Would you like to have 1st. Class Fully Re-Silvered Reflectors in your Headlights???

I know that sounds totally unreasonable given that Hi-Jet Headlights became out of stock a good 3 years ago and before they did, Daihatsu were selling New Headlights for over £500 each plus vat. At the same time they were available in Italy in Left Hand Dip for €45 plus taxes and carriage etc.

Good Second Hand Headlights are making as much as £250 each. Several of us here on the Forum have been trying for ages to find an answer to the problem that can make a Hi-Jet unviable to keep on the road. As I mentioned week ago when talking with my good friend Richard and who is also my accountant ( talking of which I got a £354 rebate notification just today from HRMC) he has a Client who does high quality chromium AND Headlight Re-Silvering. He said that he would have a word with them and they contacted me on Friday and I had a good chat with them.

Richard was going to take a reflector with him last Monday but I didn't have one ready. He is back down to the Island this weekend so after a chat with the Company they asked me how many I wanted Re-Silvered. I said that I would be able to send a minimum of 6 and probably 8 or even 10. I have four stripped down to the Headlight Bowl or Reflector now and hopefully by the time Richard is down next week end will have the 8 or 10 ready to take.

The turn around time on these will be 3 to 4 weeks. We are talking £1000 layout here for ten Reflectors which is a lot of dosh.. If you think of two recon Headlights for £200 and the Novelty of being able to see where you are going again at night it's a no brainer for a Headlight that will last a lot longer than the life of a Hi-Jet. Should you decide to sell your Hi-Jet sometime in the future, make sure that you have got a bit of Mot on it, whip the Headlights out and put some duff ones back in to sell it. Then you have a pair of perfect Headlights that you can sell for £400 + the pair.

If any of you are interested in this, once I have one of the Reflectors back I will post pictures of the finished job and you can make up your mind then. I will need your Reflector(s) first in undamaged condition metal work wise and bracketry wise and no rust. Providing the Reflector(s) are ok I can send you a Re-Silvered one pretty quickly as I will have some in Stock.
I'm hardly expecting a mad rush as it is a lot of dosh but it is a superb answer to a long time problem.

Excellent, you've worked out how to get the reflector out keeping the rest in one piece  is it difficult?!

Works best if you have a spare of lamps to use while Woody Works his Wonders, or you can't go out at night!

I can't go out at night or the tag reports it anyway.......

I only have a timex

PFM wrote:I only have a timex

Was looking for a witty watch related reply, but failed, guess I'm not very breitling.......

8 out of 10 for that I think Logi.

Getting the reflector out isn't exactly the easiest of jobs, especially with the size of my Mobile Bear Traps. The most awkward one to get to is the ball joint on the Load Adjustment Motor. Extreme patience and care is needed. But I am getting the hackle of it now. Got two more Headlights to go. in view of the lack of interest I am for the time being getting only six Re-Silvered .

Which in theory free's up some of my 15 plus reasonable Headlights for sale when I have reassembled the six Jigsaws.

As most Hi-Jet owners know or learn sooner or later that good Headlights are one of the rarest commodities known to Man throughout the civilised world that drive on the left hand side of the road.
Not that, that is many countries, hence the rarity of the secondhand Headlight.

Many of us have looked for answers so I was chuffed to find a company that could re-silver reflectors.
I don't need any myself due to a reasonable stock of them.
I have pursued this source through numerous phone calls, photos and emails to arrive at a rather frightening price for one reflector.

But how many of you would be prepared to spend over £100 to keep their Hi-Jet on the road. Obviously it depends on your financial position and the condition of your Van, whether it is in good enough condition to warrant spending more money on it .

Anything with a years ticket on it these days has got to be worth £500+. So £100 isn't going to buy you much. Unless you are decidedly jammy like me - - SOMETIMES.
2016 wasn't a jammy year at all for me.

I am going to get 6 reflectors re-silvered and perhaps when you have seen the finished product might be pleased to get your own lights done. I am not going to be making anything out of this. Many of you have had free help in many different ways from me, so I have pursued this headlights issue for any of you to benefit from, not for myself.

But I am rather disappointed that I seem to have wasted my time in chasing up this source and it seems to be taken as bit of a joke. But if anyone is interested in the future I will try and keep this source open and available to me.

My sense of humor is still in tact, as I am one of the worse Mickey takers and acerbic beggars on here.

I have been to the garage again today and found quite a bit more stock that I have completely forgotten about. I still have a 28ft long Caravan stuffed to the roof with spares and a Transit Luton body too.
So who knows what I might find in there. I am still having rough days. Yesterday was spent in bed but other good days now that I have broken the Phobia of going to the Garage. Shouldn't be too long before I will be open for business again for about another 5-6 months until the Landlord puts the whole site on the Market. I am busy sorting and Squirreling away spares.

You can always contact me by email at :
thehijetmaniow@gmail.com

I would just get 1 done to see what the finish is like. Then send the rest when you've seen the goods.

No one will jump up and down for them, they are a necessity, not a fun purchase like alloy wheels or something.

They are the sort of thing that would sell slowly but surely for £250 a pair on ebay.

They could be marketed as "reconditioned" but the mounting lugs need to be intact and the bulb holder not shagged.

Same time a couple of pairs on your own shelf will get used oved the the years.

Cheers Matt. Not really interested in doing the painfully slogging job of disemboweling the headlights to sell anywhere.

The time taken already in stripping these cases down has been very time consuming.
Certainly the biggest worry is getting to the Load Leveling Motor ball joint without breaking it.
I am trying to make up some little tools to aid releasing the reflectors from the nasty little " Roundheads". With my " Cavalier" approach to life, hopefully I will be able to get it down to a fine art and post a step by step picture guide of "How - To" now that I have finally mastered the Dark Art of Posting Pictures.

I just hope that it doesn't take me 3 years to master the Dark Art of Disemboweling a Valeo Masterpiece.

Woodie wrote:But I am rather disappointed that I seem to have wasted my time in chasing up this source and it seems to be taken as bit of a joke.

Laughing with, not at you Woody. I had made myself a mental note to check the state of both my vans (and one has an MOT due soon), but I do have a spare pair of headlamps so may not need any from your source for a while. Am sure you will find takers for at least 6 from those on here if not more over a year. As HJ said, most people will only seek them out when the MOT man says 'NO'.

I have asked for some pictures of some oblong headlights  to be emailed to me tomorrow so I can put them up on the Forum.

Some of the highlights that I have brought back today are still like new. I have found 18 complete Headlights today and a box of 12 door mirrors although most of them will have to go back on vans/pickups that will be for sale as I take them off of the doors in the yard to stop them being nicked.

I also found another thermostat housing on Friday to replace the one I sent to London.

Out of curiosity: are dull headlight reflectors also an issue for people on this side of the north sea? I never hear anything from the dutch about them and my 17 year old van passed the APK (VAT) without any remark.

Different headlight manufacturers. Not Valeo. Ludicrously you can still buy new ones over here for £18.
I don't know who made them back then whether Japanese Stanley or some other manufacturer.  
But they still fell apart with rust. Must be something to do with your climate perhaps.  Obviously better than ours.

New ones now almost certainly Chinese. I have some new ones in my garage here at home.

I see!

Not with our dull reflectors you don't!!

Well I have phoned the Chroming people 7 times in 5 days this week and 3 times asked for some photos of their Re-Silvering jobs from their Portfolio and so far nothing. Only once have they returned my call.
I sent another email to the lady concerned at 15-30 today but no response. I will send a few more emails to the other email addresses they have and see if I can get a response.

It just seems to fall on deaf ears. Mind you it is often a sign of just how busy a business is which is a sign that they are in demand.
I will call again on Monday.

Or they are a typical unorganised small business ?

Or they are not interested in the task?

http://www.powerfuluk.com/halogen-headlight-bedford-rascal-each-rhd.html
Now then now then 
How's about that then?

I stuck some tin foil on mine 
Passed the mot 
Gold star

Your about 2 years behind the times Dennis. I have been buying them on Ebay for £18 for the duration. I buy them 6 at a time. Incredible value aren't they??
When selling a 993c I put a new pair in them and it really takes people's attention off of any other minor body faults.

I am a lot more than 2 years behind the time you know 
I am still in the the early 80s and its bloody great  
 Why re chrome then ? Or can't you get them anymore

You haven't been paying attention have you Dennis??

Probably not 
Sorry but 
Its not easy living in the 80s you know, thatchers Britain, for this is the winter of discontent
Bins not empted, even the dudes at the mortuary are on strike you know.
I am looking good in my Corduroys and mullet though

That was always on my School Report.
Could do a lot better - - if he payed attention. Not much chance of that happening. Boring old facts from the Victorian era trying to compete with the much more interesting things of the 60's like the owners of the shortest mini skirt or the music of the day.
Now that WAS attention grabbing.

Despite another very polite Email to the Chromers asking for a few photos of completed Reflectors, on Friday evening, but not even recognition of the receiving the most Email. Really frustrating.

That's very annoying...twats

That's very annoying...twats

I will give them the benefit of the doubt. The lady I have been dealing with could be on holiday this week I suppose, hence my emails not being answered.
I will call them today and speeak to the Manager I originally talked to and see if we can get some progress.
Always better to deal with the Train Driver. rather than the. Engineers Oil Rag.