Super clean work, and you're making quick progress. I like that fuse holder - giving me good ideas.
David
David
CK5
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'91 K5 Four Wheel Camper
This is the build for my 1991 V1500 Blazer, AKA the K5.3. It started out life being sold to the U.S. Government with a 350 TBI/700r4/241 combo. 4 years with a 5.3/700r4 Combo and now moving to an 8.1L Vortec and NV4500 5-speed.
The one I used can accept the smaller micro relays too. That could be handy if you need one integrated into the panel.
Had to drop off some fresh headlamps for the truck tonight at Larry's place. The entire reason for the change to single headlights was the lack of options for better units. Now moving away from the little guys opens up a thousand options. The budget is busted at this point so JW Speaker units are out. I am not a fan of the common multiple-element LED units as I just don't like the bug-eye look to them. After scouring Amazon I landed on a simple set of H4 replacement housings with the built-in projector unit and blacked out ring. No crazy halos or other stuff. I still wanted the classic look, but a little more modern and DOT legal for when I stuff LED H4 bulbs in it.
I got an eyeful of an update from Larry.
The intake duct is in. Radiator, fan and clutch along with the shroud. I forgot the top plate at my house.
The area under the hood is filling in rapidly. The heater hose to the intake is the only thing left to hook up in the cooling system, but Larry's waiting on some additional p-clamps to secure it over the alternator.
Plus the fresh grille and bezels showed up when I got home.
I got an eyeful of an update from Larry.
The intake duct is in. Radiator, fan and clutch along with the shroud. I forgot the top plate at my house.
The area under the hood is filling in rapidly. The heater hose to the intake is the only thing left to hook up in the cooling system, but Larry's waiting on some additional p-clamps to secure it over the alternator.
Plus the fresh grille and bezels showed up when I got home.
Damn that things lookin' good. You're gonna have lots of shiny stuff under that good to keep clean after dessert trips from now on.
Looks awesome!
Please let us know what you think of the lights - and if they work good a link or part number would be great.
Please let us know what you think of the lights - and if they work good a link or part number would be great.
It actually cleans up pretty easy. It's partly the reason Larry stressed getting the sealed fuse panel so it can be cleaned without worry of corrosion buildup.
I will report back. They came with H4 halogen bulbs that probably won't stay in there long. I'll stuff H4 LED units in for better light anyway. We did test fit them to the buckets and they will require some trimming to fit the backside of the housing. It shouldn't take much, but it still won't fit without it.
I was looking for H4 LED but I wasn't confident any of them worked worth a damn. My brother-in-law had a bad experience trying some. I'll be curious to see what you end up using.
Someone somewhere had used these so I saved a link for them. Out of my budget currently. https://www.headlightexperts.com/low-beam-h4656-sealed-beam-led-headlight-conversion-kit
I've put drop in replacement led bulbs into my wife's trailblazer and the composite Blazer lamps I put in my S10. Both were Amazon specials and not one issue at all in either. I think they were 9005/6 bulbs but really the difference is the mounting and plug style. I've had the ones in my s10 for couple of years now. They are bright. Almost too much in a housing designed for a halogen bulb as the light spreads everywhere. Yes, I'm one of those guys. But this time of year when my commute is mostly in the dark, I'm not wanting to nail a deer or pronghorn I see in the prairie on my drive every day. Plus at 6:30 am there isn't many on the road then.
I'm going to run the halogen lights for a little bit and let my wallet recover some as I'm sure I'm not buying other stuff yet for the swap. Then I'll get some h4 LEDs.
It's also important that the light pattern from the bulb matches the housing pattern. Led bulbs don't produce single-point omnidirectional light like filaments do, and many housings do a bad job of handling that change. I have a set of 9005/6 led bulbs in stock housings that are useless on the road. Not because they're dim, just because the housing doesn't get the light to where it needs to be. A lot of it just stays inside the housing.
So post up both the bulb and housing combination you wind up using, so we know which combination works.
I don't either. I'll be the first to say my truck looks dorky with them. So I might have an ulterior motive for asking about your combination...
But...buying the bulb/housing combination means they simply worked, right out of the box, where my 9005/6 retrofit bulbs have been useless.
Now that I think about it, I remember my brother-in-law's issue was the headlights icing up.
https://www.jwspeaker.com/smartheat-heated-led-lights/ Probably not cheap.
Yeah that's not happening right now. I haven't had any issues in the snow with the s10 over the last two winters. No freezing of the lights.
On the K5 after looking over the chassis during the rebuild I'm rethinking how much I'll drive it in the snow anyway. Mag chloride don't like nice things even if you wash it frequently. I don't have to drive it in the snow so I probably won't know if these freeze up or not.
RubberFloorMat
1/2 ton status
So question, why not one of the plethora of LED chineseium lights from eBay or amazon? I put four in the wife’s C10 and with all four on it will peel paint in high beam, just don’t like the look?
The newest leds are much better about the point of the light source for the reflectors. Using 1 filament in the proper lenght and position for the 'conventional' bulb they're modeling. But there are still some crap ones out there that have half dozen filaments all over the place that just scatter light.
Quick answer, no I don't like the look. Multiple elements just look like bugs eyes to me. They may be effective but don't do it for me. The ones I bought are Amazon specials too, I just like the look of them better.
I'm on the hunt for LED H4 bulbs. I've come across a few that have 3 or 4 sided elements allowing a 360 degree light pattern which emulates an incandescent H4 bulb pretty well. The two-sided elements do lend to shadows that if not clocked right in the housing could produce less light or just scatter it all over.
I like bright light. The 4 headlight setup could be outshined with a couple of flashlights duct-taped to the hood. Larry's the main guy to credit here for sure. He's done 95% of the work on it and it's amazing what he can do when you let his OCD go wild.You guys and your fancy headlights.... I’m just happy if mine come on on my 77
Beautifull work @ZooMad75 You and Larry are killing it!
Forgot to mention when I was over at my former tech's place yesterday I picked up some fresh shackles for the front he cut on his plasma table. 3/8" thick stuff at the stock length for a '91. Beefy.
