Hi need to change headlight bulb there is a screw at the bottom of the housing but dont know how the top is held ??

Some old headlights had to be twisted to line up tabs with holes before releasing.  Not sure if that's the case here but worth a try if no-one else knows.

Post a photo of the headlight assembly, there will be many here who will know how to remove it.

I would have expected on a 1961 car that the headlight would be a Lucas 7" sealed beam and not a replacement lamp.

I wAsnt born then, but I think sealed beams came in later than that. 

General info:

If I remember correctly you remove the bottom screw and pull the bottom out slightly then lift the trim up vertically. The top is help by a tab that slots in the top of the trim.

 

Oops, just noticed the date - I guess he solved it!.

Unfortunately @Dorran is a One Post Wonder 😧

Posted a request for help 30th October 2022 and then never returned to see if anyone had replied.

Sealed beam units seem very UNeco friendly. Why were they thought to be such a good idea? Perhaps the light output was better.  At least you didn’t have problems with the reflector going dull with age. 

3 hours ago, isetta said:

Why were they thought to be such a good idea?

I THINK they lasted so much longer than traditional bulbs.  Probably designed to last the life of the car. I'm pretty sure my Dad's 1974 car had them and he was worried about how much they'd cost if they had to be replaced... but they never did (not while he owned the car, anyway). 

I can remember replacing sealed beam units when they blew, I can’t recall the cost but in the eighties , when I was driving 1970s cars , they did not seem expensive.

I was a motor mechanic from 1963 to 1984 so I've fitted dozens of sealed beam units, the were universal and fitted nearly all cars either 5" or 7" and some had a bulb holder for a side light which helped to keep the price down, they were £1 for as long as I can remember. They were a brilliant invention as they never went out of focus and never misted up or filled with water and the reflector never tarnished and they were simple to fit from the outside and not under the bonnet.

Only snag I remember was you could always keep a few spare bulbs in the glovebox, not so easy with a 7" sealed beam unit!

 I remember you could also get upgraded units from the likes of Cibie.

4 hours ago, billyboy said:

the were universal and fitted nearly all cars either 5" or 6"

I note the word "nearly" crept in there 😉 

Indeed, not 100% universal, as my Dad's Toledo had rectangular ones. And I think there may have been some other weird shaped units. (I expect Citroen managed to come up with a unique shape, for example).

But good to hear some facts from someone who actually has experience of them.... and can still remember!!!

4 hours ago, Eric Bloodaxe said:

Only snag I remember was you could always keep a few spare bulbs in the glovebox, not so easy with a 7" sealed beam unit!

That will be why the Mk1 Escort only had a parcel shelf so you could keep a spare sealed beam  🤣

Motorbike sealed beam units - having bought a 1970s Japanese motorbike which had been in USA until recent years I find this annoying. In the 70s and maybe other decades Japanese motorbikes sold in USA had sealed beam units - not the case in uk.  But these motorbike sealed beam units weren’t made like car ones. The car ones were effectively on big lightbulb. They made the motorbike ones this way. Take a reflector , put a bulb in it from the shiny side (hole in reflector not big enough for glass part of bulb to pass through). Solder bulb base to reflector. Put glass on front of reflector and glue it or crimp it on.  The bulb only lasts as long as a normal bulb - and for anyone who has had a smaller cc 1970s motorbike with lack of regulated voltage you will know that can be quite a short life.  These sealed beam units are expensive. So you cut the reflector around bulb base with drill or dremel. Stick screwdriver in gap and break the glass bulb to withdraw it. Now get a bulb holder from a non sealed beam motorbike headlamp and trim the hole in reflector to fit the bulb holder . Of course it needs to be done precisely otherwise beam pattern would be wrong. Who invented that type of sealed beam unit? It’s mad - bear in mind on a motorbike there is not much space to carry spare bulbs etc and you only have one headlamp so you are a bit reliant on one bulb. You can’t keep a spare sealed beam unit in a nook or cranny on the bike.