Which marchals are correct?

[PNewitt]

This is really interesting. 653 vs. 656 vs. 658. I have an article in a old 1968 foreign car magazine from Britain that talks about these. They said that the ones with the bigger bulb were the brightest fogs available anywhere! Apparently, the higher wattage bulb makes it really bright! (too bright for Calif. CHP that back then was responsible for checking out things like this. Remember--this was the first time fogs appeared on an American production car (with the Shelby).

I also know that they used the same Marchals on the(Shelby) Ford GT Mk III (street version) just under the headlights, and, that they were used on the European version of the original Ford Capri.

They were also used on the Ferrari 350 GTO and Superamerica.

I might have to ask all the Marchal owners to open their cases and tell me what they have in there for a date and type code.

I appreciate everything you have shared with us so far.

Paul N.

 

[somethingspecial]

656 markings

I pulled my marchals apart and found the following ink markings:

19 MARS 1968 19 8 656 1300
20 MARS 1968 19 8 656 1300

These markings are located inside the rear housing The 656 is directly above the 1300.
the bulbs are marked: 12244 Philips 12v 50w B5 IMP with a single contact point on the socket end. The socket end of the bulb has three locking pins instead of the standard two on standard bulbs.
The Ground wire comes from the socket base inside the housing, and is attached to the rear light housing, with only a hot lead exiting the mounting stud, which attaches to the grille mounted fog light bracket.

The socket assy. twists off the back of the light assy. simular to opening a jar. Do not try to pull the front of the light assy.(Glass Lens) off. These glass lenses seem to be siliconed to the metal backing, and would probably shatter if someone attempted to seperate them.

Paul, These are the same lights you looked at and confirmed are the correct lights for the GT/CS. I hope this sheds some light on the subject. Ha Ha.
Mike

 

[68gt390]

That leads me to another question on the Marchal Fog lights. My set of 656 and 658's both have a duel lead coming from the light housing and exiting the mounting stud. The black ground wire inside the housing has been clipped. Which is correct, single hot lead or duel lead exiting the mounting stud that attaches to the grille bracket? Most of the Marchal's I have seen on ebay and elsewhere all have only 1 lead exiting through the mounting stud. Interesting.

Don

 

[somethingspecial]

Don, The ground wire in my 656s goes from the light socket, and is mounted to a terminal which is rivited to the base plate for the mounting stud. There is no other evidence of a wire from that point exiting the light assy. The base plate I talk about is the large heavy duty base plate which is also part of the adjustment socket for the light assy. It has four large rivets attaching it to the light housing. Does anyone have Marchal lights (original equipment) which have not been removed from the car since the factory, who might be able to address this question. One wire or Two? Mike

 

[68sunlitgold]

Here is a pic of the light with the ground wire going from the housing to the bulb holder.

Doug

 

[Jayscal]

I opened up my fog lights today, and they are marked 653 with the date of 10 Jan 1968. I know these came with the car from new. So the plot now thickens.

I have seen bulbs for the 653's on E-bay, are there any suppliers of bulb holders for these 653's. I would like them to have the correct bulb set up, instead of my VW bulbs.

 

[68gt390]

I have seen bulbs for the 653's on E-bay, are there any suppliers of bulb holders for these 653's. I would like them to have the correct bulb set up, instead of my VW bulbs.

These particular holders are not reporduced after market so you'll have to watch ebay to find them. I haven't seen any suppliers yet that carry these type holders.

Don

 

[68gt390]

Don, The ground wire in my 656s goes from the light socket, and is mounted to a terminal which is rivited to the base plate for the mounting stud. There is no other evidence of a wire from that point exiting the light assy. The base plate I talk about is the large heavy duty base plate which is also part of the adjustment socket for the light assy. It has four large rivets attaching it to the light housing. Does anyone have Marchal lights (original equipment) which have not been removed from the car since the factory, who might be able to address this question. One wire or Two? Mike

I'm assuming since I have the duel lead from my housings, that they are grounded through the GT wiring harness since I'm also using a splicer to complete the hookup. Kinda wonder if Ford may have changed the wiring on these lights or what? If you in fact only used 1 wire coming from the housing and it is grounded inside the housing then why the need for a splicer to complete the hookup as described in Paul's first book.

Don

 

[Robbie273]

Well this thread really got people confused now. I am wondering if Paul's new book will address this or is it too late? Prices can vary for the different lights but if Ford used different types then maybe it shouldn't matter which model you have or purchase. I would like to know the correct procedure for wiring the one wire type. Will it work plugging in the one wire in the harness and is it safe to have it grounded internally?