So you want to make your headlights Electric Pop Up Eh ?

[pmallinson]

Hi Everyone,, just to prove I have not left and forgotten you all

Have a look at this place for getting the bits for NOT ONLY your carb connectors, rods and levers but Also adjustable rods that must be perfect for connecting your electric motor(s) for headlamp raising to the cross bar which moved the pods !!
http://www.piercemanifolds.com/linkage.htm

Have fun

[richboyd]

Peter,

An excellent resource. Like you, I am fabricating linkage to replace the headlight vacuum pods with electric motors. These bits will speed my fabrication a lot.

Thanks,
Rich Boyd

[steveww]

For those of us on the European side of the pond http://www.webcon.co.uk/ have the same items listed

[alaric]

Hi all. Can this be done with just one motor using the linkage bar that's already in the nose of the car? If that motor failed I guess you'd need to be able to reach in to manually raise the lights.

Sean.

[steveww]

If you are using the MX5 motors they have a manual override.

[Matt]

I made my own electric headlamp pod lift motor system a couple of years ago, I used the balance bar and one of the old springs to counter weight it.
It has worked very well, I never had to use the manual override

Matt

[alaric]

Matt, that's brilliant. So using the springs the power requirement on the motor is the inertia of the headlight assemblies while cranking them up or down - as the car goes over bumps. These motors are very highly geared with a worm drive aren't they, so the motor should just pop in where the original vacuum unit was. So comparing the motor force against the vacuum unit should give me a hint on the requirements on the motor.

Which motor did you use?

Thanks.

Sean.

[Matt]

My motor came from an old toyota supra (?15 form a scrapyard) but it's the same motor as used in the mx5 and even the Lotus excel !

I used the rose joints from the scrap supra and some stainless threaded rod, I made my own control box, I knocked the whole lot up in a morning and haven't touched it since.

If you need help with the control box just let me know

Matt

[pmallinson]

There was another posting on here ages ago on this and a very neat installation which I saved the picture off to use when doing the conversion myself.
But never needed to as the lights and vacuum system worked flawlessly all the time I had it, hence the sale of the pair of motors presently on eBay :

Her is the picture I got from previous forum topic, I can't remember who did this but a VERY neat and professional job

Cheers

[beresneva]

I made my own electric headlamp pod lift motor system a couple of years ago, I used the balance bar and one of the old springs to counter weight it.
It has worked very well, I never had to use the manual override

Matt

Matt, I have a 71 +2130S convertible: very interested tohave more details of your ''one motor'' solution...pictures too...I gues the left hand side of the lotus is freeest for installing the motor right side has the air trunking etc) is this best ? : in which case should I get a LH or RH Mazda motor...? Thanks in anticipation. Tony