What was the first year for Chevrolet to use sealed beamed headlights....1939 or 1940? I have heard both but I always assumed that it was 1940.

It was 1940-no car had them in 1939....thats the reason all common 1940 cars had some kind of a seperate parking lamp. Willys and Graham were about the only cars that didn't make the change.

Thanks for the info. Chevy Gene. That's what I thought.

Were these made by corcoran brown? They were metal backed and had a bulb inside,I have looked for some history on the first sealed beams but found very little.any one help.

The sealed beams used in the '40 by Chrysler were "Brown" brand.
The GM came in a Tungsol box and ;ater Guide.
All had the metal back. Most other cars used GE which were all glass....they all interchanged.

Is there a way to convert a '39 to sealed beam if the car's electrical system has already been changed over to 12 volts?

In the 1940's they made kits to convert a pre-sealed beam car to sealed beams. The kit for a 1939 Chevrolet fits that year only.Someday you may find one on eBay or at a swap meet. With the kit you could use the 6 V or large 12 V sealed beam.

my 41 Willys didn't have sealed beams.mike

i installed halogen bulds in the original reflectors of our 39 chevy woodie. think i got them from chevs of the 40's. they are considerably brighter than the original bulbs.they are also 6 volts. mike

If you can't find an old style kit like Gene suggested HAGAN makes an adapter kit for sealed beams that will fit your 39. Bob Drake offers a kit to convert Forrrd reflectors to 12 volt Halogen bulbs which can be used to convert your stock reflectors to 12 volt Halogen bulbs. I have a set in my 39. The bulbs that are used are actually motorcycle bulbs and are available at most motorcycle shops. I&I offers a Halogen reflector kit for the 38 Chevy but the last time I checked they didn't offer the 39. You might check to see if they now offer the 39.

DD

Thanks all! I didn't realize there were so many options. I think I'm going to try to tweek the factory bulb and lense setup to produce satisfactory light as suggested above before I consider converting to a sealed beam. I wasn't aware this could be done. I acquired this car with an aftermarket set of sealed beam lights mounted to the front bumper and the factory headlights disconnected. I was told that the old original lights are not sufficient for todays driving and that there was nothing that could be done about this. I like the idea of using the factory originals if possible.

A few years ago I had a pair of '31 headlight reflectors redone in some kind of high tech process by Uvira in Oregon. Even with standard bulbs they are brighter than sealed beam headlights. I don't know if they still offer this service, I found no mention of it on their website.

You are correct, and I had the same service done to the headlight reflectors on my 1930 Chevrolet Sport Coupe. However, I don't believe that UVIRA still offers this service.

And speaking of headlights. Is there a trick to putting the headlights together on a 31 coupe? I am having a devil of a time trying to get it all together. It seems as though the cork gasket might be to thick. Once the lense is in place and the outer rim is on I can not tighten the rim into place. Any ideas?

Mike,

Did you have to make any modifications to your reflectors to install the bulbs? Did the new bulbs come with a socket that attached to the reflector? I too am considering this modification. I am also going to get the reflectors resilverplated.

Thanks,

Rich