Another area of the car that I wanted to make changes to in order to bring it closer to the originals was that of the headlamps.
Obviously from an availability point of view (& to keep costs/time down to realistic levels) Barrie supplies/fits an 'off the shelf' headlamp assembly:
However, on an original 904, the headlamps fit slightly further forward & incorporate a (visible) chrome trim ring:
I hit upon the idea of using a set of US-spec 911 headlamp housings & had several pairs available from cars I'd imported so decided to offer some up to see if they could be used.
With very little modification it seemed as though they would do the trick, so I chose my best set & cleaned them in readiness:
- & trial-fitted them with some suitable Carello headlight units:
After studying numerous original 904's it seemed as though the headlight of choice 'back in the day' was the Marchal Equilux as used on most high performance cars of the '50's/'60's/'70's.
There is a minefield of different varieties of Equilux used by different manufacturers/models but I eventually managed to narrow it down to 4 possible versions which were period-correct for the mid-60's & have been searching for a suitable pair for a number of months - unfortunately, due to their association with Ferraris of the era, prices aren't what you could term 'bargain basement' !
There is always a selection of Equilux headlamps on ebay (especially, as you'd expect, in France) but they're virtually all incorrect size/model &/or fitment.
I know where I can buy some new ones but I do enjoy the chase (!) & would prefer to use good/secondhand if possible.
Unexpectedly I found a suitable single unit yesterday at the Newark Autojumble for £5 ...
Here's an original (unrestored) 904 fitted with a Marchal Equilux headlamp:
- & here's my £5 buy before cleaning:
It looks as though the Marchal 'shield' in my bargain find is higher up on the lens but it's down to the angle - it's the same headlight.
) Part of the family for 39 years!
