anybody know what a projector headlight consists of? or it one can be made? my headlights dont light up squat and the projectors on our acura work awesome. is there a kit or anything i can do to get projectors on my 65 stang?
The term projector is a marketing gimick, that just means the light gets transmitted forward through a lens that shapes the beam (rather than flat glass), and every car since the 1920s does that. Don't misunderstand me though, the modern headlights are MUCh better than the ones in the 1960s. Your stock headlights use and incandescent (sp?) bulb sealed into a glass housing that reflect onto the mirrored backing and then "projected" through a cut glass lens into the shape of beam the DOT required in....1964!
The cheapest/easiest/quickest way to better illumination is to go to your local WalMart and but a set of halogen lights. The halogen gas (think 1980s) allows the bulb to burn hotter and brighter than the old ones resulting in a noticeably whiter light that shines further down the road. these are a vast improvement over the old ones. However they are still nothing compared to the ones the auto manufacturers are making today.
If you are willing to spend a little more money and add a little (very little) more installation difficulty you can get an even more modern headlight kit that uses the "H4" type bulbs. These are not sealed beams at all they use a sealed bulb like your acura that inserts into a housing. You can get them in blue or white, check your local laws though since some states prohibit the blue lights if they are not OEM. I bought a set of these for under $50 bulbs included. Mine have the blue bulbs in them but you can barely tell in the daylight.
The lens that projects the beam has also been modified from what they had in the '60s but I don't think it is similar to your Acura, I know my 2004 F150 seems to point the light further down the road than these do.
Another thing you can do is add a relay to the lighting circuit. This lets you get the full 12 volts into the bulb for a brighter light. Fun little project too (at least it looks fun to me).
Edbert - can you give more information on the modern kit you bought that uses H4 bulbs? Where did you buy it? Do you have a part number or anything? I don't really want the blue bulbs, but I like the idea of a separate housing with the newer style bulbs. It looks great on your car, by the way!
Thanks for the compliment on my car hack, also for mentioning the relays (I completely left that out). He's right of course. If you want to do the high power headlights you'll need to use relays to avoid burning out your primitive electrical system. Here's what I did for the relays, this includes relays for my electric fan electric water pump etc.
These are the ones that I poked into my rig. They are a huge improvement over the sealed beam, and there are gobs of aftermarket bulbs available for them as well.
Cost was about $75 for the pair. I did isolate them using relays for the high and low beams, I installed all new wiring for them, and used none of the factory harness when I made this swap. You can get new headlight plugs at the auto parts store, as well as the relays. I used #12 wire for everything except the trigger on mine. They function just like factory.
You'll notice a bigger draw on your alternator. They'll brighten noticeably when you accelerate from a stop. A higher output alternator is really your only solution for this. If you look for an alternator from a 94 GT with a 5.0, it should bolt right up to your existing brackets, and with a few simple modifications, you have 130A of power, internally regulated unit, and with the internal fan, it runs cooler.
DO NOT try to just plug some new H4 lights into your factory harness, it's nearly 40 years old, and not rated for the power that these new lights draw. You'll ruin something if you don't rewire. (switch, wiring, plugs, etc.)