68-69 Charger Headlight vacuum harnesses---back in stock!!

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Just received word from a friend over at Gotham City Muscle cars that they have the headlight harnesses back in stock!   For those that need them get em while they're hot!!

68 69 Charger headlight hose kit
Back in stock ready to ship !
These are the same tooling as the discontinued ones from a few years back they are also NOT the imported version correct color coded , grooved hoses as original come with detailed instructions !
Made in the USA

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Gotham-City-Muscle-Cars/136562343038596?fref=nf

[Ghoste]

Fantastic!!

[bill440rt]

Well that's good news indeed! 

Do they list a price, Chris? 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

$199 plus $12 ship to US. He said he can do group buys. Daytona & Superbird also avail. Same vendor as before

[Hard Charger]

several suppliers have been selling them since winter. but for more money.

$199 is a decent price. I bought one from the guy making them in Georgia for $187. they are good quality.

only problem I had was the intake vac hose was taped to far forward in the harness. I need to break the tape and slide it up a bit to reach the vac port..

[VegasCharger]

Great news!!! Thanks for sharing 

Count me in if DC.com members do a group buy.

[Ghoste]

I think me as well.

[JB400]

Wouldn't hurt to get one  

I'm not on Facebook, couldn't get contact info.

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Ill talk to my friend & see if I can set one up....

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

5-10 pieces he can do $5 off...15-20 he can do $10 off.  They are already at a pretty decent price.

[ChargedNJ]

Is this the only way to make the headlight doors operate?  I'm sure one of you geniuses have figured out how to do this in some other way; obviously it wouldnt be stock, but the end result same.  If so, lets see your custom work!

[Ghoste]

You can rig up any proper size and length of hoses to make them work.  This is for an oem correct style appearance.

[JB400]

There are electric kits available IF you want to spend  $500 + for it.

[ChargedNJ]

wow, surprising that the aftermarket solution is pricier than the stock replacement!  But then again the stock replacement is just the harnesses and the electric aftermarket is full new motors?  If they're $199 for the pair then i guess thats the best way to go, but if thats for each, then electric might be a better option.  Do you have a link JB?

[Ghoste]

Charger Specialties offers them.

http://www.chargerspecialties.com/

[Troy]

To replace the entire "stock" system is more than $199. The vacuum pods have a tendency to leak and they aren't *technically* rebuildable. The vacuum can that sits under the battery tray, the special switch (also prone to leaking), and the hoses had been unavailable from the dealer for many years and were very hard to find NOS or in good used condition. That is when Charger Specialties came up with the electrically operated system. It's also useful if you have an engine that doesn't produce much vacuum. It's only been recently that any of these parts were reproduced - and the hoses were, initially, a very small production run which sold out rather quickly. Sure, there are lots of cheaper alternatives (workarounds) that people have come up with over the years but none are "correct" - if that's what you're going for.

Troy

[ChargedNJ]

Nope, definitely dont care about correct; my only objective is reliable opening/closing.  So is it really air that drove the stock setup??  Seems like such an incredibly stupid way to design it.

[Troy]

Nope, definitely dont care about correct; my only objective is reliable opening/closing.  So is it really air that drove the stock setup??  Seems like such an incredibly stupid way to design it.

Yes, air. It's a simple and cheap design that usually works pretty well. With age it starts to have lots of issues that can be hard to trace. My first 68 Charger that I bought in 1986 already had multiple hacks to make it work right. To this day most heat and A/C valves are vacuum operated - not to mention all sorts of things on the engine itself.

Troy

[Ghoste]

It is engine vacuum.  The 66-67 units were electric and prone to problem of their own so vacuum would seem a viable viable solution.  Remember this was a few decades ago in auto technology and even then, the electric and vacuum methods tried by other mfgs for their headlight doors were prone to various problems.  Think of older Vettes with the "winking" doors (vacuum) or 80's Firebirds with them stuck open (electric).  The RS Camaro's of the 60's had slotted headlight doors so in case of failure there would still be some light.
Basically there were two choices, electric or vacuum (discounting the handcrank version of the early Cords) and the Big Three tried them both with various ideas to make them work and they all suffered in some way.

[bill440rt]

And didn't some AMC products have vacuum operated windshield wipers? 
Think of the nightmare they must have been. 

[Ghoste]

There were a fair number used vacuum operated wipers over the years, yes, and the 68 Vette had a vacuum operated wiper door (wonder why that was a one year only thing?).

[ChargedNJ]

i cant imagine why it was so tough for these manufacturers to make a reliable electric headlight door..even back then; cant be that much different than a wiper and with 1/10,000th the abuse!

[Ghoste]

Primarily because of being exposed to ALL weather conditions.  It was problematic enough that even with the advances in electric motors (and there have been a lot since the 60's when it comes to this application) that just ask yourself, how many covered headlight doors are there on the market right now?

[ChargedNJ]

perhaps...i dunno, just seems nuts.   is it that the wiper motors are concealed from moisture?  I thought it was just a style that wasn't big anymore.

[bill440rt]

The vacuum pods are sealed units. What's prone to failure is the diaphragm inside the pods, or the vacuum hoses themselves dry rotting/cracking over time.
Electric motors have other wearable parts inside (brushes, etc), and at the time might have been difficult to manufacture as weather resistant. 

[HeavyFuel]

Nope, definitely dont care about correct; my only objective is reliable opening/closing.  So is it really air that drove the stock setup??  Seems like such an incredibly stupid way to design it.

i cant imagine why it was so tough for these manufacturers to make a reliable electric headlight door..even back then; cant be that much different than a wiper and with 1/10,000th the abuse!

Hmmm.  Too bad you can't go back in time and be a Chrysler engineer.    

[ChargedNJ]

Nope, definitely dont care about correct; my only objective is reliable opening/closing.  So is it really air that drove the stock setup??  Seems like such an incredibly stupid way to design it.

i cant imagine why it was so tough for these manufacturers to make a reliable electric headlight door..even back then; cant be that much different than a wiper and with 1/10,000th the abuse!

Hmmm.  Too bad you can't go back in time and be a Chrysler engineer.   

Haha.  They would have needed a gov't bailout back then if that was the case!  I hope im not coming of as the douchy know-it-all..i don't know shit

[Dino]

When the vacuum system is in good shape, the doors work flawlessly.  I have never had an issue with mine on either Charger.  Besides I love the pshhh it makes.  

[Ghoste]

The other big issue is winter driving.  If you flip on your wipers and they are frozen to the windshield, usually you just rip your blade off, although I suspect if it were heavily sstuck under snow and you just left it trying to push it off you could burn out a wiper motor too.  If the headlight door is stuck, people are more apt to leave it on and burn out the thing, and yes, it is also a lot more exposed to weather up there in the nose as oppsed to a wiper motor under the dash.

[myk]

i cant imagine why it was so tough for these manufacturers to make a reliable electric headlight door..even back then; cant be that much different than a wiper and with 1/10,000th the abuse!

Check out fellow member JamieZ's work with electric motors:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMKNcmV_h9U&feature=youtu.be

And more detail about that 'mod as well as other work on his car:

http://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/showthread.php?60200-JamieZ-s-68-Charger/page2&s=5b8e925fa6a01163bcfb25478f5224ee

As you can see the motors are not plug and play; there's a bit of 'fabbing involved.  I will switch to motors one day, but I have more pressing $$$$ 'mods to deal with first...

[69bfan]

If anyone is still needing a set of hoses for your Charger or wing car, I have inventory in stock.  They are still $185 plus shipping.  For you guys going to Carlisle or the Mopar Nats, I will have them there for that show.  If anyone is interested, drop me a message or give me a call at 404-643-5760.  I have sold over 25 kits to fellow members on this site and will stand behind the kits. 
Thanks,
Richard