HEADLIGHTS / LED LIGHTING

7" LED Headlights Holley X Morimoto for Classic Cars | HR Tested

7in RetroBright Sealed Beam LED Headlight from Holley

If you are out there running some modern, nonsensical headlights on your classic, what are you doing?! Holley, in partnership with Morimoto, has just released their RetroBright 7-inch Round LED headlights. These are tailormade for the classic car industry and deserve all the attention.

An old Chevrolet pickup truck with Holley RetroBright Headlights.

Built with a compact design to fit vintage car buckets, these headlights are optimal compared to the big and heavy modern headlights like you would find on a Jeep for example. In the aftermarket, these lights only get heavier. The Holley RetroBright LED headlights offer modern performance with fitment for the classics.

PERIOD CORRECT

These Holley RetroBright Headlights are honestly just what the classic car community needs. You are getting vintage styling with a much-needed upgrade to lighting performance. Plus, the compact design and easy wiring, means it can fit into the stock bucket without issue or modification.

An LED Holley RetroBright Headlight A stock halogen headlight.
 

Holley has included an easily replaceable bulb on the rear that can be removed with two Allen screws. This will allow you to change the color whenever you would like to. Holley and Morimoto have offered these lights in two colors, the first being a period correct 3000K classic white color that gives that stock halogen appearance classic cars are known for. The second is a more modern 5000K blueish-white color.

A comparison between the 3000K RetroBright and the 5700K RetroBright LED headlights.

On the cartridge, you will find some text that will inform you of the light's specifications. It will say the color temperature of the light in Kelvin, wattage (25w in the case of the Retrobrights), DOT to show that these are legal for road use, ‘Holley X Morimoto,’ and ‘9 – 18V’ to show that they will work on a vehicle with that power source.

The base writing of the Holley RetroBright that states LED, 5700K.

We have discussed this before, but some cars utilized a quad headlight format. Early on in their use, you would find them on higher trim levels of certain American cars. Holley has taken this into account and offered their Retrobrights with adapters that cater to the low/high beam functioning and high beam-only buckets. The latter of which would be the interior set headlight on those cars with four headlights.

We would also like to point out that these come in a 5.75in round5x7in rectangle, and a 4x6in rectangle housing.

OUTPUT

Firstly, we will look at how the 3000K Holleys compare to the original stock headlights. Unsurprisingly, the Retrobrights absolutely OBLITERATE the stock headlights. The RetroBright Headlights are rated at 840 max. Lux and the stock lights come in at 500 max Lux. As you can see, the beam patterns are vastly different. With Holley’s lights, you do not need to worry about seeing where you are going in your classic anymore.

Holley Retrobright Headlight LED beam pattern versus the stock halogen headlight on low beam.

The same applies to the high beams on the RetroBright Headlights which are rated at 1510 max. Lux, which is still more than the 1410 max. Lux of the OEM headlights. Once again, the beam pattern itself is much larger than the stock one, making more use out of the light’s output.

Holley Retrobright Headlight LED beam pattern versus the stock halogen headlight on high beam.

In the 5700K version of the RetroBright, the light comes in at 1030 max. Lux on low beam and 1460 max. Lux on high beam.

The 5700K Holley Retrobright Headlight LED beam pattern versus the stock halogen headlight on low beam.

The 5700K Holley Retrobright Headlight LED beam pattern versus the stock halogen headlight on high beam.

INSTALL

This job could not be any easier. Most headlights are held in place with just a few screws and a retainer ring. Once you remove those two items, you can then unplug your lights.

A man removes the retainer ring on the stock headlight.

When installing your new LED headlights, you have the option of plugging them in directly or using the adapter. The adapter allows you to plug in both headlights into the adapter and have a total of four low beams and four high beams, as opposed to two low beams and two high beams.

The Holley RetroBright stock connector, and the OEM headlight connector.

A man connects the Holley RetroBright LED headlight to the

Once you have chosen your route, you could run into the issue of the lights not working. Fear not! This likely means that your classic has reverse polarity wiring.

To get your Retrobrights working, take the extra adapter harness and plug them into the housing or relay. From there, take the three terminals into the factory connector that comes in the kit.

A man holds the factory adapter and the relay used to connect the RetroBright Headlights to the car.


These lights are incredibly cool and we here at HeadlightRevolution.com have been excited to share these. Holley and Morimoto have done a great job with these, and you can pick up your own pair here.

If you are more of a visual learner, be sure to check out our video on the Holley RetroBright LED headlights. While you are there, make sure to like and subscribe to our channel for the latest lighting upgrades for your vehicle.

Have any questions about one of the products we mentioned? Contact us today, and our customer service team would be happy to help.

 

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