ATTN: Brittish members, I need help with item available only for TVR S-series???

Doug Sainlar · 5th August 2012, 12:47 AM

Don't ya just hate it when this happens?

Here's a closeup:

Here's what was left:

And the hole it left:

So here's the deal...I found part of the headlight bucket and it carries these markings:

WIPAC
Series 337 England
PAT No. 1050743

When I googled that part number, I found it on only one website, one dedicated to alternative parts for the TVR...

www.davidgeraldTVR.com

My question:

Is there any chance this part can be sourced without having to order all the way from England?

It is hard to believe that this might not be available in the U.S., but Finish Line doesn't have it and neither does anywhere else when I did a search for items like "headlight bucket", etc.

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated...I know this isn't a GT40 related issue, but this forum is the only one where I see active participation by Brits, hoping somebody might have advice for me.

Thanks, guys!

Doug

Jac Mac · 5th August 2012, 02:45 AM

Doug, If you have no luck with the pom's give me a pic of the one on the other side, it will be the same as something british like Austin A40 or Mk1 Zephyr, TVR's are like that , a virtual library of donor parts. I think 'Hella' will have all you require as a kit that they sell to coachbuilders of Bus's etc

Jon · 5th August 2012, 04:57 AM

There are a couple of places to try for information.

S Series

TVR Car Club

Both will be able to help with your search.

Doug Sainlar · 5th August 2012, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jac mac

Doug, If you have no luck with the pom's give me a pic of the one on the other side, it will be the same as something british like Austin A40 or Mk1 Zephyr, TVR's are like that , a virtual library of donor parts. I think 'Hella' will have all you require as a kit that they sell to coachbuilders of Bus's etc

Thanks for the tip, JacMac...I googled "Hella" and got a number of hits, including the company website. They had a list of U.S. distributors (wholesale to dealers/jobbers only) and a list of retailers. It looks like this will be a good place to start:

Drivers | Hella USA and Canada

If I cannot find what I want there (includes Summit racing), I will get a photo of the one that remains intact and send it on. I have 2/3 of the one that was destroyed by the tire fragments and will patch it back together, using duct tape to fill in what is missing, and if all else fails I can use the intact one for a form and create a usable facsimile from fiberglass, or at least give it a try. The bigger issue seems to be that the mounting ring is probably buggered beyond use.

Thanks, again!

Cheers!

Doug

Doug Sainlar · 5th August 2012, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonnyb

There are a couple of places to try for information.

S Series

TVR Car Club

Both will be able to help with your search.

Thanks for the links, Jon.

The Piston-heads website looks interesting, but with a huge number of pages and a search function that is not working, I might not live long enough to search each of the threads individually. I will revisit the site from time to time to see if their search function has been repaired.

The TVR Car Club site had a link for TVR car parts, but it linked back to the David Gerald TVR website I posted in the original post. I have used their "Contact" link to inquire as to availability of the part, still waiting to hear from them.

Cheers!

Doug

Will Campbell · 5th August 2012, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YerDugliness

Thanks for the links, Jon.

The Piston-heads website looks interesting, but with a huge number of pages and a search function that is not working, I might not live long enough to search each of the threads individually. I will revisit the site from time to time to see if their search function has been repaired.

Doug

Have you used Google to search the PH site? Most bulletin boards have horrid search tools, but google allows the user to specifiy a site ID when searching. Click on Advanced on the Google page for tips.

Nick · 5th August 2012, 01:28 PM

Doug,

These guys are near me they usually have a few TVR's in for breaking. There prices for comlete salvage cars are a bit on the high side not sure what their parts are like.

If they have what you want at a good price and you need it picking up and posting let me know.

Douglas Valley Breakers

Regards

Nick

Doug Sainlar · 5th August 2012, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by P-nut

Have you used Google to search the PH site? Most bulletin boards have horrid search tools, but google allows the user to specifiy a site ID when searching. Click on Advanced on the Google page for tips.

Thanks, Will...will do. I appreciate the tip, I actually thought the bulletin board search function would do better...a bit of a computer dummy here

.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nick Brough

Doug,

These guys are near me they usually have a few TVR's in for breaking. There rices for comlete salvage cars are a bit on the high side not sure what their parts are like.

If they have what you want at a good price and you need it picking up and posting let me know.

Douglas Valley Breakers

Regards

Nick

Thank you for the offer, Nick! I am still investigating U.S. options, but if I can't resolve the issue here I will certainly take you up on your offer. It may be my best option, for it looks like Finish Line wants in excess of $300 US for a pair of the headlamp assemblies and I don't even know if that includes the buckets, which is the only thing I need (well, I did find out that the trim ring is missing also).

JacMac suggested Hella products, Summit Racing didn't have the product but if I can get a part number from the U.S. Hella distributor they will special order it for me. They gave me the toll free phone number and I will call tomorrow and see what they have to offer. I am going to post more photos of the headlamp, itself, next...the more info the better!

If I need you help, I'll PM you.

Thanks, again!

Doug

Nick · 5th August 2012, 02:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YerDugliness

If I need you help, I'll PM you.

Thanks, again!

Doug

No worries, I have a real soft spot for TVR's, fancy a Griffith myself. In my opinion the nearest modern affordable equivalent to an Austin Healey 3000 (which unfortunately are silly money now)

Doug Sainlar · 5th August 2012, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jac mac

Doug, If you have no luck with the pom's give me a pic of the one on the other side, it will be the same as something british like Austin A40 or Mk1 Zephyr, TVR's are like that , a virtual library of donor parts. I think 'Hella' will have all you require as a kit that they sell to coachbuilders of Bus's etc

Jac, I am going to go ahead and post some photos of the assembly and the markings on the headlight lens:

Here is a photo of the surviving assembly from the inside of the fender:

And how it looks when pulled:

A photo from the side...the "mounting ring" that I thought was missing is actually the flange on the bucket, which I mistakenly thought mounted against the inside of the fender's headlight flange from the inside. Actually, the entire assembly pulled out from the front:

Here's a photo of the lens assembly:

...and, finally, a shot of the lens of the light assembly, which should give some legible identification information:

If all else fails, I plan to source some plastic of a similar thickness as the flange on the bucket and machine a new ring, then sandwich the original mounting flange/bucket between the outer lip of the fender and the new ring. Getting the headlight adjusters to work might be a bit of a challenge, but isn't that what makes these sorts of projects "interesting"

?

My sincere thanks to all who have replied...would love to hear from more if there is something I can do to help narrow down essential information.

Cheers!

Doug

Jac Mac · 5th August 2012, 05:18 PM

'Hella parts... #1016 ( universal H/lamp assy ) and ...#1017 ( outer chrome dress ring to suit assy ), I wont list bulb or insert #'s since your LHD configuration probably uses a USA spec bulb/lense for operation while on low beam.

Doug Sainlar · 5th August 2012, 08:39 PM

Jac...you da MAN, buddy!

Thanks...will call the U.S. Hella corporate contact tomorrow morning and ask about obtaining one of each.

Thanks, again!!!!

Cheers to JacMac

!

Doug

flatchat(Chris) · 6th August 2012, 05:39 AM

Europa spares could be another source --- www.europaspares.com/

Chris · 6th August 2012, 12:36 PM

It`s just a standard Wipac 7" headlamp with backing bowl, cheap as chips, used on Mini`s and all manner of things.
Not wishing to be rude but TVR would have used the cheapest parts available, having worked on a few I have seen it all!
Mini HALOGEN HEADLAMP KIT RIGHT HAND DRIVE ,mini parts, mini spares, uk classic parts
is just an example, the backing bowls change with various years, very early ones were steel (mini Mk1) and later ones plastic. They are not very expensive, esp when you compare them with Cibie 7" lamps.
regards Chris

Doug Sainlar · 6th August 2012, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrNoo

Mini HALOGEN HEADLAMP KIT RIGHT HAND DRIVE ,mini parts, mini spares, uk classic parts

THIS is the part I need...well, a trim ring, too, but this is the part to which the headlight attaches and which includes the headlight aiming screws/mechanism.

Mini HEADLAMP BOWL PLASTIC ,mini parts, mini spares, uk classic parts

I have the Wipac lamp assembly, for headlights it uses a halogen bulb with high and low beam units and also an additional "side light", they call it...I call it a parking light, it just looks like the type of bulb you'd find in a turn signal. Surprisingly the Wipac lens assembly, the halogen unit and the side light bulb survived intact and are still functional. That bucket must have taken quite a hit to have been broken as it was and to have the rest of the kit forced out of the headlight mounting space.

I did manage to rebuild the broken plastic bowl today using superglue to bond the remaining plastic parts together and Gorilla tape to enclose the internals where there were no plastic parts left. Right now I am trying to figure out how to get the headlight securely fitted, one of the alignment lugs must still be on the road where the blowout occurred.

Wipac stuff doesn't seem to be available in the U.S., but I have spoken to the U.S. Hella corporate office to see if they can duplicate it. They are trying to cross-reference the part numbers JacMac provided, said those part numbers are New Zealand specific. I am waiting for a return call.

In the meantime I shall see if I can order from the source you posted in case Hella can't supply what I need. Thank you very much, Chris!

Cheers from across the pond to all!

Doug

Ian Anderson · 6th August 2012, 03:21 PM

Doug

If they do not want to do international I can purchase and post it over for you.

Ian

Doug Sainlar · 6th August 2012, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IanAnderson

Doug

If they do not want to do international I can purchase and post it over for you.

Ian

Thank you, Ian! I might take you up on that...was going to buy some other stuff from them, too...a trim ring, stone guards for the headlamps, that sort of stuff.

Thanks! If I need for you to do that I will PM you

Cheers!

Doug