Since there is a considerable amount of interest in original
headlight bulbs for restorations, particularly for show cars where
authenticity wins those judging points, I'll paste in a more
descriptive piece that applies to '57-61 dual (total of 4) bulb
cars.
What follows is from the 1957 Chrysler 300C Handbook written by me
for owners and restorers of that particular model.
Wayne
**************
GENERAL ELECTRIC Co. PARTS
"GE" supplied all bulbs in the car from headlight to taillight with
dash and interior bulbs in between. The brand of bulbs throughout
your car will never be noted because of their location in sockets
with one exception: the headlamps.
HEADLAMPS
In all four headlamp Chryslers, Imperials, and DeSotos produced from
1957 through 1961 the same type "GE" headlamp was predominantly
used. They have the wide-fluted glass pattern with the "GE " script
logo placed in a 5/8" dot in the center of the face of the bulb.
A second supplier of headlamps was also used during this period at
Chrysler Corporation. This is the Tung-Sol brand and my estimate is
their headlight bulbs were supplied as original equipment in 20-30%
of new Chryslers, Imperials, and DeSotos. These bulbs are also of
the wide-fluted glass pattern and have a "TS " script logo placed
in a 5/8" dot at the center of the face of the bulb. The Tung-Sol
brand appeared in an estimated 40-50% of Dodges and Plymouths.
Either brand of bulb is acceptable to your 300C restoration; so long
as the complete set is of the same brand.
It is common to find one or two original "high beam" or "inner" or
"#1" bulbs still in place in cars today. This is the way you may
tell if your car had "GE" or "TS" bulbs from the factory. The
original "high and low beam" or "outer" or "#2" bulbs are quite rare
because they were used far more often and they burned out much
earlier.
There are a very few 300Cs with single headlamp systems. This is
logical because at their introduction date not all state laws had
been changed to permit the standard four-lamp installation.
California was one of the states that early on said the smaller
bulbs did not cast enough light. This was quickly overcome in all
states.
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