John,

These folks always have good prices
http://www.rallylights.com/hella/200mm.asp

-John

'85 Silver Sunroof
'91 GTi 2.0 8v
'76 BMW 2002

>From: John Rodgers <jh_rodgers@BELLSOUTH.NET>
>Reply-To: John Rodgers <jh_rodgers@BELLSOUTH.NET>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Re: Square Headlight Uprgade? Round, Square, Lighting Relays . . .
>Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 11:14:09 -0600
>
>Doggone you, George!!!!
>
>Just when I think I have all this lighting stuff sorted out in my mind
>enough to make a lighting upgrade, you come along with some new
>information that thows all my plans and expections out of kilter. Now I
>have to rethink what direction I want to go. LOL!
>
>Ok, so here's a question, where do these 200 mm Hella's for $80 come
>from. Got any sources you can refer me (us) to?? I would be on those in
>a heartbeat.
>
>And is there any other source you know of for those double fuse blocks
>to enable fusing the coil of the relay??
>
>Although I have some round buckets and was about to go for the SA
>grille, if I could get the cheaper rectangular lights I really think I
>would rather stay with them, expecially give that I am interested in
>those fog lights that are rectangular that fit on the end of the lower
>grille. Rectangulars above and below look better to me than a mix of
>rounds and rectangulars.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Regards,
>
>John Rodgers
>88 GL Driver
>
>
>George Goff wrote:
>
>>Some thoughts on Vanagon headlights:
>>
>>1/ I converted to the SA configuration, but I would not do it again.
>>Instead, I would adapt 200 mm rectangular (nominally 5X7) Hella's to the
>>stock
>>grille.  I saw this reported in the Limbo newsletter some years ago and
>>the result
>>looked good even without the curved lens of the stock modular lights.  The
>>200mm Hella's can be found for about $80 including the bulbs.  Considering
>>only
>>the cost of the necessary hardware this is the cheapest route to go.  My
>>SA
>>conversion cost half of what most vendors charge only because I already
>>had the
>>buckets and I get Hella's from a place with the best price around.
>>
>>Don't be misled into thinking that the SA grille is simply slapped into
>>place.  In reality, there is no time saved mounting an SA grille compared
>>to
>>fabricating the mounting pieces for rectangular lights because, done
>>properly, the
>>SA grille requires the fabrication and accurate alignment of the three
>>attachment points which do not exist in the grille openings of US
>>Vanagons.
>>
>>Still, the SA combination is hands down better than the stock setup.  For
>>that matter, the round headlight grille prior to '86 with a set of 7"
>>Hella's is
>>also mucho better.
>>
>>2/ Save your money.  Simply installing higher wattage lamps is no
>>solution.
>>The problem with the stock headlights has little to do with the intensity
>>of
>>the light source but much to do with the optical characteristics of the
>>lamp
>>and the resultant light pattern.  Ask any of the unfortunate soles who
>>bought
>>those made in Pakistan H-4's from one of the list vendors about the
>>effectiveness of more watts.
>>
>>3/ Although I was not compelled to use higher wattage lamps, I, too,
>>installed relays for the lighting load solely because I did not want to
>>suffer, once
>>again, the inconvenience of a failed headlight switch.  The lighting
>>"relay
>>kits" I have seen offered have one serious shortcoming: they leave the
>>coil side
>>of the relay unfused.  I was fortunate enough to find a double relay block
>>with two attached fuse holders hiding in my mass of Vanagon junk (I think
>>it was
>>from an '84) which allowed me to install the lighting relays with proper
>>fusing.
>>
>>George
>>
>>
>>

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