When I purchased my Speedster I was informed that the parking lights were not working. I finally got around to working on that the other day. I found that the wires for the parking lights were either never wired up to the parking lights or someone removed them somewhere along the line.
I wanted them working and after reading several previous forum topics I also decided I wanted amber bulbs. I went to the local Pep Boys but could not find any #67 amber bulbs. I went home defeated and decided to just wire up the clear #67's that were in the sockets. After getting the driver's side all hooked up and working I started on the passenger side. While trying to attach the positive side spade that I installed to the existing tab on the light socket I broke the tab off. I searched through my collection of nuts and bolts and couldn't find a way to reattach the tab. Frustrated I took the socket off, taped up the connectors that I had installed and put it all back together and went in the house. (I was trying to balance working on the car and giving attention to my wife)
This weekend I took a drive on Saturday with Teby so he could put some miles on his car after getting it back from the doctor as he called it. On Sunday my wife and I went on a drive with Teby and Troy this time. I explained what I did and Troy offered to give me a new socket set-up for the light. I told him great and I'd get it later. When I got back from the drive I had been thinking about it and I really wanted amber bulbs so I went back to Pep Boys. I had to get on my knees in the store to see things on the bottom shelf but I found some universal sockets that accepted an 1156A bulb which is larger and amber colored and more readily available than the 67's.
Of course they only had one so I bought it along with the bulbs. The gal at the counter said she could check another store for inventory, sell it to me, and I could pick it up there. I said great. Paid for two sockets and the bulbs and drove a few miles to the other store. The kid working at the other store has an "original" Manx that his dad built back in the early 70's and it was his now. He heard me in the parking lot and asked me a lot of questions. I picked up the part and went home.
Today was my day off so I finished the stereo project, put some rubber padding in the door frame to protect the leading edge of the door when it opens, and fixed my lights. I started with the side that already had the broken socket. I just needed to grind off a little piece of metal where the tab had been spot welded to the bucket. I pre-fit the universal socket to make sure it was universal before I did that. I'm learning that not everything is what it says it is with these Speedsters.
The universal socket fit great, bent the tabs to hold it in place, wired it up, installed the ground, and voila I had light. Quickly re-did the side I had originally fixed and everything looks great. I took the time to use butt-connectors so if I need to remove the whole headlight bucket I could so more easily than the previous method.
I discovered I probably need new headlight adjusting screws as the heads on mine are pretty bad and are difficult to get a phillips head screwdriver to even grab the slots. Another project finished and another discovered.
Oh well, it's all part of the madness.
