Is that a repop Radiator Core support?

 

I don't think so as it's pretty ancient, but I will look closely for evidence of origin.

Is that a common issue with repops?

 

I was trying to think, I rember a post on here a while back someone else had the same problem. I believe it was the same problem I cant recall ill try to find it, I am sure some one will help and we will get it figured out.

 

not a problem. this is how they're suppose to look. although there may be some slight variance from car to car

 

This was posted by 1quick7D on feb 24th 2005 "yep, they are different. One set is for high beam bulbs, and the other is for low beam. Most of them are marked with an A or B on one of the tangs. I always check them first by installing the bucket and then holding the bulb in place. You'll know if you have them right because the bulbs will be straight. I have T-3 headlights, so it's easy to tell. Scot"
__________________
Scot
1970 Chevelle 396
Astro Blue w/ Black Stripes
"Do it yourselfer" frame off restoration
Team Chevelle #722
My 70 Chevelle

I hope this helps :thumbsup: maby the buckets are on the wrong side or maby the trim ring is on the high beam one and should be on the low beam one?

 

So if I read that correctly, the bucket currently on the left side might be the one that is supposed to go on the right side and if so I may need to change the position of the bezels to match the adjustment screws? :clonk:

 

ya the bucket on the low beam may be on the high beam acording to his post. try playing with it to see what ya get this may not even be the problem but its a start.

 

After the suggestion of the buckets being in the wrong location, I did a search under "headlight buckets" resulted in 7 pages of related info , mostly from pages 3-7.

Seems there are many folks who have had the same problem and after reading them all the correct answer is...keep trying although some have advised that each bucket is stamped with A,B,C, or D and they go in a certain order.

 

Check to make sure you have the "buckets" in the correct positions.
There are left/right and inner/outer buckets.
Maybe misplaced???

 

Mine are off center as well. Guess I need to revisit the buckets. If anyone finds out the correct order, let us know.

 

Buckets off on a 70, Join the crowd. I'm glad I am not alone.

LK

 

You're not alone, there's alot of us.

 

tight tollerences from the 70's. yea right !!!! i havent had any luck with any of the 70 ive incountered !

 

All '70s are like this Fred.
I remember a couple years ago Daytona Jeff and I were walking around the Turkey Rod Run at the speedway specifically looking at '70 Chevelles.
Never did find one where the headlights are centered in the extension. Driverside seems to be the worst.

 

is there an echo in here

 

there should be spring too.

do yours have springs?

 

Yes there are springs. They look long enough to allow for a shift of 1/4 - 3/8 of an inch with no issue at all.

The opening in the rad support that allows for the socket to fit through also seems large enough to allow that size shift. If not it seems it would be minor clearancing to correct.

 

I believe that the position is dependant on the "cup" stamped into the core support, The nylon insert could move and the headlight bucket will still "self center" in the cup.

LK

 

The rub is that the bolts are really not the place that sets where the headlights go. It is really the indentation in the core support. Think ball and socket there the headlight bucket is the ball and the core support has the socket.

So you could take a sawzall to the core support and make the whole mounting area adjustable side to side and up/down.

 

On my 68, my buckets don't touch the core support... they would probably rub the paint away if they did.

 

My nuckets on my '68 don't either.

The buckets the headlight bulbs mount in are another story
And yes if not for the springs and adjusting screws holding them in, they would rattle and rub the paint away.

The bezels are just hung off of the bodywork so there is a dependency upon the core support and the bodywork to align.

 

nuckets????

 

I dont know if this will help but you might want to check it out.
http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=155445&highlight=Headlight+Buckets

And

http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?t=113107&highlight=Headlight+Buckets

 

Actually it confused the h*** out of me. But thanks for the effort.

 

Come on spit it out....Gime Da wright answer! Those Posts confused me. Go look at your original chevelle and Post it here :wacko:

 

I don't know about the '70s, but the '69 trim rings are stamped LI, L0, RI, RO. Even when installed properly the bulb still isn't centred in the trim ring. If you look closely, you will see that the headlight buckets are attached to the two adjusters and rest against the rad support on the third side. That's how you get the left-right and up down adjustment.

 

When I installed a repro core support on my '69 SS two of the headlights were off so far the bezels wouldn't even go on. Each bucket is positioned by 3 outward "bumps" stamped into the core support. I had to build up one side of some of the bumps with resin jelly and sand down by trial and error to get the buckets positioned correctly. This was after the new support was painted and installed. Luckily the "bumps aren't in a real visible location so I was able to spot paint the affected areas.

 

In this picture you will see that the headlights are not centered in the trim. Each side is considerably tighter to the inside edge of the trim. Close ups are of only 1 headlight per side but each pair is identical per side.

The fenders, extensions and hood are all original to the car and lined up very well. Gaps were good. No visible crash repairs or crash evidence.

I am guessing that it is related to an adjustment that needs to be made to the headlight buckets, but before I disassemble the c-clip (currently off the car) I wanted to attempt to realign so I have an understanding of what I will need to do when I reassemble, (or know what I need to replace things if this condition is caused by something else).

Can a helpful member(s) advise how you adjust to re-center?

Thanks in advance,
Fred

I had the same issue. I do know that all the buckets have letters ABCD and they go in certain spots. Of course I did that and it still looks the same as yours. AS one person posted, thats the way it is.

 

Well after a long sleep, this post has been "reawakened".

Personally, I got fed up with, that's the way it is, and made some changes because for me it's all in the details.

The headlights are now properly centered. It took some modifications to make that happen. Yes, cut, weld, etc. More on that as I get closer to completion of the car.

Here's a look through the bezels at the locating "bumps". They are too far to the center.

A few things that I uncovered that did make a difference, dimpling the buckets where they meet up with the the top and outboard "bumps" on rad. support began moving them closer to center. No expensive tools, just a ball peen hammer and a block of wood.

As compared to what is needed, there's a ton of room between the "buckets" and the bulb.

To do this properly, you really need to place a small cut in the bucket and braze it back together to "shrink" it. I kept getting a "fold" in the bucket that prevented it staying round. You can see them at the end of the dimple that is close to the center opening.

Second thing was the nylon inserts the adjusting screws use. They are about 1/8"-1/4" too far towards the center (depending on their position) and they hold the buckets back from accepting the full benefit of the dimpling.

As I was going to do something different, I never attempted to move them, but I believe that if you are into details you could do it with the help of a Dremel, a very small piece of 16 ga. sheet metal, and a $50 brazing torch from Home Depot.

Also, the inside opening of chrome bezels are not round, wider at E-W (left/right) than N-S (top/bottom)

Here's a peek at what the finished change will look like...

 

My 70 one owner SS 454 Camino. Has the offset headlights today ,as it did in 70. My pea brain says its the core support and nothing else. How about if the core support is STAMPED WRONG where will the buckets set.
Bob

 

Like everybody else's, the '70 I'm working on has the same centering problems on the headlights and it drives me nuts to look at them.

I'm curious Fred ... I read through all the threads and found the information on A and B buckets. I was going to remove the extensions and lights to check for an A and B. Did you try finding which were A and B buckets before doing surgery?