cowl lamp alignment

[azandy]

Got a set of origional cowl lamps for my 1930 coupe. When I bolt them in they aren't aimed right. How do I align them? beveled washers?
Thanks for any advice.
Andy

[spike]

loosen the 3 small screws on the top of the arm and you can move the bucket to where they should be straght or uniform with one another. sometimes you have to put a little WD-40 on the inside of the buckets to get them to move. good luck

[glenn in camino]

The arms are made to fit around the cowl band. I guess you'll have to figure out some shims under the light cans. I think the arms are cast so don't try to bend them.

[Ray64]

Do you have the wood blocks behind them?

[azandy]

No I don't. I can't see where the bolcks would fit on ihe outside of the body and the exterior surface determines ihe alignment of the bracket. I'll try loosening the three bucket screws abd see if that helps.

[CarlG]

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On 30-1's, they used a wooden block between the cowl panel, and the brace that the arm bolt goes through so the cowl panel will not indent when arm is in place.

In addition to this, I had to put a "plastic" shim on the outside to get them to point straight forward.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by azandy

Got a set of origional cowl lamps for my 1930 coupe. When I bolt them in they aren't aimed right. How do I align them? beveled washers?
Thanks for any advice.
Andy

Which way is the aim off?

I often see cowl lights pointing up too high, instead of level.

[azandy]

The three hole moveable plate inside the bucket was stuck with corrosion. I got it loose and now I see how to adjust it. I'll come up with something to replace the wood blocks. GOOD TIPS! Thanks, Andy

[Marco Tahtaras]

Originally Posted by CarlG

On 30-1's, they used a wooden block between the cowl panel, and the brace that the arm bolt goes through so the cowl panel will not indent when arm is in place.

In addition to this, I had to put a "plastic" shim on the outside to get them to point straight forward.

The wooden block was NOT a standard part. I've only seen them on a couple cars in 40 years. I can't recall if they were Murray or Briggs bodies. It may have been a special item for misaligned bodies where the space between the cowl skin and inside "strainer" was insufficient. If this were the case then the arm would not seat against the outside skin. Inserting the block would spread that space and solve the problem.

Take a good look at the design of the mounting end of the arm. The cylindrical end simply slides through the hole in the cowl skin. The inner end simply clamps to the cowl strainer when the bolt is tightened which securely locates the arm. What would a block inserted in the space accomplish other than what I noted above? I've seen folks install blocks during restoration where they didn't fit snugly and the result was the block just floating on the cylindrical part of the arm and creating a rattle.

With that said I did fine a part number that MAY be that block. It appears it was introduced in March 1931 as A-35278 "Cowl panel to strainer spacer". In May it became A-35278-A and a second version A-35278-B was added. Now, IF this is indeed the block then it's likely the A and B versions were simply two different thicknesses. Someone would need to look at the drawings in person to know for sure.

[mot]

I agree with Marco
the first block I saw was in 1962 in Connecticut
and it was many years later before i saw a second one
I have only seen them in later 31 cars,never in a 30 (not to say for sure there wernt any)
there is no need for the wood block
the hole is smaller than the outside diameter of the arm and nut,so it the cowl brace gets squeezed between the arm and the nut very securely
it does not get squeezed between the brace and the outside cowl skin
there is no cowl skin shown here ,and you can see the arm is held quite secure
I hope these pictures are good enough to see
tom