Exterior lighting upgrades

[duodec]

So does electrical, other than interior/instruments, go here?  There doesn't seem to be an obviously named category for it.

When I first bought my '71 Challenger I worked at a parts store (foreign, ick, but it was a family business).  One advantage to that (besides having a mailing address that got me into a  lot of free catalogs and invited to the SEMA shows every year) was finding out about a few advantages nations not burdened with the uber-bureaucratic D.O.T. enjoyed.  One of them was better headlights and backup lights.

I managed to talk my Aunt (and boss!) into getting me a set of Carello H4 low and H1 high beam headlights, and also ordered a few odd Osram Porsche driving light bulbs (non-halogen) that fit a standard bayonet base).  They really brightened up the reverse lights, but were within power and heat limits so didn't cause any wiring  or lens problems.  I never bothered to try and locate higher output brake lights (dual filament).

The only problem I had was that the circuit breaker in the headlight switch could not handle the high beams; an external relay fixed that.

My 30 year old Carellos are still fine, and barring something better being available I will put them back in the car when its ready.  The Porsche backup light bulbs are apparently difficult to get, and mine saw a lot of use (and higher wattage bulbs don't last as long) so I don't want to count on them.

So... what are some current well recommended options for external lighting?  I've seen a few posts about tail light LED panels, replacement LED bayonet base bubs, etc.  The 'sealed replaceable element' headlights, like Cibie didn't used to be very well thought of; I know my Carellos had far better output and patterning.  I'd like to keep higher output backup lights (usable to actually see behind you as opposed to just signalling that you are backing up) and I definitely want at least the same power/quality as the Carellos up front.  Brake light enhancement would be a plus too.

I had planned on polishing or otherwise upgrading the refliectivity of the tail-light housings.  Anything else to be done there?

Thanks

Rich

[camjam]

Clean up the lenses really good and clear coat them. They look like new.
The LED's i've got in my Chally and they are great.

[moper]

The H4 conversiopns I've seen are great..But you need to make sure the wiring is up to snuff. The only LEDs I've seen that I like were for '72-4 Cuda. They were much brighter, but you didnt see the individual LEDS.

[duodec]

Moper,
    I agree on the H4 conversions; thats what my Carello low-beams have in them.  No problem with wiring (I used the stock 55/60 watt units, and the stock 55w H1s in the high beams); just the switch circuit breaker.  Of course the car is getting new wiring, or at least solidly rebuilt wiring in its rebuild and I plan on upgrading any high power use lines (alternator, main feed to the interior, headlights, etc) as well as keeping a relay in place.

     I used to have a set of Zelmot driving lights on the car too.  No pictures though.  I thought it looked pretty cool back then... heh!... Glad I used clamp on mounts instead of bolt through the bumpers.  Also glad I didn't use them much given my farily stock charging system (I did have the 10 gauge main lead replacing the one overheating bulkhead connector; that helped).

Rich