1 We're going to setup our...
1 We're going to setup our Mustang for headlamp adjustment first, then swap out the headlamps before actually doing the adjustments. You'll need to find a light colored wall or garage door with a level surface in front of it. Ensure your Mustang's tires are properly inflated (cold), you have a 1/4 to 1/2 tank of gas, and the weight of the driver in the driver's seat (big bags of dog food work great for this!). Place the nose of your Mustang as close to the wall/door as you can, then mark the exact center of your car on the wall/door with contrasting tape.
2 Now here's the trickiest...
2 Now here's the trickiest part of the whole procedure—backing up your Mustang in a straight line for 25 feet. You want the headlamps 25 feet from the wall/door for aiming. We recommend a driveway for this, as you can measure the distance from the car to the edge of the driveway and ensure the measurement is the same after you've backed up the 25 feet.
3 You will be taking two...
3 You will be taking two measurements on the front of your Mustang. We'll call them measurement A and B. For measurement A, use a yard stick to determine the distance from the road surface to the geometric center of your headlamp. Ours was 27-1/2-inches.
It's often easy to overlook something as simple as your vintage Mustang's headlights. If your local parts house even stocks them, your options are usually limited to a standard GE or Sylvania (just to mention some of the more common brands we've seen on the shelf) 7-inch halogen bulb. Once installed and aligned, they're not given a second thought until later when a fellow driver informs you that one of your lights are out. Then it's off to the store for a replacement. Most of us just replace the bad lamp, but for optimum night time driving you should always replace your lamps in pairs. Bet you didn't know that, huh?
4 For measurement B, you...
4 For measurement B, you will need to find the distance from the same centerline of the headlamp to the vehicle centerline. Do not angle the straight edge from the centerline to the headlamp. The measurement for our '66 Mustang was 29-inches. For '69 Mustangs with inboard high beams, repeat the same measuring operation for the high beam lamps.
5 Using your contrasting...
5 Using your contrasting tape once again, make a horizontal line on the wall/door two inches lower than measurement A (in our case 25-1/2-inches). Using measurement B, transfer that measurement to the wall/door and apply vertical tape lines at these measurements. For '69 Mustangs and their separate high beam lamps, a second horizontal line is made at the actual height measured in measurement A. Two additional vertical lines are then placed on this second line using your high beam measurement B.
6 With the wall/door marked,...
6 With the wall/door marked, we're ready to upgrade our headlamps right where the car sits, then check and adjust their position. A quick comparison of the new Drake FoMoCo script light to our installed GE halogens shows a dramatic difference in look/design.
For those that are looking for the utmost in correctness and detail, but still drive their vintage Mustangs, it sure would be great to have a correct looking headlight but with a bright halogen bulb in it, wouldn't it? Apparently our good friend Scott Drake thought so as well and set out to build a new vintage Mustang 7-inch round glass headlamp with the proper look and lettering with modern illumination. Anytime you can throw more light down the road (with a proper beam pattern and correctly aimed) you're going to be able to see road hazards, pedestrians, road signs, and more that much sooner and clearer. For those of us with old, tired eyes, that's certainly a welcome idea. The fact the bulbs have the correct FoMoCo script and other concours-type details certainly doesn't hurt the next time you hit the show field either.
7 Upon closer inspection,...
7 Upon closer inspection, you can easily see the crisp detail of the FoMoCo script in the center, the
The reverse raised logo is...
The reverse raised logo is rarer, thus Scott Drake decided to replicate that particular lamp using an NOS bulb as their reference point.
8 For the '65-'66 Mustang,...
8 For the '65-'66 Mustang, the headlamp doors require removal. You'll find four Phillips head screws retaining the door. Often these screws are bent, stripped, rounded, or painted over with low-buck paint jobs.
In speaking with Mory Riley, R&D Project Coordinator for the Drake Automotive Group, he was able to give us the lowdown on the new Drake headlamps (PN C0DZ-13007-A). "They are 70-90,000 candela halogens in a flame-sealed 7-inch glass housing." Riley explained. The lens is designed for optimum light disbursement and comes with the reverse raised FoMoCo script logo as used on original Ford lamps and they are a Ford licensed restoration part. We were able to get our hands on a pair of the new headlamps (by the look of the shipping boxes we're betting they're pre-production samples) for us to install.
You might wish to have new...
You might wish to have new screws on hand before tackling this project. For the '67-'68 model, only the small trim ring around the bulb is removed. Later cars didn't usually use the FoMoCo scripted bulbs but you can still use these instructions for checking and aligning your headlights.
9 Once you've removed the...
9 Once you've removed the headlamp door or trim, the headlamp retaining ring will be plainly visible. This fragile part holds the headlamps into the adjusting bucket via three small Phillips screws. The retaining ring (in theory) is loosened and then rotated to remove, but nine times out of ten you'll end up removing the three screws completely.
10 With the headlamp free...
10 With the headlamp free of the bucket, all that's left is the wiring connector. A firm grasp on the connector body (not the wires!) and the connector will pull free of the headlamp.
Of course, every time you replace a headlamp, you should take the time to verify and adjust the lamp's alignment/aiming, so we'll walk our readers through that process as well. Riley expects delivery of their first shipment of the new FoMoCo script halogens well before this article hits the newsstands, so your favorite Drake dealer will have them ready for you by the time you read this.
11 With our GE halogens removed,...
11 With our GE halogens removed, we can compare them more closely to the Scott Drake FoMoCo script halogen. While the glass flute pattern on the Drake part differs (looking more period correct), the biggest issue we have with the GE headlamp is the big "HALOGEN" lettering right across the middle of the bulb. We don't want to advertise that.
12 Installing the Drake FoMoCo...
12 Installing the Drake FoMoCo script halogen is simply the reverse of the removal procedure. The retaining rings can be tricky and often break at their spot welds.
Care should be taken to ensure...
Care should be taken to ensure the three Phillips screws are tightened evenly a little at a time. As you can see by this simple photo comparison, the left headlamp is our new Drake halogen and the right is our old GE halogen, which is going on ten years old.
In this How To, we're replacing a halogen (agreeably an old one) with a new halogen and we still noticed a marked improvement in illumination. However, if you're currently running a vintage tungsten bulb, perhaps trying to keep your Mustang as correct as possible, then the difference between a tungsten bulb and the more modern halogen is even more dramatic. Just check out this photo that Mory Riley of Drake Automotive Group supplied us. This is Drake's newest project car, a '67 GT 390/four-speed convertible "survivor" that was displayed at the 2011 SEMA show in "as found" state. On the driver's side is Drake's new FoMoCo script halogen and on the passenger side is the original style tungsten. The Drake bulb is 40 percent brighter than the tungsten, which is a huge difference when it comes time to drive home from that car show or cruise night.
13 Once it was dark enough...
13 Once it was dark enough to see our light pattern on the wall/door, it was obvious our driver's side headlamp was just a bit high, though centered, and the passenger headlamp was way too low and a little too far to the right.
14 Alignment of the headlamps...
14 Alignment of the headlamps takes nothing more than a Phillips head screwdriver and a little patience. The screw on the side of the headlight bucket adjusts the beam pattern horizontally and the screw at the top of the headlamp adjusts the beam pattern vertically. Adjust the beam's vertical aim so the top cut off of the light pattern aligns with the horizontal tape line; then adjust the beam's horizontal aim so that the light pattern's upward slope begins at the vertical marks.
15 With about ten minutes...
15 With about ten minutes of adjusting the alignment, we had both headlamps in a favorable pattern that would give us the best illumination of the road without blinding oncoming drivers. For '69 Mustang owners, don't forget to repeat for your inboard high beam lamps.