How to get this apart ? (1953 Terrot headlight)

[JoeJ]

Hi

Any idea how I can get this apart without breaking the glass?  I’m baffled....

[33d6]

Looks to me like a bog standard sealed beam headlight. Never intended to come apart but replaced whole.

[R]

Rather than being a 'sealed beam', its the headlamp glass and reflector all in one unit,
without the 'prefocus bulb' (and park bulb)  that (independently) go into it.

Its always baffled me that some folks sell the headlamp glass only. with the reflector removed.
What do you do with them then ??

Some folks can resilver the reflector, if thats what yours requires.
But they are so inexpensive to find, its rarely worth it ?
If its totally original, and you wish to keep it so, you may wish to pursue this

[iansoady]

A real sealed beam has an integral bulb but this type are often misleadingly called sealed beam. I had a reflector resilvered a couple of years ago and it cost me over £50 IIRC. I'd have been better off sticking "chrome" tape on it....

[Rex]

If it's the usual sort of sealed unit they can be opened up by carefully  grinding off the metal lip clamping the reflector to the glass. Handy if you have a good reflector and want to use frosted/fluted/cat's eye glass with it.

[33d6]

Whoops, yes. The local term was “semi-sealed” not “sealed” but my excuse is that it’s been a long time since I’ve played with anything that modern.
Curious. I have reflectors re silvered by a local firm that resilvers old mirrors. Not expensive and only about 5km from home. Maybe they take pity on me because I’ve only taken in Villiers reflectors or is it that reflectors are tiny compared to the average antique mirror.

[iansoady]

Prices for plating of all types seem to vary wildly - I had mine done by a place that had done very good chrome and nickel for me at very reasonable costs. Like other things worth shopping round.

[JoeJ]

Thank you everyone for the information.  A sealed beam head light, who knew?  These “basket case” motorcycles are very hard to put back together.  But I did recently. It on eBay.fr a rear license plate holder and a seat.  The seat I needed for the bolts because the bolts on the bike I have were sawed off   

[R]

A semi-sealed beam, note.
The bulbs just plug/push in.

If it's the usual sort of sealed unit they can be opened up by carefully  grinding off the metal lip clamping the reflector to the glass.

OK, I'll bite.
How do you then re-instate the steel band holding it together ?
I've not seen anyone supplying them. Or offering a service to do this ??
They'd have to be rolled on, they are VERY tight.

[Rex]

Easy, just use a thin bead of clear silicon sealant to seal the join between the reflector and glass. It's all held together anyway (just as the earlier separate reflector and glass type were) by the clamping action of the rim onto the headlamp bowl..

[john.k]

I believe Lucas referred to them as "prefocus",while the earlier ones had a bulb with a clamp around it to focus the beam.

[iansoady]

I thought that prefocus were similar but the lens and reflector were separate. It's probably immaterial at this distance.

[Rex]

The earlier type John K refers to allowed the bulb to be adjusted further in or out for focus and clamped in place in the reflector, while the later so-called pre-focus type are the ones where the bulb is inserted from the back of the reflector and is located by a tongue and groove arrangement to ensure the bulb is in the correct orientation, and is held in place by the two spring-loaded terminals in the cap.

[mini-me]

where would this site be without problematic terrots?

[Rex]

Ummmm.....