspected with regards to the reflectors.   I can see the silver paint is covering some rust.  I think I’ll follow your advice and see if I can have them blasted and re-coated.  As for lenses, they seem more or less readily available for around US$160 a pair from various sources, or am I missing something?

 

4963742_zps9c4e56f8.jpg

 

4963737_zpse189a2ed.jpg

 

By the way, Phil, I have a pair of your seats in my car and they’re great!

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  • 5 months later...

Update: H1 lights in and working well!

 

Upon disassembling the H1 headlights I found the high beam reflectors weren't painted silver, as I suspected, but were in fact very badly deteriorated.

Before:

Porsche_H1_before_zps542b3464.jpg

 

After:

Porsche_H1_after_zps1b9e0d96.jpg

 

The low beam reflectors were still OK and only needed a good cleaning.  

A new pair of matching lenses and new chrome rings were purchased and everything was reassembled with four new Narva 50+ globes (the only "+" globes I could find that didn't have blue tint on them).

 

Porsche_H1_headlight_zpse5b461b8.jpg

 

Low beam on:

Porsche_H1_lowbeam_zps50e367a5.jpg

 

Here's comparison between H4 (driver's side) and H1 (passenger side):

Porsche_H1_and_H4_zpsbb34aeab.jpg

 

Low beam comparison:

Porsche_H1_and_H4_lowbeam_zps75b5e132.jp

 

The big advantage of H1 lights is the ability to independently adjust low and high beams.  I intentionally set the high beams higher than H4 high beams.

Porsche_H1_and_H4_highbeam_zps0dc1c40f.j

 

 

Overall, I'm very happy to have the original H1 headlights back in my car and working well, however, I hope to never have to pull apart a set of H1 lights again as it was a fiddly PIA job.  I can see why the factory went to the much simpler, and less costly to produce, H4 lights in the early 1970's.

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Coastr, at this stage I will hang onto them.  What's wrong with your H4s?

 

They don't exist!  I have US spec sealed beams which are marginally more useful than putting yellow cellophane in front of a tallow candle.   Essentially I avoid driving at night completely.

 

Though I do like stirring Oz-delivered purists with the sleepy look ;)

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