1960 Headlamp Buckets

[Tom Spurgeon]

Some time ago, there was a topic on whether or not 1958 Chevy Biscayne headlamp buckets would fit (with some modification) in a 1958-62 Corvette. I've tried every keyword search for that topic, with no luck. I've also tried going back through the pages, including the archives. Someone did a very nice job of answering that question. So, I'm in hopes that someone again can answer -will 1958 Biscayne headlamp buckets fit 1958-62 Corvettes? And, what are the modifications necessary for them to fit? Also, are Biscayne buckets manufactured with identical molding configurations as stock Corvette buckets(without the modifications)? Thank you in advance, your help is appreciated.
Sincerely,
Tom Spurgeon
corvettethomas67

[Joe L.]

Re: 1960 Headlamp Buckets

Tom-----

I don't need to get too "wordy" on this one. 1958 Chevrolet Biscayne headlight buckets will fit perfectly for the 1960 Corvette application. The reason being is the fact that the exact same buckets were used for both. No modification, whatsoever, is necessary.

These headlight buckets were finished in either semi-gloss black or unpainted, galvanized material. The gavanized material used was pre-punch galvanized and the edges of the parts where they were cut by the stamping dies will, consequently, often show a little rust.

[John M.]

Re: 1960 Headlamp Buckets

Tom,
while I can not comment on the 58 passenger car for sure, I can tell you that the pickup truck and heavy truck and bus buckets will work with the replacement of the brackets that hold the bezels. The truck brackets are of a completely different design, but this is no problem since all the part houses sell these brackets. There is something that tells me that the passenger car buckets were different but I can not quite put my finger on it. I believe that the passsenger car buckets neck in in the middle while the Corvette buckets were full width ocross the middle. I believe that the buckets that Joe is refering to is the bucket that actually holds the bulb and not the one that mounts to the fender, and these were interchangeable between many different cars and years, but keep in mind that there is a specific bulb bucket for each of the four bulbs. They are not interchangeable between sides or bulbs.

Regards, John McGraw

[Mike E.]

Re: 1960 Headlamp Buckets

Tom--
John is right on with the brackets around the perimeter needing changing. The passenger car buckets were identical, except the hole for the wiring grommet was larger than the hole for the Corvette one. I've seen reproduction wiring harnesses with a two-stage grommet to adapt the passenger car bucket to the Corvette.

[Joe L.]

Re: 1960 Headlamp Buckets

John, Tom and Mike-----

The part that I was referring to is the headlight "bucket" only as I thought that's all that was being asked about. Actually, this part is known in GM parlance as a "ring". However, it's not to be confused with other "rings" that may be part of the headlight CAPSULE assembly, so the term "bucket" works better. The capsule is the entire assembly including the above-referenced part, the retaining ring, screws, and sealed beam assembly. For certain applications it may also include other parts.

The passenger car and Corvette CAPSULE assemblies were different. However, as far as I know, the "bucket" portion was the same for both. As John mentioned, the "buckets" are unique to each position. For about the period 1958 to 1969, the buckets are stamped L-1, L-2, R-1, and R-2 to denote their respective position; no GM part number is found stamped on these buckets. Later buckets were coded A, B, C, and D. However, for the most part, the later buckets will interchange with their corresponding position earlier bucket. There are some other configuration differences between the various buckets used over the 58-82 period.

In my collection I have NOS examples of every bucket (and there were many iterations) ever used on any 1958 to 1982 Corvette [none for sale]. I've studied these pretty well.

[Tom Spurgeon]

Re: 1960 Headlamp Buckets

Thank you ALL for you help...Joe, When you mentioned the stamping terms at me, I'm a bit confused (no more than normal). The pieces I picked up at the salvage yard are stamped pieces (two) that have the spring units in them, as well as the adjustments. I've seen them "talked about" before as "buckets". I hope these are what you're referring to. The mountings (small towers) that protrude from the stamped piece at the top are longer than those at the bottom. And, both top mountings are stamp rivited on one side, while a mounting hole is on the other side.

Again, thanks for the advice. It's a tremendous help talking with those who've been down this road before...

Sincerely,
Tom
corvettethomas67

[Joe L.]

Re: 1960 Headlamp Buckets

Tom------

The "buckets" or rings that I'm referring to are ONLY the sheet metal stamped piece which has NO riveted-on attachments. This is the part that the headlamp actually mounts into. There are specific "notches" in it for the "hubs" on the rear of the sealed beam to fit into to ensure that the sealed beam can be installed in only one position and to ensure that low and high beams cannot be "switched".

I now believe that the part that you are talking about is the BODY ASSEMBLY. This part mounts behind the "buckets". There are only TWO per car and each one serves both "buckets" on either side of the car. These parts are also NOT part of the capsule assembly.

The BODY ASSEMBLIES are, with one exception, specific to Corvette. However, they're the same for all 58-62. These same BODY ASSEMBLIES were also used on 1959 series 3 and 4 trucks.

[Tom Spurgeon]

Thank you Joe! (NM) *NM*

[Joe L.]

Re: Thank you Joe! (NM)

Tom-----

By the way, by my saying that the BODY ASSEMBLIES were unique to 58-62 Corvette (and 59 trucks), I did not mean to imply that the passenger car BODY ASSEBLIES could not be used for the Corvette application as John and Mike suggested. It makes perfect sense to me that the passenger car parts would work with only slight modification.