sgraber
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 08:28 PM |
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Decided on my headlamp placement - not in the bonnet!
I think I killed two birds with one stone on this solution to headlamp location. Problem 1 was that I want to make the car street legal even when the
bodywork is removed. Problem two is headlamps located in the bonnet (front of the wheels) are almost too low to comply with the 24" height
regulation. Moving them up and back places them dangerously close to the wheel rubber.
Solution: Place the headlamps behind the windshield above the dashboard. Here they sit at 25" above floor, there is a natural cover, wipers will
keep the glass clean, and best of all the bonnet is greatly simplified without the need to develop headlight buckets, covers, gaskets, wiring, etc.
In the photo I am just starting to assemble. Missing still is the bottom and sides to seal the light from the cockpit area. I have already tested with
the lights on in the dark and with the bucket blocked off from the cockpit there is no light reflection to impair vision. Cool huh? 
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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ned
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 08:51 PM |
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two observations, you'd need some sort of cover to stop reflections from the windscreen and you'd need to be careful about where
windscreen wipers parked. apart from that I can't see a reason why it wouldn't work though it might look odd without headlights in the
bonnet?!
Ned.
beware, I've got yellow skin
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davew823
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 08:52 PM |
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Heads light location
Steve
Try the lights first "power to them at nite" before making mounts for the headlights. I had a friend try to add a 2nd lite behind a
motorcycle fairing. A lot glare bouncing back off the surface.
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sgraber
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 08:59 PM |
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"I quote from first post"
I have already tested the lights at night with a blockoff to the cockpit and there is no glare in the cabin. The key is to seal the sides and back of
the bucket to prevent light leaking out. A rubber gasket against the glass works great.
The wipers park below the lights.
Anything else? Legal issues? Heat issues? Hey! they will work as defrosters too! LOL
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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MikeR
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 10:12 PM |
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how much do they obscure your vision, just thinking in a seven that would take out a fair chunk of the road and mean you miss one of the best bits -
watching the wheels move!
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sgraber
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 10:19 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by MikeR
how much do they obscure your vision, just thinking in a seven that would take out a fair chunk of the road and mean you miss one of the best bits -
watching the wheels move!
great question. Suprisingly they are well below the natural field of view. and they do cover the wheel view, but not completely. Also you need to
realize that since there is no engine up front, it's a straight shot to look at the wheels. It's a very unique view indeed.
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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JohnN
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 10:43 PM |
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The only UK regulation wrt lamp position/visibility, with a lamp set well back from the front of the vehicle, seems to refer to vertical angles of
visibility, ie the apparent lamp surface must be visible from 5 deg below the lamp if the lamp is less than 750mm abobe the ground, and 15 degrees if
the lamp is above 750mm.
I guess the front of your car is short, but taken to an extreme, a dragster shaped vehicle would be a liability at night with headlights way back with
the driver
If you have a steeply raking bonnet (hood??) you probably would be OK, are there any US regs??
[Edited on 27/6/06 by JohnN]
[Edited on 27/6/06 by JohnN]
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TheGecko
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 10:48 PM |
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Steve,
I think it's a good idea. My check list would include pointing it at a standard headlight aiming board WITH the bodywork in place to make sure
the lights have a clean shot at the road etc. From memory of the layout of your front panels you should be fine but I'd check it before welding
anything 
Problem with that is you don't actually have any panels yet do you
Dominic
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sgraber
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| posted on 27/6/06 at 11:11 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by TheGecko
Steve,
Problem with that is you don't actually have any panels yet do you
Dominic
How right you are...
However: A few more weeks should see an end to that!
JohnN: I meant to add that I will have to take a closer look at the measurements you have given me. Thanks for that info.
[Edited on 6/27/06 by sgraber]
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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scottc
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 11:15 AM |
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Is the beam pattern affected by the light being refracted through the windscreen?
Is refraction what I mean?
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DaveFJ
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 12:35 PM |
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New I had seen this idea somewhere before...
Dave
"In Support of Help the Heroes" - Always
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iank
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 12:47 PM |
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quote:
Originally posted by sgraber
"I quote from first post"
I have already tested the lights at night with a blockoff to the cockpit and there is no glare in the cabin. The key is to seal the sides and back of
the bucket to prevent light leaking out. A rubber gasket against the glass works great.
The wipers park below the lights.
Anything else? Legal issues? Heat issues? Hey! they will work as defrosters too! LOL
If the wipers park below the lights that might be a problem in itself. In operation the wipers will sweep across the beams. Not sure if that's
specifically illegal as some cars (volvos'?) have mini-wipers for their headlights, but I wouldn't be suprised if you got resistance from
the powers that inspect your car.
Frogeye/bugeye sprite might have a solution
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sgraber
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| posted on 28/6/06 at 04:50 PM |
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Hey! somebody copied my bodywork!
 
quote:
Originally posted by DaveFJ
New I had seen this idea somewhere before...
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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stevebubs
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| posted on 1/7/06 at 08:00 PM |
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Not convinced by the headlight position.
Whatabout manual pop-up lights? When not required they can be folded down and sit below the minimum height. When needed, just whiz round and pull them
up and into position.
This way you can gain clearance wrt wheel arch ...
Could electrify it all if you're feeling fancy...
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stevebubs
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| posted on 1/7/06 at 08:03 PM |
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PS My personal preference would be faired in headlights as you originally seemed to be heading.
PPS IMHO You've spent so long developing this car, don't rush the details.
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chriscook
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| posted on 2/7/06 at 10:52 PM |
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I have to agree with stevebubs you've put in a lot of work so far don't take the easy route just because its easy.
You say that if you put them in the bonnet they are "almost too low" then they aren't actually too low so where's the problem?
Not sure what happens for and SVA equivalent over there but plenty of people put longer dampers on the front of their cars for SVA over here.
Chris
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violentblue
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| posted on 3/7/06 at 02:55 PM |
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what about using ultra small projection headlights.
you could mount them in the body (or behind the windshield if you want)
and won't affect body lines too much, mounting them as high as possible on the fenders, you should have plenty of height.
a few pics of my other projects
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sgraber
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| posted on 3/7/06 at 03:23 PM |
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Correct. No reason to rush the details. In reality the location inside the windshield will not work for when the bodywork is installed. The trailing
edge of the bonnet is too high on the glass to allow the lamps to be used there. If I raise them up enough to clear the bonnet line, they are way up
in the line of sight. So the original plan of placing them in the standard location still holds. And as suggested if I need more height, I simply
shorten the pull-rods and that raises the suspension! Solved.
In the meantime I do plan on titleing the car sans bodywork. It's just too tempting to terrorize the streets with the tube-frame exposed! So
the current headlamp installation continues, but it will be removeable.
Steve Graber
http://www.grabercars.com/
"Quickness through lightness"
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andkilde
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| posted on 10/7/06 at 04:06 PM |
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Hey Steve
How about retractible lamps that flip forward like the Miura's.
If you needed some extra height you could probably work out some sort of linkage that rises as it pivots forward. Something along the lines of the AMP
suspension fork with parallel links and what-not.
Cheers, Ted
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