Bus Depot H4s - On Sale!

dtrumbo · Post by **dtrumbo** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 11:49 am

Hella-cool! Good call on the phone call. I'm sure you remember me whining about the bait-and-switch I suffered through with my heater tubes.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 12:06 pm

Yep, it happened to me a couple times too...
When they sell good stuff it's spot on. But I don't like that "infill supply" crap. Remember my "German" valve adjusters? But they did fix it free and without my asking.

I think they're OK to buy from, but only if you call and talk with someone competent.

Yeah I shoulda known better

tristessa · Post by **tristessa** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 1:30 pm

Wish I'd seen this thread sooner; I think I've got an extra "311" Hella bucket like that in the garage. Used, but...

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 1:53 pm

Hal's Garage = dark pit of the unknown
Well that's ok, $32 wasn't too bad. It should outlast me.
"new headlights drop right in! 5 min install!" yeah right. Never.

tristessa · Post by **tristessa** » Wed Mar 17, 2010 8:54 pm

hambone wrote:Hal's Garage = dark pit of the unknown.

Yeah yeah yeah ...

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:00 pm

Installed the new headlight retainer today. Very heavy duty, better built than the original. Nice cadmium plating. Nice chrome on the headlight retaining ring and good thick steel (although I used the original Hella, still like new). But guess what, the adjustment screws are too soft; the heads want to strip out VERY easily. Great, the most critical part and someone skimped a nickel. Once aware of this, I was very careful and managed to cause only minor damage. Also had to bend back into position one of the mounting screw tabs, it was all wacky. I think I'd rate it a B- all in all.
I've got the headlights aligned pretty darn close. The increase of light output is very noticeable and more focused. It's going to take some getting used to. The glass gets hot to the touch, and I'm still 1/2 blind from the adjustment fun.
Nice to be done. It's hard to tell around town, but I'm sure they will be really nice in the dark woods.

Westy78 · Post by **Westy78** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 10:23 pm

You'll really notice the higher light output in the high beams out away from city lights. Great upgrade I think.

hercdriver · Post by **hercdriver** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 6:52 am

I'm in the middle of changing my headlights to H4's as well. I did the first one last night. And what a difference between the old one and the new one. I'll try to take a picture tonight to show the difference.

Dave

hercdriver · Post by **hercdriver** » Sat Mar 20, 2010 5:49 pm

Here's the promised picture. The new one is on the drivers side. It's not a great shot of the difference, but even with this crappy picture you can see the new one is much clearer.

Overall it's a cleaner more focused beam. Well worth the money.

Next project is also safety related. I want to upgrade the front seat belts to retractable ones. Any ideas? I was reading Ratwell's writeup and was hoping someone had a preference on vendors.

Ritter · Post by **Ritter** » Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:45 am

hercdriver wrote:I want to upgrade the front seat belts to retractable ones. Any ideas? I was reading Ratwell's writeup and was hoping someone had a preference on vendors.

I got the Go Westy set. I'm happy with them. Some people suggest/use used belts out of a Jetta. I wouldn't bet my life on saving the coin on used belts. JMO.

hercdriver · Post by **hercdriver** » Sun Mar 21, 2010 8:51 am

These ones?

http://gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php? ... parent_id=

Ritter · Post by **Ritter** » Sun Mar 21, 2010 7:28 pm

hercdriver wrote:These ones?

http://gowesty.com/ec_view_details.php? ... parent_id=

Yes, those ones. They are a nice step up.

dtrumbo · Post by **dtrumbo** » Mon Mar 22, 2010 5:58 am

Hey Ritter, how do those GoWesty belts work regarding "premature lock-up"? I bought aftermarket retractable belts but ending up replacing them with used Vanagon belts. The problem was they were uber-sensitive. Just putting the belt on was difficult because the retractor would lock if you pulled the belt out too fast (which wasn't very fast at all). I called Beams (the manufacturer) and they said they had to be that way for liability issues.

Do the GoWesty belts lock up too easily when you go to put them on? I'm VERY happy with the Vanagon belts. As far as their age, they're at least ten years newer than the ones they replaced so I figure I'm coming out ahead in that department.

dtrumbo · Post by **dtrumbo** » Mon Mar 22, 2010 6:00 am

Holy crap! This is the ELECTRICAL FORUM! Worse, I'm one of the deputized janitors tasked with cleaning up the silly thing! Prepare to have this moved to Type 2 or at least Body/Hardware.

hambone · Post by **hambone** » Mon Mar 22, 2010 10:13 am

I still haven't been able to get them aligned exactly right but they are close. I think new shocks will affect ride height anyway. It's too bright in the city to really tell; I may have to take a screwdriver out on some dark country road.
Also am in negotiations for the remaining Road Warrior headlight ring. May it continue to peer out into the darkness.

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Itinerant Air-Cooled

Bus Depot H4s - On Sale!