Porsche 356 headlight assembly mounting tips

[JTR70]

This car is already in final paint then? Thats a mistake I've learned the hard way. All the actual trim and compenents for the body must be dry fit before Final paint and or rechroming. It rarely works out for the best trying to assemble the car after the fact. Very scary! Best of luck there.

Justin

[Phil Planck]

Justin

Have just re-read this thread, as going thru similar problem on Foam Car. Top is nice and flush to seal but bottom is proud. A project for tomorrow.

[JTR70]

Thanks Phil. Let us know how your experience went for the other B/C owners.

Justin

[Phil Planck]

By pulling out bucket at bottom, I got the drivers side nice an flush. Passenger side is another story. Both original headlight assemblies fit drivers side, and neither will fit passenger side. I measured the flange for retaining the top of the light and drivers side was .025" lower. Looking at the inner rim you can see a shiny mark from the flange. If I install passenger side on the bottom first and push up as far as it will go, the top flange protrudes above the rim:



This does not occur on drivers side. Original bucket in NOS passenger nose. Bucket went in much harder than drivers side. Figured okay, lets lower that flange some, so made a mark to gauge how much metal I remove:


After filing down as much as I dared, the flange was now below the rim when pushing up from the bottom, but as there is a lip clear around the bucket, in order to install the light after hooking it over the flange it must clear the lower lip, which was interfering. Flattened out the lower lip about 2" from bottom on each side and headlight "snapped" in place. AHA. But wait, now I can't snap it back off. The can't open hood problem of headlights.

Did some gentle prying here and there with no luck so called it a day. Worst case I will have to drive the bucket with light in it out and work on it on the bench. In my next life I will test fit the light prior to installing the bucket. At least then I will know if is caused by the new opening in the nose.

[John Pierce]

I'd love to hear from the experts as I've yet to do mine. Thanks for being the guinea pig, Phil, on our B T6's!!!

[bbspdstr]

Hi all.....I am getting a Roadster ready for pick-up on Saturday but cheated on some email time to open this site.

I have merely learned from experiences but each headlight can be it's own challenge. The host of reasons for fit problems is seemingly endless but I have had to tap in the perimeter of the bucket even after paint, or remove paint...so give an extra m.m. for that up front. I have had to grind the extra step down, usually toward the bottom of the bucket....and what I mean by "bucket" is the one welded into the fender opening.

The two things I now key on are that the actual ovality of the bucket is correct, and, that the match to that is of a fully assembled headlight unit that is THE ONE TO BE PLACED THERE WHEN ALL ELSE IS FINISHED. Of course, the anticipated thickness of coatings in that area is important, but "sneaking up on it" is also the safest way...while paying close attention to every possible detail of influence in each part that gets close to another. It is not as easy as it looks because now, the original design is all we have to work with. The headlights installed new were of higher quality and likely chosen by trial fitting out a larger number of possibilities/supply...like so many other pieces of the 356 puzzle, like chrome windshield frames.

"Restoration" is the old native Andalusian word meaning "can of worms being opened." We get used to it and risk going broke or we learn to cope before we quit and the worms win....or it just drives us crazy.

Bruce

[Phil Planck]

Whadaya mean ya want time and material to install a freaking headlight on my freshly "restored" 356.

Thanks for the belated tutorial Bruce. I'm taking the day off from headlights. Got the Stoddard package and after calling them, they pulling one off the shelf and measuring, and satisfied that it was the correct length, the conduit only reaches the bucket. Back they go.

[Phil Planck]

Hope this is the end of my contribution to this topic. Using one of Justin's paint sticks to pry against, I was able to pop the headlight assembly off. My plan was to remove the bucket and do some measuring of old nose hole and NOS nose hole. But, I could not get the bucket out, just did not have the strength to get a heavy hit under the fender. I could only get it out about 3/4", but that was enough to use hammer and dolly to flatten out the rib on about 2" either side of bottom shown by small black lines:



I wanted to do some measuring of bucket and rim, so removed rim. Was so excited when it went on easily that I forgot to measure. The complete assembly from the other side also went on. I drove the bucket back in and rechecked fit. Success, at the expense of the lower rib:



I'm assuming that the NOS nose bucket hole is slighty more elongated than the original one and this elongated the bucket making it impossible to seat at the bottom. Probably why it was so hard to drive in, and impossible for me to drive back out.

[bbspdstr]

Ah, another method for headlight bucket removal from the fender opening, whether for a new fitment correction or an original coming out of a fender for the first time:

I modified an older Vice-Grip's jaws to fit the average outside lip of a bucket. Grinding, filing, etc. until it could grip that small stepped edge tightly without (too much) damage.

I welded a big thick washer to the knurled end of the threaded adjusting part of the tool. To that I hook one of my slide hammers (in the trade, called a "knocker") and begin to walk it out with tedious relocations of the tool and a couple of whacks each time at each placement, usually side-to-side or the opposite of wherever initial movement is seen, back and forth.

Hammering from behind along with that can help, but a piece of wood formed to the backside of the bucket on which to strike is another means of imparting energy without (too much) damage.

Then again, I miss the days when a VW Beetle fender could be had for ~$35 and cut back a bit into the fender to get the bucket in a good perimeter. THEN, the buttwelded joint was leaded and filed and I was done! Funny, I don't remember having any headlight fitmet issues with that method......

As far as the tubing goes, just weld a flared piece of 3/4 EMT on the 'short' bracket and move on....

Bruce

[roy mawbey]

What a job there Phil,I am so pleased I never had to do this work on mine. Not easy at all!!!

Good thread though at the expense of no doubt, your frustration !! Good tips from Bruce as well.

Roy