MCI 9 Headlight Issues

[ojgetaway32]

Hey Gang:

Is there a resource for headlight hardware for my 1982 MC 9?  Everything down to the stainless needs replaced!  I want to do it right one time while being mindful of my wallet.  Any help would be appreciated!

Thanks,

Josh

[Tom Y]

Josh, If you want to stay with the round head lites you can ck Ebay. Try emailing some that are selling other parts to see if you can find what you need.  Tom Y

[bottomacher]

Josh, i have a good set from a California bus. Email me off the board if you're interested.
Don

[trailblazer2]

Josh;
I have some of this stuff to help you with as well. I am in North Carolina,E-mail me as well .
Bill

[NJT5047]

How about new front corners?  IBP approx $500 for new corners and Peterbuilt headlights. 
This will permanently solve your problem.
I'll try to post a picture of a square headlight conversion on a 9...sometimes this doesn't work well....
JR

[ojgetaway32]

Thanks, guys!

I like all replies so far.  But for sure I like permanent repairs.  What is IBP?

Josh

[JackConrad]

Thanks, guys!
  What is IBP?
Josh

International Bus & Parts in Apopka, Florida 1800-468-5287  Jack

[bottomacher]

This is my answer to the $500. kit. I used restaurant steam table pans for the new mounting surfaces, and a pair of Thomas school bus headlight units from Ebay. Total cost- $75. May not look as nice (I've never seen IBP's kit), but it gets it done. FWIW

[jmblake]

I used the kit from IBP with the turnsignals mounted down with the headlights. If I remember right it was almost $800.00 last year. But it shore looks alot better than the old one's.

[RJ]

Josh -

Gotta ask you a "dumb" question:

Do you intend to do a lot of driving at night?


Reason I ask is because, IMHO, the US-specification small rectangular headlights - such as those used with the IBP kits and the one DIY pictured - have got the WORST light output and pattern of any headlights I've ever seen.  Or should say, been driving with, at night.

As far as I'm concerned, with these lights, you are out-driving the beam pattern from 45 mph on.

Again, IMHO, it's far better to spend the $$$ on a good set of round European E-code lamps from Cibie or Hella in the stock mounts than it is to "update" the front end look of the bus.

I look at it this way:  What price SAFETY???

FWIW & HTH. . .




PS:  Be sure and do a search of the archives for George Todd's schematic of how to use 12v headlamps on a 24v bus, or the factory schematic, they're very similar.

[bottomacher]

For those of us who don't want a second mortgage to buy Cibies, Silverstar units seem to work pretty well. I also fitted a set of 150 watt landing lights for especially worrisome roads, and everything together cost less than a set of cibies. A lot easier to find at the car parts store when one burns out in the middle of nowhere, too.

[JackConrad]

     When I re-wired our headlights, I modified the "can" that the inside (high beam) bulb fits in so that I could install a high/low bulb in that "can". We now have 4 bulbs on low beam as well as high beam. Low beams are designed to aim lower on the road so they do not blind oncoming drivers. We have never had any anyone flash their lights at us when we are low beam.  This not only gives us twice the light on low beam, it gives us redundancy should we burn out a bulb (we still will have at least one bulb on each side)
Jack
NOTE: This may or may not be leagal in your area, YMMV.  Jack

[bottomacher]

Jack, a friend who owned a 4106 rigged his lights that way and headed out from Maryland to Florida for a vacation. He got two tickets in Virginia and one in North Carolina within six hours. He finally unplugged one set in Charlotte and drove the rest of the way. I'm surprised that the FHP haven't nailed you yet; they used to be pretty observant. Too observant, as I remember...

[JackConrad]

Thanks for that information.  Maybe we have been lucky and the fact we rarely drive after dark.  I may add a switch so I have a choice whether I use 2 or 4 low beam.  Jack

[Dallas]

Good call Jack,

It's not like you don't have enough switches already. And you should probably also add a set of 8 LED's, (4 Blue, 4 Green), one for each low beam and one for each high beam, that way you'll know when one in non functional!
Or you could really get high tech and add 4 more LED's (red), so that if one of those comes on, you'll know that you have a light malfunction!



Dallas

Thanks for that information.  Maybe we have been lucky and the fact we rarely drive after dark.  I may add a switch so I have a choice whether I use 2 or 4 low beam.  Jack