1965-1973 HID Headlight Conversion Kits High/Low

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Sep 7, 2011
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Location
Wake Forest, NC
My Car
1971 Sports Roof Fastback (early model)
1973 Coupe -Under rebuild/restore
All,

Over the weekend, my friend and we chatting about the current headlights in the 2014 mustang. The 2014 Mustangs have the small style HID headlights. So, I started to research a bit the HID's just see what the specs and science were behind them. Wow, pretty bright stuff. Well, do they make a kit for the 1971 - 1973 mustangs? Yes, they do. Searched through the forum to see if there was any threads discussing the HID kit. I found one thread by, auron73mach1, that was discussing finding headlight bowls.

The kit I found is from Sacramento Mustang. It is a nice looking kit and has a video that discusses how it works.

http://store.sacramento-mustang.com/1965-1973-hid-headlight-conversion-kits-highlow-p38.aspx

Is there anybody in the forum that has installed one of these HID kits?

Auron73mach1, how did your HID setup work out?

mustang7173 :D

 
I haven't used the HIDs but I just replaced my old headlamps with the Scott Drake halogen replacements and they're at least 2x brighter than the filament lamps that were in there. I'm not crazy about the color temp of most of the HID kits I've seen. Halogen gives a nice, white illumination without edging over so far into the 9300-9700K range. Then again, your car is a rather pretty blue so something in the range of 9300K may be just what you want to set that off.

 
Those are just H4 HID's, there's nothing really special there in terms up product except maybe that it plugs into the "stock" harness. But really it wouldn't be hard to get the stock connector and wire it to a H4 kit from ebay and save yourself %50 of the cost for basic work.

 
I used a wiring harness to convert to Halogen for less than a 1/4 of the cost of that kit and headlight units to work with it. Plug and play.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/upd-34263/overview/

HID lighting would seem a bit out of place on my car to me anyway.
Hey Jeff, Jeff here. Did you notice a dramatic increase in the headlight brightness? You did state "plug and play" hope that means no splicing and an easy install, if so it looks to be the route I may take.

 
It is truly plug and play other than mounting the relays and running a wire to a battery source. No cutting, no splicing.

Headlight brightness was dramatically increased because I went from old style bulbs to halogens. Dash lights became a bit brighter due to reduced load on the headlight switch. With plain bulbs increase would likely not be noticeable.

 
I used a wiring harness to convert to Halogen for less than a 1/4 of the cost of that kit and headlight units to work with it. Plug and play.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/upd-34263/overview/

HID lighting would seem a bit out of place on my car to me anyway.
Hey Jeff, Jeff here. Did you notice a dramatic increase in the headlight brightness? You did state "plug and play" hope that means no splicing and an easy install, if so it looks to be the route I may take.
Hey Jeff and Jeff... Jeff here (I just had to)

I have been doing some research and found some late model composite Jeep headlights that would fit in place of the standard sealed beams. That conversion would give modern composite lighting and a somewhat classic look. The dome of the lens is a little more pronounced than the sealed beams.

Similar to these; http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=1390378&cc=1444643

 
I got the delta headlight conversion from there and going to use my own hid kit since I own a Company just waiting for a lil warmer weather in ny. I 'll post pics when done

 
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All,

Good to see the great responses to the headlight upgrade thread. It provides a look into what forums members are doing to upgrade their headlights for better lighting and safety.

Mustang Monthly has a How to article on this vendor, Reenmachine. They make the Modern H4 Halogen Headlight Assemblies that are a direct bolt in and use the dimmer switch. I bought this kit several years ago. I have not installed yet due to restoring process. At the time, I not believe the HID's were not yet available. They are now! I just had to ask the question, to start this thread, "What are the forum members doing to improve their headlights on their mustangs?"

Reenmachine

http://www.reenmachine.com/shop/home.php?cat=259

Mustang Monthly Headlight Guide

http://www.mustangmonthly.com/howto/1309_vintage_mustang_headlight_guide/

mustang7173 :D

 
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Auron73mach1, how did your HID setup work out?

mustang7173 :D

The most I can really tell you is it plugged right to the stock harness and they bolted right in but I have the car mostly torn apart for a 2 car garage type restoration

 
If you put conversion HID's in H4 housings, I hope someone smashes them out with a hammer. All HID "conversion" kits do in a housing not designed for them, is blind everyone in front of your car. If you want HIDs, get a projector conversion housing designed for them. They need a different cut off and pattern than an H4 housing made for incandescent light will provide.

 
If you put conversion HID's in H4 housings, I hope someone smashes them out with a hammer. All HID "conversion" kits do in a housing not designed for them, is blind everyone in front of your car. If you want HIDs, get a projector conversion housing designed for them. They need a different cut off and pattern than an H4 housing made for incandescent light will provide.

That's a bit rude... that is my mustang you are wishing harm on!

But they are projector housings FOR the HID bulbs.

340826_501311956546695_504636161_o.jpg

 
They actually look pretty good in-person - but still have yet to see them lit up.

BTW Auron: That pic reminds me that you left your grille at the shop (passenger side mirror, too). Don't worry though - your stuff is safe & sound 'til you get back. ::thumb::

 
That's a bit rude... that is my mustang you are wishing harm on!

But they are projector housings FOR the HID bulbs.
You're right. That was a bit harsh. I was commenting on the headlights the OP's link recommends for the kit: http://store.sacramento-mustang.com/1964-1973-h4-conversion-headlights-p35c132.aspx?Thread=True

You appear to have the correct housings. It was more of a rant about the ricers and flatbillers that put HID "conversion" kits in the stock headlights and blind me at night. Regular head lights look like star bursts to me already at night, and those with the HID's in the stock housing make me unable to see anything else.

 
That's a bit rude... that is my mustang you are wishing harm on!

But they are projector housings FOR the HID bulbs.
You're right. That was a bit harsh. I was commenting on the headlights the OP's link recommends for the kit: http://store.sacramento-mustang.com/1964-1973-h4-conversion-headlights-p35c132.aspx?Thread=True

You appear to have the correct housings. It was more of a rant about the ricers and flatbillers that put HID "conversion" kits in the stock headlights and blind me at night. Regular head lights look like star bursts to me already at night, and those with the HID's in the stock housing make me unable to see anything else.
Kinda figured... thanks for the clarification - no worries. ::thumb::

 
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