'98 Tradewinds Headlight frames

[Poseidon]

SO... after buying the coach, need to get her road ready... want to replace the headlights and took off the exterior trim and am looking at this... don't think I'd be able to take this apart without snapping it... are these frames common to get(?) I would think so right... having a hard time trying search, maybe someone has replaced this before or a source that is somewhat comparable for retro/upgrade.. Any help is greatly appreciated!!

[DKStall]

You are correct. Attempting to remove the headlamp retaining rings will indeed snap the tiny tack welds that hold the mounting tabs on.




The bad news is that these are not the popular retaining ring that the auto or truck parts store stock. The problem with those are that their ring is too deep (won't hold the lamp against the mount) and the tabs one one side are in the wrong position (closer together). Here are the dimensions of the retaining ring found on the vintage National RV.



The mounting fixture used by NRV is from Mazda and was used on the 1991 B2200 and 1992 B2600 trucks. The Mazda part number is BA03-51-033. You can find them new, but the price is ridiculous. I was fortunate to get a couple used Mazda rings from a pick-your-part junk yard for $1 each. That got me through the first two that I had to remove (break) to replace broken lamps. When I upgraded headlamps I knew I'd be breaking the tabs off again, and I did. This time however, I just riveted the old ones back together. I clamped the tab to the ring in the proper position with two needle nose vice grips and drilled the ring and tab at the same time. I used a 1/8" rivet to put the pieces together. There's enough flex and room for the rivet head so there was no problem putting the ring around the new lamp.





Hope this helps!

[Poseidon]

Originally Posted by DKStall

You are correct. Attempting to remove the headlamp retaining rings will indeed snap the tiny tack welds that hold the mounting tabs on.




The bad news is that these are not the popular retaining ring that the auto or truck parts store stock. The problem with those are that their ring is too deep (won't hold the lamp against the mount) and the tabs one one side are in the wrong position (closer together). Here are the dimensions of the retaining ring found on the vintage National RV.



The mounting fixture used by NRV is from Mazda and was used on the 1991 B2200 and 1992 B2600 trucks. The Mazda part number is BA03-51-033. You can find them new, but the price is ridiculous. I was fortunate to get a couple used Mazda rings from a pick-your-part junk yard for $1 each. That got me through the first two that I had to remove (break) to replace broken lamps. When I upgraded headlamps I knew I'd be breaking the tabs off again, and I did. This time however, I just riveted the old ones back together. I clamped the tab to the ring in the proper position with two needle nose vice grips and drilled the ring and tab at the same time. I used a 1/8" rivet to put the pieces together. There's enough flex and room for the rivet head so there was no problem putting the ring around the new lamp.





Hope this helps!

I can't thank you enough on the dimensions and parts from the Mazda conversion... I'm going to do the same as I have the equipment to do so at the shop here when I get back... THANK YOU David.

[Poseidon]

Originally Posted by Poseidon

I can't thank you enough on the dimensions and parts from the Mazda conversion... I'm going to do the same as I have the equipment to do so at the shop here when I get back... THANK YOU David.

Just another quick question... I would Imagine that the mounting bracket that you have is part of that mazda set up... your bracket looks fairly new as mine is from 1998 and shows its wear... am I safe to assume that it is a Mazda bracket also(?)... I'm more concerned about the structural bracket mounted to coach than just to the trim rings..

[Bob_C]

The bracket is called a bucket......if you go looking for them...

[DKStall]

Originally Posted by Poseidon

I would Imagine that the mounting bracket that you have is part of that mazda set up... your bracket looks fairly new as mine is from 1998 and shows its wear... am I safe to assume that it is a Mazda bracket also(?)... I'm more concerned about the structural bracket mounted to coach than just to the trim rings..

Yes, I believe that the Mount Ring and the back plate (not shown) are Mazda and the same as we have on our Tradewinds. I still have the original mounts on my '99. I bet that you can pull them, give them a light sand blast, or good stiff wire brushing, a heavy coat of black Rustoleum, and get another 20 years out of them. I did have one threaded hole fail, but I just move up one size and re-tapped it.