MTFCA Forum

Saw this on AACA web site, thought it interesting. Anyone ever seen one of these? Dan
https://forums.aaca.org/topic/338922-st ... -roadster/

The only car I remember with a steerable headlight was the "Tucker" the center light would turn with the wheels.

perry kete wrote: ↑

Wed Apr 14, 2021 7:44 am

The only car I remember with a steerable headlight was the "Tucker" the center light would turn with the wheels.

Pilot Ray headlights were used on many early high-end cars.

I seem to recall an article in one of the MTFCA or MTFCI club magazines years ago that had an article on steerable headlights. It would take a lot of digging for me to find it.

The Model T was the boon of specialized accessories, and self-turning headlamps were among them!

Here are two types, one turns both lamps, the other just a single lamp to assist on dark night turns. These are 1920-21 developments.

Imagine the second one, you are approaching a T with this moving one eye-ball headlamp, and it turns, you wouldn't know which way that vehicle was coming at you.

Was at a professional restorers place not long ago, he showed us a 30's (I think) Cadillac that had them. It was gorgeous, for sale for over $500K. Yes, thousand!!
Also two other cars in the same building had them. I think one was a Lincoln, in the 1920s. So these are nothing new. Been around longer than most people, including myself, know.
They are really cool. Today's engineers don't have anything on those "back in the day".

All I have are these! I know, not quite the same. The grandkids love them.

Would be nice for spotting deer - off season of course! Ray

The 1915 Ford with the steerable headlights in the original post as well as on the PreWarCar website belonged to Roger "Bill" Dickinson here in Minnesota.

The first time I saw the car was about 45 years ago when I was a kid. The last time I saw it was two years ago at Bill's estate auction. It is my understanding that a lot of the auction items, especially motorcycles, went to foreign buyers.

If you want to see more and better photos of the car, click on this link:

https://www.vanderbrinkauctions.com/lot-item/66z/

The Tucker was mentioned above. It may have been the original intention, but none of the 50 or so production cars had them made that way. I think I read where a later restoration made one move. Fuzzy though on this.