Conduit ferrule does not fit headlght bucket
 

My conduit ferrule is too large to attach to the socket holder on the headlamps. There appears to be a 1/16" difference in size. I'm trying to
attach the conduit to my headlights on my 1929 Coupe. Any ideas or
explanations? I ordered new headlamp plugs, and now I am wondering
if they will fit....

Re: Conduit ferrule does not fit headlght bucket
 

You may have 1928 headlight buckets. The '28 headlight buckets have a smaller socket since they have a single bulb in the reflector and have one less wire in the conduit. The '28 headlight buckets don't have the Ford Twolight logo on the top edge of the buckets, the '29's will have the logo.
The hole in the buckets for the socket is a different size, but I don't have the measurements for the holes handy at the moment.

Re: Conduit ferrule does not fit headlght bucket
 

Thanks. I was thinking that, and then saw the note in Bratton's catalog about 1928 to early 1929 had smaller sockets. Now the trick will be to hardware my headlamps with connectors inside the shell. I have the two-light reflectors, and am now figuring out why these lights were hard-wired before I started my disassembly and rebuild. I would be curious how someone else figured out a way to attach the larger conduit to these earlier buckets.

Re: Conduit ferrule does not fit headlght bucket
 

Re: Conduit ferrule does not fit headlght bucket
 

That's a thought. I notice there is a "Headlight Socket Holder" in some suppliers' catalogs. When my headlight plugs get here, I will see what I can do. Thanks.

Re: Conduit ferrule does not fit headlght bucket
 

Early 29 had H-type headlamps - fluted lens, painted bucket, smaller diameter conduit. Reflectors had concentric socket guides, single bulb only. Later 29 Twolight had 'bullhorn' pattern lenses, cadmium plated buckets with embossed logo, larger conduit. Reflector socket guides were elevated 1/16", 1 bulb if equipped with cowl lamps, otherwise 2.

To convert to 2-bulb you will need to replace the socket holder - drill out the mounting rivets (replace them with rivet head screws sold by the vendors). Then ream the hole to accept the socket holder and install the 2-bulb socket harness after reassembling the bucket. Since the 2-bulb socket harness is designed for the Twolight, your 21/3 cp #1158 bulbs will need to be replaced with 21/21 #1116, 32/21 #1110, 32/32 #1000 or 50/32 #1188.

Your next challenge will be to solder new contacts to the loom wires to fit in the plugs you've ordered. The only source for these is Bratton's, but they were out of stock when I tried to order them a few weeks ago.

If your reflectors have concentric socket guides, the focus adjustment will affect the beam height somewhat, so you should realign after focusing. On 28-29 cars the beam height should be 33" for fluted lenses, 37" for the bullhorn type.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Re: Conduit ferrule does not fit headlght bucket
 

Just thought of another snag - the radiator shell grommets are larger for the Twolite conduits, which implies the holes may need to be reamed to accept the larger grommets. It may be simpler in the long run to use the original conduits and clear out the bucket connectors. Clip the bucket connectors off the two-bulb assembly then solder bullet ends to all 12 wire ends and plug them together inside the housings with 6 female connectors. Straighten the retaining tabs at the back of the conduit socket to avoid wire chafing. Your loom will need an inch or two of slack to do this, but from what you've said before, this has already been done.

I suspect this method was used in a futile attempt to correct a bad ground in the circuit, which relies on rusty bolts and nonconductive paint through the mounting bar and fenders to the frame. The grounding path can be considerably improved by attaching a wire between the frontmost hood latch screw and the conduit - solder a #10 ring lug to one end, strip the other end about 1" and tin with solder. Connect the lug under the nut with a star washer to cut through the paint, and connect the other end against the conduit inside the rad shell with a small stainless hose washer.