I cracked open the headlight buckets on my Formula this evening to replace the bulbs from who knows when. Apparently they are as old as Moses' sandals, because the old units (top) were made in the USA.



I couldn't find any info on when Sylvania stopped making headlights stateside, anybody got a clue if these are the original units? One is marked with a green mark on the rear and the other has red.

 

That would be pretty amazing if they lasted 37 years, that is, if the car had actually driven and wasn't just a big paper weight in someone's garage all that time. But, no, those aren't the OE headlights. Originals were a brand called Guide, which was GM's lamp division from 1928-1999. GUIDE was on the face of the headlights. The headlights module on the firewall is also GUIDE.

 

Thank you for the great information!

 

I sold my '88 last May. It had 47,000 miles on it and I was the 2nd owner for over 7 years. It still had the original Guide headlights. I didn't really drive it at night very often, and from the clean look of the headlights (no pitting, very clear glass), I suspect the 1st owner didn't do much night driving either.

I'm pretty sure that Sylvania still manufactures at least some lighting in the US.

 

2009 date on those US made Sylvanias

 

You guys have truly given me more than I could ever think to know about OE lighting equipment! Thanks everyone, it's interesting to learn some third gen trivia!