Morris Minor Owners Club

Many years since I've played much with "proper" headlights. I need to adjust the beam height. Book says remove chrome rim. Does it just prise off? top/bottom or not. I don't want to start levering as I can see the paint chipping in my mind!!

Should be a securing screw on the underside of the rim - slightly to one side about 5 o'clock. Then yes - it prises up and off the raised edges on the bowl. Just take care not to gouge the wing (or your fingers) while 'prising' !

A fiddly job at the best of times.
Remove the screw at the bottom of the headlight rim then lever it off from the bottom over the lip at the top. Mind the paintwork with the screw driver. This will expose 2 or 3 adjusters depending on the type of headlight bowl. They will probably be rusted solid so buy yourself a pair of plastic bowls and a nice new pair of Wipac halogen headlights.
The fun really starts when you refit the rims over the light surrounds and try to line up the screw hole with the captive thread. It will either line up 1st time or you will be swearing and kicking the hubcaps!

I couldn't see any screw, but it was dark at the time.... because I was trying to adjust the headlights.... and I was getting dazzled.... and, and, I really ought to think these things through a bit more thoroughly, ie in the daylight!! Thanks Mr Ecosse, yet again!

Ohh and thanks, Mr Perry, for really cheering me up. Now I begin to see why the last owner didn't do it!!

The screw securing lug inside often rots away - and there may be no screw now, the rim just clinging on by the skin of it's teeth!

Thats it, I'm going to bed, I'll worry about it when (if) the sun comes out and I'm in a better frame of mind!! Thanks all!

Not sure on the 'correctness' of my approach, but I found the rims a very tight fit, and I ended up putting a bradawl throught the rim (screw hole) and into the treaded hole and then lever it on or off!
Seemed to work quite well!

The rims stay on quite snugly without the retaining screw

Once they have been on for a while they tend to weld themselves to the cage. I put some copperslip around the back of the rim when fitting to help later removal.

Thanks for all the help. I couldn't find the rim screws because...they weren't there! But the rims are as you say a good fit. Fitted a pair of Wipac lamps with halogen bulbs while I was there, but they don't look right, so i'll probably go back to the sealed beams in the lighter weather. They look more in keeping with the rounded shape of the car, having a more pronounced curve to the lense. Look somehow friendlier!!

Not sure what year your car is Linearaudio but sealed beams didn't come in until October 63. Before that they had the flatter halogen type units.

Well -they were hardly 'halogen' units pre 63 - it hadn't been invented!

Still looks much "chubbier" with sealed beams- more happy, like! Am I taking this all a bit too far? Wheres my therapist?

You are right - the sealed beams have a nice rounded look to them, although I think the earlier 'bulb' type light units were equally rounded! However - when Halogens were first introduced many moons ago - one of the main suppliers was Cibie - who made flat (actually slightly concave) light units with the new halogen bulbs - and it was considered then very 'flash' to have these new lights on ones car!

Aaah yes- my brothers Saab 95 (3cylinder, 3 carb 2 stroke wailing banshee) had those! I'd forgotten all about them till now. Problem I now have is to get the right headlight adjusted down enough, ther is a huge amount of headlamp rim showing out of the top of the embellisher rim. I've got glassfibrewings and can only guess that the headlamp mounting face wasn't moulded vertical, certainly looks to be sloping back... oh dear!

When I said Halogen "type" I meant this sort which was pre sealed beam AFAIK

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Nooooo - these look very much after sealed beam ! And indeed - does appear to be halogen.

Ohhhhh, must take one apart and have a look behind then. I'd always thought these were originals....

Ah-ha I notice your headlight is sticking well out at the top too, and the rim looks a bit "stretched" and not close to body at bottom, just what I've got, but to the extent the rim keeps popping off!