I guess it's not so bad as that.

The problem? Something is wrong with my daily driver, a 1991 Ford Explorer. It won't start...just clicks. The problem is either a bad battery cable or the engine seized, but in the short term (the next few days), I won't have time to fix it (assuming it's just the battery cable).  So, I'll be driving the pickup.  Except that sometime during the spring, a rock hit the two passenger side headlights.

Replacement is really a piece of cake.  Three large sheet metal screws hold on the the front trim.  The turn signal is attached to the trim and comes off with it.

Check out the low beam on the left.  It really got smacked.

Mr. Headlight, meet Mr. Rock.  The only thing holding the headlight together was the ring.

I guess this is a good example of how not to do things.  The retaining rings are off, but I did it by removing all six of the screws.  After a second look at the ring, I noticed that it was designed to have the screws loosened, then a slight twist on the ring pops it loose.

Doing it my way is just asking for trouble when you attempt to balance the headlight, the ring, the screw and the screwdriver at one time.  The right way is to just hook up the headlight, put it in place, hook the trim ring over the screws and give it a twist.  Then just tighten down the screws.

The finished product...or at least half of the finished product.  The driver's side went much faster.

One of the things that I pondered when I was headlight shopping was historical accuracy versus nice, bright halogen headlights.  We're trying to maintain and restore the truck to its original condition back in 1961, which means that incandescent sealed beam headlights would be the accurate way to go.

What it boiled down to was whether I wanted headlights that would serve to alert somebody that I was driving at night or headlights that would actually light up the road so I could see.  Safety won out...I went for the halogen bulbs.  I guess it wasn't a hard decision...after all, the truck didn't come with seatbelts as original equipment, but I'm sure not going to take them out!