• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

The English Corvette - Our Triumph TR8

I've been running LED bulbs that are made to replace a standard H4 bulb in my bikes. Not expensive. Works great. Motorcycles with a single headlight are certainly at a disadvantage in nighttime driving and need all the help they can get. Does not change the look on a classic bike, which I like.
 
BMWCCA said:
I've been running LED bulbs that are made to replace a standard H4 bulb in my bikes. Not expensive. Works great. Motorcycles with a single headlight are certainly at a disadvantage in nighttime driving and need all the help they can get. Does not change the look on a classic bike, which I like.
Click to expand...
There is no legal nor correct LED conversion for an H4, the filament is not in the right position nor omnidirectional so that the reflector and lens can work properly.

Hopefully you will not die in a head-on from a blinded driver, it can be pretty difficult to see the road sometimes when faced with these illegal and glaring “LED conversions” and it is a real risk.

Not trying to bust anyone’s chops, just that there are a LOT of really bad headlamp “conversions” out there and when you’re facing one on a 2-lane, especially in less than ideal conditions, it is a safety concern.
 
SaturationPt said:
There is no legal nor correct LED conversion for an H4, the filament is not in the right position nor omnidirectional so that the reflector and lens can work properly.

Hopefully you will not die in a head-on from a blinded driver, it can be pretty difficult to see the road sometimes when faced with these illegal and glaring “LED conversions” and it is a real risk.

Not trying to bust anyone’s chops, just that there are a LOT of really bad headlamp “conversions” out there and when you’re facing one on a 2-lane, especially in less than ideal conditions, it is a safety concern.
Click to expand...
The problem isn’t the headlights. It’s people installing them and not adjusting them properly. Or the jackass that lifts the front of truck without re aiming the headlights. When they’re set up correctly they aren’t blinding or illegal.
 
TR7s were every where on the roads in the 80s here in New Zealand, along with fait X19s .
I always wanted one but always ended up with Mazda RX2 RX3 sort of cars,
I did have a triumph PI ,that was cool
Yours looks great in green
Well done
 
Nimbley said:
The problem isn’t the headlights. It’s people installing them and not adjusting them properly. Or the jackass that lifts the front of truck without re aiming the headlights. When they’re set up correctly they aren’t blinding or illegal.
Click to expand...

Yes and no.

I agree that proper aiming is essential, but you cannot put an LED in a light designed for a filament-style bulb legally per FMVSS 108.
If the bulb was designed to control the light output from a filament, it does not control the light from an LED, period. This also applies to tail/stop/turn lamps.

Until the ‘80s it was difficult to get away with installing Euro lights on cars, even though they were better in every way, now the FMVSS has included (mostly) the standard for European countries’ lighting and excellent lights are available. Unfortunately however, most aftermarket lights meet no standards at all, at least some of the more honest ones state somewhere on the package that they are not legal for highway use, ... but I think this is only the bigger manufacturers (like PHILLIPS/OSRAM or Sylvania for example), the wave of cheap Chinese lights come over with no such disclaimer/warning and it doesn’t seem like there’s anyone working to keep these in check.
 
At the 51st Virginla Highland Games and Festival - we started with a Scotch Egg at 9am - chated with the folks at the British Antique Car Display. A bit later we joined the first (charity) Whisky Tasting of the day. 5 expressions of Single Malt at 12:30 Sat - then, at the end of the day, TRouble won 2 Awards!
Chieftan's Favorite Car (guess thats like Best of show) and Emma and I got an "Ambassador's Award" because they like our enthusiasm - so we got a bottle of 12 yo Single Malt (!)

ScotchEggs_8887.jpeg

WhiskyTasting_8895.jpeg

BritCarsVaScottishGames_8889.jpeg

BritCarsVaScottishGames-TRouble-Awards_8928.jpeg
We drove all over the area between Sat & Sunday. The Festival was at The Plains, then we went to Flint Hill for a fine Diner. Sunday Am we drove up the mountain and crossed by Skyline Drive to Sperryville, then to Luray for lunch, and back home by 3PM ... just under 200 miles!
Fine British Motoring! Fortunately its been dry and cool all weekend - wonderful weather!
Once home and the car cooled I washed her off for the Fairfax City Labor Day car show Monday 8-3PM! 300+ cars.
 
It was one of the off-the-beaten-path Whiskies we had tasted earlier in the day. WhiskyTasting_Brands_8896.jpeg

But the tasting was an 8yo GlenAllachie, and we won a 12yo!

(you can hit the QR code with your phone and get more info about these brands.)
I get no renumeration for this.
 
hjames said:
Didn't win a trophy today, but had a good turnout at the 26th annual Fairfax (city) Labor Day show.
and now we rest ...
Click to expand...

Come on - get out and drive it, don’t treat it like a garage queen :)

(Heavy sarcasm, you guys are really putting it to use!! Something you rarely see these days with classic/vintage cars. )

Would love to see a driving video of it!!! Need to hear that V8 burble, and maybe putting your foot n it a bit. Apologies if you’ve already posted a driving video, but I don’t remember it if so.
 
peterp1 said:
Come on - get out and drive it, don’t treat it like a garage queen :)

(Heavy sarcasm, you guys are really putting it to use!! Something you rarely see these days with classic/vintage cars. )

Would love to see a driving video of it!!! Need to hear that V8 burble, and maybe putting your foot n it a bit. Apologies if you’ve already posted a driving video, but I don’t remember it if so.
Click to expand...
Okay - here is the video the Seller sent us to see a year ago if we were interested in it - good exhaust sound here -

And here is the video Emma shot Sunday morning as we drove down the mountain from Skyline Drive ...
She hand held the camera above the windshield , so - lotta wind noise ...

(Straight out of her iPhone - might have to right-click/download and view locally)
 
Last edited:
Just registered for the 49th annual Edgar Rohr Memorial Car Meet at the Manassas Train Station Sat Sept 20th.
Yep, that's the station on the cover of the Manassas album cover!

Its the first show I took TRouble to last year; so I'm looking forward to much fun!
Its the Antique Auto Club of America - https://bullrun.aaca.com/2025-rohr-show-entry-form/
 
SaturationPt said:
There is no legal nor correct LED conversion for an H4, the filament is not in the right position nor omnidirectional so that the reflector and lens can work properly.

Hopefully you will not die in a head-on from a blinded driver, it can be pretty difficult to see the road sometimes when faced with these illegal and glaring “LED conversions” and it is a real risk.

Not trying to bust anyone’s chops, just that there are a LOT of really bad headlamp “conversions” out there and when you’re facing one on a 2-lane, especially in less than ideal conditions, it is a safety concern.
Click to expand...
Well, no one has complained and no one is flashing at me. Even other bike riders I've ridden with don't complain when I'm behind them. Here's the bulb I'm using, and yes it is Chinese-made, but the name on it is the credible vintage BMW motorcycle parts supplier out of Colorado. It just may be possible that they did their homework before sticking their name on it. :dunno:

1757089624959.png
1757090683588.png


And here's the bike it's on, the white BMW:

1757090549103.jpeg
 
I looked up EnDuraLast (the manufacturer), and found this:

Application Note: LED bulbs are legal in the USA for Fog Light use but not compliant with DOT / FMVSS108 in the USA for Headlights. Legal for off-road and powersport applications. This restriction applies universally to all LED bulbs for use in halogen headlight housings in the USA, regardless of brand or marketing claims.

Just FYI. The light pattern from that “bulb” is nowhere near that of an H4.

Great bike though, BMW has always made great bikes (and other than Bangle-era styling, ... great cars!).
 
Had a great weekend drive through the edge of the Shen Valley, but the ancient Alpine radio and aftermarket USB cable let us down. Could not get anything to charge Emma's iPhone - even the cig Lighter/USB adapter was wonky. My iPhone in the windshield holder was fine, hers did not work there either! (She shoots lots of pics & runs down her battery much quicker than I do (we both have the same older model, iPhone 13 PRO - tho I'm on IOS 18.6.2, she's on an older ver).
Alpine-CDA7894_5990.JPG

I looked up and ordered a JVC car radio (Receiver is current lingo) - basic $100 unit from Amazon. It came with a wiring harness that snapped into the back of the receiver - so I wired the new plug up with a color code from the old Alpine unit, plugged a USB/Lightning cable in and to my iPhone, and got an Error Code. Argh!! Tried it a couple times, same results - UNRECOGNIZED DEVICE!

I had found out JVC and KENWOOD are now one company. So I checked Best Buy - they had a basic KENWOOD car receiver with USB connector for $109 (in stock) & it uses the same car harness adapter, so I don't have to completely reinstall anything. Went to Best Buy, checked my iPhone with the Demo unit, it played music and showed song info, so bought it, and got it work maybe 20 mins later. Looks pretty good and charges the iPhone too!

Kenwood-wideView_7276.jpeg

Kenwood-CarRadio-Done_8966.jpeg

Happy that it's all working properly, even tho I really don't use the radio (TRouble's exhaust is loud and radio is kinda pointless).
Kenwood-Heather_7274.jpeg

Display colour set to a nice green ... David Sylvian - The Scent of Magnolias .... from an iPhone playlist ...
Kenwood-Scent-_8972.jpeg
 
Tho I swapped out the 2000-era Alpine radio for a new Kenwood, the old speakers are not impressive - no real bass and mostly treble.
So, I'm considered alternate speakers for TRouble. We've got a pair of black Minimus 7s mostly unused, and I just got a pair of Minimus 7 brackets ...
if I wanted to mount them on the back deck ahead of the convertible top! I had something like this in the back of my MGB-GT years ago.
(Had to hunt to find a pair of brackets - ebay for $40) ...

Minimus7&Brackets_9030.jpeg


OR -
I've got a pair of Kenwood 6 1/2 2 ways (Kenwood KFC-1666S) on the way from Crutchfield that I'm hoping
I can just drop in the door panels to just replace the old tired speakers and grills (no-name brand)
Specs say the Kenwoods will go down to 40Hz - that'd be nice, but for $40/pr, call me skeptical!
Should have them by the weekend, so I'll know soon enough if they'll do the job.

Kenwood_KFC-1666S-F.jpg
 
6 1/2 Kenwood speakers arrived from Crutchfield late today. I did have to carve the door panel openings slightly to get them to set into the door, But they sound great -a huge improvement over the noname speakers in there previously (and overall, the Kenwood receiver sounds tons better than the 2000 era Alpine unit).
The car is a convertible with a Loud exhaust note, its not an audiophile listening environment.
That said, I am VERY pleased with this upgrade for just a tich over $150

IMG_9047.jpeg
IMG_9048.jpeg
IMG_9049.jpeg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom