[DeTomaso] Headlight bucket problem

[boyd casey]

I meant to say both lights are slightly "oversize" on their respective
outside corners. I thing a little dremel work and the replacement of the
washers to raise he back of the bucket should do the trick. And Mike thanks
for your advice about "doing it under power"I just installed a Pantera
electronics headlight controller and I have been using a jumper between the
negative battery terminal and the Ground cable to tap little bits
of movement and the cranking the tight spots manually.Boyd

On Thu, May 7, 2009 at 8:39 AM, boyd casey <boyd411 at gmail.com> wrote:

> When I took the buckets out they each had four big 50 cent size washers,
> Like a moron I just assumed the went on the "nut" because the holes in the
> mounting plate are over size. I never saw were they were originally because
> I took them out n blind. I had my arm stuck so far into the wheel well it
> is covered with cuts scrapes and welts.  I have a flexible shaft for my
> power nut driver but it was around an inch to short! There is nothing like
> trying to do a job when you don't have all the right tools! Women never
> understand why we need a"another wrench"!. During the night it came to me in
> a sort of Pantera "epifany
> " that perhaps the washers were shims because I couldn't get the buckets to
> close without the rear lip meeting the opening. and I think the other
> problem is the fleft front edge of the aluminum block that holds the new
> lights is around .002 to long and rubs the inner fender opening on the right
> side as you are facing the car on the left light (caddy corner) and the same
> place on the left light (passenger side) both outside front corners are a
> hair to long.
> Boyd
>
>
> On Thu, May 7, 2009 at 3:41 AM, <MikeLDrew at aol.com> wrote:
>
>>
>> In a message dated 5/6/09 18 40 24, boyd411 at gmail.com writes:
>>
>>
>> I removed my headlight buckets to do a 'Cats eye " conversion. Now I can't
>> get them to fit right. They don't seem to want to line up. They are
>> hanging
>> up on the back edge when I try to close them. Is there a trick to aligning
>> them?Boyd
>>
>>
>> Nope.  It's just trial and error; they also may need to be shimmed with
>> one or more washers between the back side of the headlight bucket, and the
>> platform (which is attached to the bar).
>>
>> There is a very real danger of damaging the car if you're not careful.  If
>> the upper limit switch isn't adjusted properly, the electric motor has
>> enough torque to drive the back of the headlight bucket skin into the top of
>> the fenders, putting big-time six-inch-long dents on the top of both
>> fenders.  Proceed with great caution!
>>
>> I've recently gone through the headlight bucket aligning process on
>> another Pantera.  This car had some accident history and the body shop
>> failed to align the replacement fender properly, so the side of the
>> headlight bucket had been rubbing the inside of the fender opening badly for
>> 30 years.  I had to slot the mounting holes on the pad to get enough
>> movement to slide the bucket over so that it wouldn't touch.
>>
>> The tolorences are very tight.  You can barely fit a business card between
>> the outer edges of the bucket (left and right) and the edges of the fender
>> opening.
>>
>> It's generally easiest to align the buckets with the headlights down.
>> Position the buckets so they are perfectly centered in the fender opening,
>> then tighten the four nuts on the studs so they are just snug, and carefully
>> raise and lower the lights (don't use the headlight switch--either use a
>> trigger switch with jumper wires to the motor, or raise them manually).
>> Don't be surprised if you have to fiddle around with shims and/or file or
>> slot the mounting holes to get the bucket to sit properly in the opening.
>>
>> Good luck!
>>
>> Mike
>>
>>
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