intage Corvette restoration
projects bring complexities
that typically aren’t
encountered with other
vehicles. The installation of
the C2’s electric, concealed headlamps is a
prime example.
With pivot shafts on both sides of the
headlamp housings, they are designed to
rotate about 90 degrees, with adjustable
stops limiting the travel between the fully
opened and closed positions. Additionally,
when each headlamp housing is rotated
to the full-open position, one of its stops
depresses a micro-switch that turns off aBY BARRY KLUCZYK (^) I PHOTOGRAPHY BY THE AUTHOR
Corrected Vision
An intricate procedure that takes time and patience
for the 1963-’67 Corvette concealed lights
[ TECH]
dashboard warning light that illuminates
whenever the headlamps are on, but not
in the full-open position. In other words,
the dash light comes on when the lights
are turned on and goes out to indicate the
housings have rotated to the correct and
upright position.
It’s a pretty clever but somewhat
intricate setup that, when functioning
properly, works very well. Plus, it doesn’t
come with any of the air-leak issues that
plagued the 1968-’82 C3 models’ vacuum-
operated headlamps.
That intricate design, however, comes
with an equally intricate and very specific
component assembly procedure to ensure
the housings’ proper rotation. It also takes
time, patience and a good eye to achieve a
first-class fit, which includes centering them
with even gaps within the body openings
and optimizing their flushness with the
body and alignment with the body lines.
The factory range of acceptability was
pretty broad, but with some finesse, it’s
possible to get them quite accurate, for a
very precise appearance.
We followed the installation procedure on
a 1963 roadster at Masterworks Automotive
Services, in the Detroit area, to see how the
pros do it, and learned a few things:
Sources
Corvette Central
(800) 345-4122
http://www.corvettecentral.com
Masterworks
Automotive Services
(248) 583-0590
http://www.mwauto.com
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