Restoring the Eyes
After reviewing the state of the aftermarket arena, the option of replacing my badly bruised headlights with low quality reproductions lights went from a slim chance to none. I did, however, purchased a set of chrome reproduction rings out of pure desperation, but once I mated them up to my Cibie lenses, I completely scrapped the idea. I needed either a HELLA, BOSCH or CIBIE logo on my lenses of course. Plain glass would make the whole project look aftermarket (cheap) regardless of the fact that the only thing not original is the repro headlights I have installed. I found a few sites that sold new and complete European-style HELLA” lights for around $350. This is great but my beetle has front screw mounts at the times 5 and 7 o’clock. The ones sold new are at 7 and 2 o’clock. This is one of the correct screw positions if you have a 60’s Beetle, but (un) fortunately, I have a late 50’s project going on. I can not help it, I am ruled by perfection.
So, what are the options and what does it translate to in dollars and cents? Well, I could have ordered the new HELLA lights mentioned above
for $350 or restore my current set. Below I have listed the financial option for each method of headlights replacements.
New HELLA lights: $350. Aftermarket lights: $90 - $100 Rebuild: $135
This is my suggestion for anyone in the same dilemma. I have estimated the cost of rebuilding my original lights to approximately $135 (actually cheaper, I’ll explain further down) because there is only one major charge in the process and that is re-chroming your rings. If you do your home work, you can get your rings re-chromed for approximately $50 - $ $110. The trick to this is finding a set of rings with no dents. Chrome shops charge extra for dent removal. A pack of sand paper cost around $5.00. And finally, primer (etching, sanding capable and sealing) with a grand total of $10.00. This is the aerosol can type sold in most automotive supply store. And the final cost is black and silver enamel paint $10. You should buy the highest gloss black and silver paint you can find.
Here I stripped the paint off of the old bucket completely with sandpaper and repainted it with black enamel
paint. After the black paint was added, I masked up the outside and painted the inside silver. I also put several layers of clear-coat for protection. With the bucket and the rings restored, I am on third base. I researched a few places to have my headlight rings re-chromed and the prices are rough (a very wide range in prices) and are
written above. Right before I sent my rings off, a friend sold me a pair of NOS rings with the correct time on the
screws for only $45. This was one of my best finds since I located my 1958 that has roots in Southern California
(very dry, low rust).
Here is one of my headlight buckets painted black and silver and ready to be mounted back onto my car with NOS rings. This process has 
saved me the embarrassment of using cheap reproduction lights and has also saved me roughly $270, had I purchased a new setup from a VW vendor. The last picture shows the headlights mounted on my project car and trust me, my bug is happy to have its original parts back on with a cleaner look. The decision is completely yours, but I do recommend that you keep on your car what the good lord (VW) intended for you to have. This way you are 100% sure that your car has the correct specs.
The end result!
