The other day someone asked me about headlight bezels (or if you prefer, headlight ‘heads’) and how they changed through the years. I did not have a good answer to that reader’s question, so this working thread about bezels is the result. Along the way, I learned that some folks call these parts “heads”, but perhaps that is more military related?
1. 1945-1946 Early Painted Bezels on CJ-2As
Early CJ-2A bezels were painted, not chromed, until approximately #38687, according to the CJ-2A page. As far as my research indicates, only Walcks carries new, unpainted bezels. This is the flatter style of bezel without the tab.
2. 1946-1953 Later CJ-2As, CJ-3As and 1956-1959 DJ-3As
After roughly CJ-2A #38687 the bezels were chromed, but their shape was the same. They lasted through the end of the CJ-3A production run and into the early DJ-3A production run (1956-1959). These example images are from Kaiser Willys.
3. 1950-1952 M-38s, 1953-1971 M-38A1s, and M-170s:
I didn’t realize that M-38 and M-38A1 bezels were the same. It’s on the M-38a1 site that I encountered the alternative term “head” for the bezel. Peter Debella has NOS rings.
4. 1950 USMC CJ-V35 Blackout Lights ‘bezels’
Thanks to Mike Wixom for helping me out with these rare blackout lights.
This type of headlight bezel, or more correctly blackout ring (although not that effective), was used only on Marine Corps Radio Jeeps as far as I know. Specifically on the CJV35/U and possibly on the MZ-2 and MZ-3 Radio Jeeps from Late WW2. They were installed at the factory on all 1000 CJV35/U Jeeps built in May of 1950. These were eventually replaced by the actual blackout lights found on the M-38.
Because these aren’t readily available, someone posted this writeup on how to inexpensively recreate them:
Here is a different, larger version of a CJ-V35 bezel. Mike believes the ones shown below may have been fabricated and not original, but perhaps the owner can offer input on this.
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