MTFCA Forum

I was driving along after work enjoying myself when suddenly I heard a clank and a crash from what sounded like underneath the car. I looked behind me and there was a black round thing in the road. Thankfully it was just a small gravel road and I was able to stop and pick it up. Coming up on it I thought I had some sort of catastrophic failure with a drum or something it was round and there were pieces! Thankfully, it was just one of my headlight rims. I have not been driving the car for long and one of my rims was a little bit looser than the other and it must have vibrated enough to fall off. My question is, how can you tighten up the rim so it does not come off again? I don't really want to put any sort of glue or something because I need to be able to take it off because I'm having intermittent light issues too figured some of you guys have probably had the same thing happen and how did you fix it? Thanks.

Most of the time, one can't hardly get the dang things OFF ! There is a series of four detents in the bucket edge that those four rim rivets should lock into. If the rims are loose, are the reflector tension springs in place ? That's what holds tension on the whole rim & lens.

Close up photos of the pins in the rim, and the registers in the headlight to which they fit would help. If these are all in order, perhaps the spring Steve mentioned is not. They certainly are usually a pain to get off.

Allan from down under.

It is possible the last owner installed it incorrectly. Look at the pictures and make sure it is installed with the rope (string) and I am sure it will stay i place.

Did it have all the parts installed? You may be missing some. Since the reflector didn't fall out the connection oc the rim & slots on the bucket need a good look for issues. What do the slots in the rim of the headlight bucket look like? Sometimes these split (see photo).

Sadly I had the exact thing happen. Driving and heard metal and glass on the ground. I was able to pick up the scratched rim, but the glass was so shattered it was in a million pieces. What I've done when putting back the ring, I make sure the detents are in good condition. One was broken and I soldered a tiny piece of metal to bridge the break. Not too pretty but it worked. I also made sure that all surfaces that rub together when installing the ring were rust free and had a little grease. That helps. Lastly I put a small piece of clear packaging tape on the underside of the bucket where it won't be seen. This is extra insurance to keep things together. Good Luck,
Been there,
John

Allan wrote: ↑

Thu Sep 12, 2024 8:55 pm

Close up photos of the pins in the rim, and the registers in the headlight to which they fit would help. If these are all in order, perhaps the spring Steve mentioned is not. They certainly are usually a pain to get off.

Allan from down under.

A picture of the pins & lens tabs would be helpful.
As I recall repop rims do not fit well. Do you have repops or original rims?

Some time ago, the repop rims had too long of rivets - if you did muscle it on, it was near impossible to remove without damage to both rim & bucket - last couple sets of repop rims I used were correct.

Thanks everybody. I will post some pictures this evening when I get to the car. The latches and everything are pretty Rusty and I do not know if they are reproduction or original.

I think I may have been missing my lens rope seal. All of the tabs and Slots are intact but they are Rusty in a little bent.

The tabs on the rim should have been bent over the glass as shown. Yours look straight, did you do that since the fall or were that way. That would have made for a loose lens. Also the wire spring is what really holds everything together. It fits behind the reflector. Now it could have gotten a bit rusty and got stuck and no longer free to move. I have original rims & H lens (also repro spring rings & rope). eMail me if you need something

Remove the bulbs and push in & twist the reflector until all four slots align then wiggle out the reflector - it should have some "spring" to it coming out due to the wire spring that should be behind it.

When it is all back together you should be able to push the headlight rim in and feel the spring pressure and the reflector, the glass, and the rim, should all move in and out as one.

For me the hardest part was twisting the ring clockwise to find the point where it is all locked together, since you can't see that position (it's covered by the ring). So I put a piece of blue tape on the bucket and a black dot on the tape exactly where I had to twist the ring to find that locking detent. Also, as I said, a little grease works wonders on tight fitting metal.
John

...a little grease works wonders on tight fitting metal.

Also, you can lubricate the works by rubbing the bucket and the rim with a candle where they go together.

At one time this tool was available from parts dealers.

I was cheap enough to make it myself. You can dismantle it at the hinge so it will fit under a seat.

Here is an older post on making the tool.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=38394

Thank you all for the replies and I'm sorry that I didn't get back to this thread earlier. I think it was a combination of not having my rope seal and the fact that the innards were quite Rusty. I plan on taking it apart and cleaning it up and getting any new parts if I have to. Thank you all!