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Doing the harness install has become the perfect chance to clean up some of the bird's nest wiring I have between the battery and the firewall. I have 7 wires going to the battery, each with an inline fuse. Just looking at the jumble drives me crazy, so I ordered a Summit brand fuse block with 10 terminals and a cover. It will be so nice to clean that up. Today I will do the mods to the headlight buckets, and will post some photos.
In the following photo you can see the problem: The new headlights won't fit in the bucket. I had to enlarge the opening at the rear of each bucket where the wiring attaches.
I set a light on the back of each bucket and traced around it with a sharpie.
But cutting out that much material means you cut off the factory stamp that says Top, and RH, LH, so I marked the top of each with my yellow engine marker, and labelled them rh and lh.
Of course both my oem retainer rings were broken and I had to order new ones from Amazon. I chose Amazon for the quick shipping. I bought the Dorman universal ring. Not only was each $4 less expensive than the others listed, but Dorman was the only one with the Overnight Delivery option.
I cut the buckets with jig saw and filed the edges. Now I'm waiting for it to get dark so I can test my new lights. I do like the new style headlights and the way they look on the truck. For me, I don't care about things being oem. I want the best product that works well and looks good. My list of non oem is long:
Taurus 130 amp alternator, Different engine, Chebby valves, Saginaw p/s pump, hydroboost brakes, 4xdisc, rims, over-size heater core, Carb, intake, air cleaner, Contour fans, exhaust, transmission, radiator, etc., etc.
These lights fit in the buckets with no modification New lights vs the old one on the right.
i think they look same as the old one when installed. You would have to look careful to see they are flat.
Overall I think this Toyota kit is a great bargain. The lights are bright with a nice cutoff. The harness is very well made and more than long enough. They include a bunch of zip ties and dielectric grease.
Before hooking up the relays, I plugged the halogen in to the stock harness and then measured the voltage with the lights on. It was only 11 volts, vs 12.6 at the battery. Did they work, yes. But not as well as if they had full battery voltage as they do with the relay harness.
Yeps, without a doubt the Toyota harness is a great deal. I would have bought that one had I not already ordered the LMC harness. BTW, the LMC harness IS long enough. I had misunderstood how it tapped into the existing harness. That is why I originally thought that the LMC harness was too short.
It looks like the Toyota headlights don't have the headlight aimer locating nubs like the Sylvania does.Using a set of Hoppy B4a aimers to aim lights really makes a big difference.
Where are folks buying these Toyata kits to get the cheap price? I may buy a set or to just to get the harness & relays, sell the bulbs.
FYI, I tried to order a set from that site last week, and they immediately canceled my order after I placed it, saying that they were out of stock with no ETA for delivery. I called my local Toyota dealership here in western PA also and they said that there was noone within 100 miles of here that had these in stock. I had to go through this site to order:
It will allow you to search for dealers close to you to check inventory and order from. I was able to order a set from a dealer in PA, but beyond local pickup distance. Price was a little higher, but still under $40 shipped to my door.
In the following photo you can see the problem: The new headlights won't fit in the bucket. I had to enlarge the opening at the rear of each bucket where the wiring attaches.
I set a light on the back of each bucket and traced around it with a sharpie.
But cutting out that much material means you cut off the factory stamp that says Top, and RH, LH, so I marked the top of each with my yellow engine marker, and labelled them rh and lh.
Of course both my oem retainer rings were broken and I had to order new ones from Amazon. I chose Amazon for the quick shipping. I bought the Dorman universal ring. Not only was each $4 less expensive than the others listed, but Dorman was the only one with the Overnight Delivery option.
I cut the buckets with jig saw and filed the edges. Now I'm waiting for it to get dark so I can test my new lights. I do like the new style headlights and the way they look on the truck. For me, I don't care about things being oem. I want the best product that works well and looks good. My list of non oem is long:
Taurus 130 amp alternator, Different engine, Chebby valves, Saginaw p/s pump, hydroboost brakes, 4xdisc, rims, over-size heater core, Carb, intake, air cleaner, Contour fans, exhaust, transmission, radiator, etc., etc.
Those pictures look painfully familiar...
I was aggravated that I had to do that, and that the harness was barely long enough. That being said, personally I think the headlights look really good.
These lights fit in the buckets with no modification New lights vs the old one on the right.
i think they look same as the old one when installed. You would have to look careful to see they are flat.
Overall I think this Toyota kit is a great bargain. The lights are bright with a nice cutoff. The harness is very well made and more than long enough. They include a bunch of zip ties and dielectric grease.
Before hooking up the relays, I plugged the halogen in to the stock harness and then measured the voltage with the lights on. It was only 11 volts, vs 12.6 at the battery. Did they work, yes. But not as well as if they had full battery voltage as they do with the relay harness.
Man that looks great! If there was the same thing but for '79 rectangular headlights I'd jump on it.
Man that looks great! If there was the same thing but for '79 rectangular headlights I'd jump on it.
I have always said the same thing and what do you know I saw a guy on instagram who had some made with projectors by a company called crafted retros. Looks pretty much stock which is what I want. Do know the price but it’s the best rectangle stock looking lights I have seen to date
Man that looks great! If there was the same thing but for '79 rectangular headlights I'd jump on it.
I didn't find a kit but pieced something together for mine. I ran a wire from battery side of solenoid to this fuse panel which is now mounted next to voltage regulator I extended the 12v input wire and removed inline fuse holder, this input wire was connected to the new fuse panel, the relays were mounted on the radiator support between the horn and radiator. These were the LED capsules I went with, they have a well defined pattern and were very easy to aim These are the assemblies I went with, they are glass rather than plastic lens and metal for the bucket portion on the back Before with standard H6054 Halogens After image with new assemblies installed
I’m kind of bummed about the headlights on my’79.
I have had a sweet set of Carello brand lights in mine since the late 80s, or the early 90s. They’ve got a super sharp cut off and a nice flare up to the right on the side of the road.
I always loved driving with those things, but after having seen too many seasons of low use, the shiny reflector material has been eaten away on the bottom.
Guess I just wasn’t using them enough to keep moisture out.
