Headlights.

All Bantams use the same headlight buckets, whether standing free (innies) between hood and fender, or incorporated into the fender (outies) as on the later cars. According to one authority, no commercial vehicles, such as panel trucks, station wagons, pick-ups, Boulevard Deliveries etc. had outies. (However note the beautiful Updike Boulevard Delivery in the Automobile Quarterly article clearly is fitted with outies and it reportedly sold for $65,000!?)The units have a distinctive shape, small size and were manufactured by Corcoran-Brown. They are hard to find.

If you come across a pair, or have them with your project, the biggest problem encountered besides rust is where someone has cut the rim up to accomodate sealed beam lights which were eventually required in some jurisdictions as the cars aged. They can be restored by butt welding a strip back on, smoothing them down, then buying a pair of stainles rims for $100 from Hank Albro (H&H Plastics, Inc P.O. Box 945, Temple, Texas 76503) and crimping them on. Time consuming and expensive. Some fibreglass buckets have been seen but I don't know if these are commercially available or hand made.

You are advised NOT to try to remove the stainless rim of the headlight because you are unlikely to get it back on. I have some rust on the bucket under the rim and have no idea how to address it without removing the rim. Anyone have a clue? COMMENTS?

It is possible to have the bulbs replaced in these with 6V halogen bulbs, leaving everything else the same. This might be a good idea from a safety standpoint if you plan to be doing any night driving and it won't cost you any points at the meet (I don't think anyway?). However, to make this conversion, you will have to have real glass lenses because plastic ones will not be able to take the heat.

Glass lenses are expensive and hard to find..I saw ONE for $150 recently, but there are plastic replacements available which are indistinquishable to the eye.

"Outies" ('40-'41) had a rubber headlight gasket to cushion the bucket from the fender. These are available from Albro(above) for $24 a pair last time I saw a catalog.