Today, October 7, is National LED Light Day. One of the easiest mods to update a vintage car is LED lights. They instantly improve night time visibility and vision with technology decades newer than old school sealed beams. However, one could argue that perhaps classic cars should not be updated, and that LED lights spoil the look and feel of an otherwise authentic classic. What say you?
LED headlights, yea or nay?
The most entertaining comment by next week will receive a prize. Scroll down to see the winner of last week’s QotW, “What complete JNC body shell should be reproduced next?“.
So which car needs a complete reproduction body shell? Well, by number of votes the overall winner would be the Nissan S30 Fairlady Z/Datsun 240Z. BlitzPig, Pete240Z, and Jim Daniels all argued it should be the most obvious choice.
Then there are cars from the same era as the AE86 which are nearly extinct now because so many were modified, raced, drifted and otherwise abused. In that vein, Lee L takes up the cause of the Nissan S13 and Chet Manley advocates for the EG Honda Civic.
Of course, for any company to take on manufacturing an entire reproduction unibody requires a massive investment, and it probably doesn’t make sense to do it unless they can sell a ton. That’s why nlpnt‘s choice of Datsun 510, but specifically the globally sold four-door version, could warrant looking into. Taylor C. took a different route with small pickups like the Toyota Hilux, Nissan Hardbody, Mitsubishi Mighty Max, and Mazda B-Series, which may even be easier to manufacture due to their body-on-frame construction. Similarly, daniel‘s included the Isuzu/Chevy LUV due to its popularity in South America.
However, it could be argued that there are some cars that are rarer and need more support because it’s impossible to piece together even with panels from old shells. In that respect, Howard D.‘s nomination of the Mitsubishi Starion and StreetSpirit‘s pick of the Mazda Cosmo Sport make sense. Ultimately, the winner this week was crank_case, who made the strongest argument for Suzuki’s kei sports car.
I am biased but… Suzuki Cappuccino.
Every single one of them out there has had its floors welding at some point and unlike something as ubiquitous as the Z, it’s not like there is even many people (if at all) doing replacement panels.
Everyone is trying to rebuild these from what was already a very small pool of cars new. There were more Zs made for the USA alone in a single model year than there were Cappuccinos in total worldwide (Japan and UK) so there’s a lot of fabrication and scrounging for trim and parts.
Omedetou, your comment has earned you a set of decals from the JNC Shop!
Paging Dr. No!
LED headlights for classic cars of any make can make a huge difference in WHEN those cars are driven. I had a very classic 1939 Buick Special 2-door sedan that was in excellent Survivor condition. Everything worked and, the car was quite drivable with a 3-on-the-tree and mechanical brakes. However, my wife and I were caught out in a downpour in which we had to rely on both the headlights AND the pneumatic wipers … which were about half the size of a modern wiper each. Fortunately, they had been replaced by new ones so they worked (watching them go like mad and not making a dent in visibility was a treat I’ll reserve for someone else! The headlights worked but I could not see safely … LEDs, properly made to look/fit the headlight tubs authentically, would have possibly had us keep the car longer.
Big fan of LED lights to make a classic more modern. I have LED interior lights in my JDM cars. As far as headlights, I have them on my MKI MR2. Nothing too fancy, just LED headlight bulbs on the same style housing. I love the enhanced brightness. I even like the low rise pop-ups with some bright LED’s.
The only no-no is a set of lights that change the aesthetic of the car (ie: halo lights). I love restomods but only if its done subtly, pays tribute to the classic or is as the kids call it… “clean”
In theory, LED lights should be a “no-brainer” but reality is another story. I have a 1948 Bentley with big flat lens Lucas headlights that use primitive incandescent bulbs with two filaments for low and high beam. I tried fitting a LED bulbs that physically fit and required no modification to the electrical connection and they were brighter – but that brighter light was totally unfocused as they simply didn’t match the positioning of the original lights, hence there was no focused beam. They couldn’t be aimed as there was no concentration of light. They were also a very bright hazard to other cars on the road. There is a science to optics and light and it cannot be ignored or simply replaced by “brighter” light as that results in a very inefficient lamp.
LED headlights are a great invention, but they look so modern, so clear-cut, so white, they usually do not fit with our old nostalgic cars. Even with something as close as original as the RetroBright, when I looked for a set in classic white for both my NC and my bike (7 inches round for both), I realised that they are flat… I mean, you could lay them lens-down on a table and they would pretty much not rock around.
Classic sealed beams have a rounded lens, and this shape is part of my vehicles’ design, they would feel wrong with the flat front.
On the other hand, my alternator once died without me knowing and I ended up on the side of the road coming back from a friend’s place a bit later than supposed, the headlights sucked whatever was left in the battery and the engine stopped making spark… LEDs would have given me way more distance before draining my battery! And it would have lighted the road way better too!
I still long for some, but there are none that would not give my NC a transformer robot face, so I will look for driving lights that could be tucked under the bumper.
As headlights, they are the best, but they just do not look classic.
my vote is positive.
Any “modern” improvement as long as it does not affect the “classic” aesthetics has, at least, my attention. and much more if it improves performance in any aspect without cutting or deforming anything and can be turned back if necessary.
and one more point: see and be seen. It is not precisely that we are getting “older” and our eyesight is better.
In that sense, HOLLEY did things right and offers variants of headlamps and LED lamps that meet both conditions: not affecting the aesthetics and not changing (too much, there is the option) the color temperature. I think it might be good to take a look at their catalog.
https://www.holley.com/products/lighting/headlights/
I think they cover a large number of our classics with the measurements offered, what is said “they thought of everyone” and I celebrate it.
Emphatic no. They look terrible retrofitted to old cars and they blind other drivers. People drove at night just fine back then, you don’t need them now. This is a hill I’ll die on
LED lights make perfect sense for any nostalgic car that will be driven at night. Obviously not something you would put on a concourse competing car, but for safely at night, absolutely.
Shouldn’t it be easy for manufacturers to visually/aesthetically simulate the look of any past lighting technology? Doesn’t strike me as an insurmountable challenge.
I think LED headlights could be designed to replicate incandescent ones but I have yet to see one. 2800K is about as hot as you can go without looking ridiculous & I have yet to see any decent lens designs. Until then, it’s H4 LED replacements @ 2800K’s in a pair of Hellas for me.
For a running daily driven kind of old car, I would say yes, but for a show quality restoration which sits in a collection let it have the old lamps for authenticity sake. I used a 1996 Suzuki Samurai with the factory headlights and I could see nothing had to go on high beam even at slow speeds compared to the newer vehicles. I changed to LED’s and that made a huge difference to night time driving as well as the looks. If its a daily runner you need to update it for the betterment of your driving and safety.
I have installed GE Nighthawk LEDs in my 1991 MR2 Turbo and love them. Being popups, they are only noticeable at night. Where they shine, making the road nice and bright. So, yes to LEDs.
As a traffic flagger, I say No to them. I’m not keen to the idea of pulling a Corey Hart (if anyone gets the reference) at the start and ends of my longer shifts because some twit in a Tesla has his brights on. Flagging at night and it’s set your stopwatch before someone whose headlamps are brighter than they are themselves. The sun spots dissipate from my vision just in time to be blinded again. I shouldn’t need to wear shades after sunset just so I can see a bit better after some EV idiot drives by.
Not a fan.
I don’t like being blinded by them, and I don’t really care for the aesthetic of the LEDs on older cars either.
Some people say they are only blinding when installed improperly, but I guess that means that the factory doesn’t install them properly either, because the new cars on the road invariably blind me with their LEDs. Especially the trucks. Maybe I’m just too sensitive.
I hate driving at night. I didn’t feel this way until LEDs became prominent. Maybe it just coincided with me getting old.
I’ve arrived to keep our 1993 Accord SE mostly original since new but one concession I made was the switch to LEDs. There’s no denying the light output is brighter and cleaner looking but I understand how purists may disagree and prefer the incandescent yellow look.
Though I’ve converted all the exterior and most of the interior (except the gauge lights) to LED, I do prefer the clea, whiter look. And if the time should come (after I’m gone) that the next caretaker prefers the vintage look, I’ve kept and labeled all the old bulbs so they can always be replaced…