Making a bracket for the headlights

So I need to make a bracket for my headlights. Does anyone have some plans for how they did this? They need to be adjustable and all. Curious how others went about this part.
 
Darrin:
The headlamps I am using have a stamped steel bracket that they mount in,,,I simply mounted the bracket on standoffs and the headlamps mount in that bracket.
The adjustment is on the bracket...I believe the brackets I used were from a Renault 12 but there are other pieces out there for the same lamp. I am sure some of the guys in the UK can fill you in on that.
Also it was necessary to trim the bracket somewhat to get it to fit in that limited space available.
Cheers
Phil
 

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Darrin, I used a simple bracket and spring system. A large ally bracket was stuck to the back of the headlamp unit using PU sealant. There are then 2 smaller brackets that stand off the main bracket using two metal (PCB) pillars, there is no movement between these brackets. The main screws locate into the back of the smaller brackets and have a spring sleeve to allow adjustment by tightening or loosening the nuts at the rear. The ally is scratched just to give the adhesive a better key onto it.

Hope this helps.
 

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Darrin, I used a simple bracket and spring system. A large ally bracket was stuck to the back of the headlamp unit using PU sealant. There are then 2 smaller brackets that stand off the main bracket using two metal (PCB) pillars, there is no movement between these brackets. The main screws locate into the back of the smaller brackets and have a spring sleeve to allow adjustment by tightening or loosening the nuts at the rear. The ally is scratched just to give the adhesive a better key onto it.

Hope this helps.

Thank you Keith.

It isn't shown in your photo, but the small brackets have to be anchored somehow so they are stable and adjusting the screws in turn adjusts the light. How do you anchor them?
 
Morning guys, let me see if I can do this in words, if not, i'll revert to glorious technicolour tonight. the large bracket is stuck to the rear lip of the lens, this bracket is 4 or 5mm ally and basically has a large hole in the middle for the lamp to sit in. The smaller (back) brackets are anchored to and standing off the main bracket by about 30 to 40mm, I used four M4 thread hexagonal pillars (these are standard printed circuit board, PCB standoffs), they have a male thread on one end and a female thread on the other. On each lamp the 3 brackets act as one piece, it is rigid and no movement between them.

I made sure the aperture in the bodywork had enough clearance to allow the lens to move, allowing me to adjust the direction of the beam. The 4 main screws are quite long and have a spring sleeve, these 4 screws locate in 4 holes in the rear smell brackets, the holes in the rear brackets were widened to allow for adjustment, as the bracket may end up not sitting perpendicular to the screws, because of adjustment.

Dave P, yes the four long screws/bolts (the have the lock nuts visible) are through a flat piece of GRP, the heads are bonded to this, then this GRP is bonded to the inside of the aperture on the bodywork, so you end up with 4 studs unto which the bracket we are discussing can locate. Sorry that part had been done when I got the car, so I skipped it. My 3 daughters like all flavours of ice-cream, I have 'hundreds' of containers for screws, washers,.....

Let me know if this description is still unclear and I'll photo one tonight. K
 

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Brett, what and miss all the huffing, puffing, swearing and banging yer head on the walls?

Oh, and what we need is an index or some other means of focusing in on specific issues. I dunno, can we have a means of grouping different threads/post to defined aspects of the build?
 
Ha Keith, the post wasn't aimed at you, but can be if you like buddy.

It's a good idea, but ultimately hard to do I would think. I only knew that Chuck's excellent post was there because of time served here on the forum and the indexation in my brain :p

BTW his build thread is excellent in terms as a resource for other potential builders IMO

B
 
Morning guys, let me see if I can do this in words, if not, i'll revert to glorious technicolour tonight. the large bracket is stuck to the rear lip of the lens, this bracket is 4 or 5mm ally and basically has a large hole in the middle for the lamp to sit in. The smaller (back) brackets are anchored to and standing off the main bracket by about 30 to 40mm, I used four M4 thread hexagonal pillars (these are standard printed circuit board, PCB standoffs), they have a male thread on one end and a female thread on the other. On each lamp the 3 brackets act as one piece, it is rigid and no movement between them.

I made sure the aperture in the bodywork had enough clearance to allow the lens to move, allowing me to adjust the direction of the beam. The 4 main screws are quite long and have a spring sleeve, these 4 screws locate in 4 holes in the rear smell brackets, the holes in the rear brackets were widened to allow for adjustment, as the bracket may end up not sitting perpendicular to the screws, because of adjustment.

Dave P, yes the four long screws/bolts (the have the lock nuts visible) are through a flat piece of GRP, the heads are bonded to this, then this GRP is bonded to the inside of the aperture on the bodywork, so you end up with 4 studs unto which the bracket we are discussing can locate. Sorry that part had been done when I got the car, so I skipped it. My 3 daughters like all flavours of ice-cream, I have 'hundreds' of containers for screws, washers,.....

Let me know if this description is still unclear and I'll photo one tonight. K

Thanks Keith. This makes sense (although I'm not sure what "GRP" is, I think I can substitute a washer or something similar on the head to give enough surface area to bond to).
 
Gents,
This is how I mounted my lights. The 5mm aluminium plate is bonded to the fibre glass using ‘Tigerseal’ etc. M5 rivnuts were used to add the threads, but cap head screws were later changed to studs and wing-nuts as I found it easier to make the final adjustments

Regards,
Andy
 

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Darrin, I used a simple bracket and spring system. A large ally bracket was stuck to the back of the headlamp unit using PU sealant. There are then 2 smaller brackets that stand off the main bracket using two metal (PCB) pillars, there is no movement between these brackets. The main screws locate into the back of the smaller brackets and have a spring sleeve to allow adjustment by tightening or loosening the nuts at the rear. The ally is scratched just to give the adhesive a better key onto it.

Hope this helps.

Do you recall where you got your springs? Everywhere I look has only very flimsy small springs.
 
Darrin, fortunately they came with the car, try ebay, search for "compression springs", you'll want internal (hole) diameter to suit the diameter of the screws used, obviously length to suit. mine are fairly stiff. I'll measure tonight for you. K
 
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