Headlamps

 

TL;DR: a compromise for safety

A Lotus Seven S2 would have left the factory with either a pair of Lucas S700 (7002) sealed beams or General Electric GE6012 units for the left-hand-drive cars.

Mine came with later General Electric "Halogen" descendants of the GE6012. Their 2D1 markings allowed me to determine that they were GE H6014, the halogen version of the GE6014 that replaced the original 6012.

With their US-specific flat beam, they aren't appropriate for use in continental Europe. They are also rather dim by modern standards.

I considered various Lucas products in the 700 range, including "European" versions and the PL700 with their posh tripods.

On my checklist was also the need for "E" markings that would allow me to upgrade to road-legal LED bulbs in the future.

The best answer to all my concerns was the Wipac Quadoptic. They are a known quantity on the classic Mini, and their S6009 model has the "E11 0035" markings I was looking for.

Wondering about the period-correctness of the Quadoptics, I learned that they were launched around December 1972. At the time, Philips had just launched the H4 "duplo" bulb. That's close enough to 1966 for me.

One evening I pulled out one of the GE beams and confirmed that its connector is indeed compatible with H4 bulbs. The pleasant surprise was that the H4 LEDs a neighbour gave me a while ago actually worked despite the "positive earth" configuration.

I got the Wipac Quadoptics on the cheap from Betaset, where I bought the 123ignition kit a few weeks ago. The plan is to install them without further delay using the cold H4 LEDs until a potential deal on a more suitable LED kit comes along.

Despite my appreciation for the road-legal Philips Ultinon LEDs I had on the Caterham, I would rather have waited for a good deal on a "Night Breaker Vintage H4 LED" kit from Osram instead. They are also road-legal and they have a warm colour more fitting for a 60-year-old car.

Sadly, several factors sent me straight back to Philips: buyers' comments about the colour temperature, a few instances of non-conform (bogus) kits received, their high price, limited availability and lack of documentation to tell me whether or not they would be compatible with my positive-earth circuit.

That's why I placed an order for a pair of Ultinon Pro6000 Boost. They are well documented, officially certified for my "E11 0035" Wipacs. They are widely available, and priced right too. 

So much for the period-correct colour temperature, but all it would take is 10 minutes to get regular H4 bulbs or the original sealed beams back on the car.

More pictures soon...