I just finished building a set of S.E.V. Marchall Amplilux headlights using restored U.S. SWB Hella buckets (that I may offer for sale here). I've always been aware of Ampliluxes but have never know very much about them so I decided to do a bit of research. I find them to be very interesting, very functional and very cool headlamps.
Photos taken by Bob Tilton and posted on Pelican Parts
Marchal Ampliluxes were introduced in the 70's and were very popular. They're 7" assemblies and so fit perfectly into 356 and early 911 headlight buckets. They were considered to be a premium headlamp similar to Bosch H1's and were used on a number of European marques including Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborgini, Jaguar, Alfa Romeo and others - and they continue to be sought after by owners of those cars today.
Installed in Hella buckets and wired for 3-prong connecter - my photos
Similar to H1's, Ampliluxes use two bulbs: an H1 for the low beam and an H3 for the high beam. Also similar to H1's, they have the unique feature of being able to adjust both beams separately, something known by very few people. They adjust globally using the usual 11:00 and 5:00 adjustment screws. But there is also a separate small screw inside the high beam bulb holder that enables you to adjust that independently. Which is a good thing because the high beam has a unique concentrated "tunnel beam (similar to a lighthouse) that can illuminate a stop sign from a mile away.
These lights are often referred to as rare. It's hard to tell if that's a marketing ploy as "rare=$$$" to many sellers. But they do seem to be at least uncommon. Many, if not most, were used with no lens in front to protect them unlike how they were used in Porsches. As a result they suffered road wear. Also the configuration of two bulbs and two reflectors made them expensive to manufacture and the production run was short. When the dual filament H4's were introduced in 1972 with much simpler construction the Ampliluxes were not able to compete on price and manufacturing ended fairly shortly thereafter.
It's very important to properly adjust Marchal Ampliluxes as the pencil like high beam, one of their best features, can blind on-coming drivers if not properly adjusted. Fortunately the process is easy and straight forward.
I'm interested in learning more about these and encourage others to add information to this thread.
Cheers,
John
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