87MJJeep Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I was at Walmart the other night, and I saw a foglight kit by Blazer for $16 or $18 bucks. It was advertised on the packaging as "Original Equipment." I am curious if anyone else has used them and how close are they to OEM appearance? I had no idea they were that cheap, or I wouldn't have paid $10 for the set I pulled off an XJ in a junkyard... They both look very similar to each other, and of course the junkers need a lot of TLC to look good. Also, I gotta ask... There are two sets of holes on my bumper where foglights can be mounted. Which set is the "correct" factory set of mounting holes? They are so close together I am not sure which to use. I am not one of those that wants to restore a car to "concours" condition with correct date codes printed on the spark plug wires, but I do tend to go for the correct OEM look. ;) :nuts: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 OEM for the MJ were French Marchals, and they cost over 100 clams ... each. Wal-Mart's Blazers may look similar, but ... they aren't. That's not to say I wouldn't use them, since the Marchals aren't available, but I doubt the light output or pattern will really be up to the Marchal standard. On the other hand, the Marchals were true FOG lights, with a low, wide, flat cut-off, and most Americans don't want that pattern anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJJeep Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 OEM for the MJ were French Marchals, and they cost over 100 clams ... each. Wal-Mart's Blazers may look similar, but ... they aren't. That's not to say I wouldn't use them, since the Marchals aren't available, but I doubt the light output or pattern will really be up to the Marchal standard. On the other hand, the Marchals were true FOG lights, with a low, wide, flat cut-off, and most Americans don't want that pattern anyway. That is very interesting! What year models did the Marchals cover? I assume they were used on MJ and XJs of the same years? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOrnbrod Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Eagle is of course correct about the Marchals, I think the were optional up to 95 or so? Some of the early Ford Mustangs also used the same Marshal fog light. There were also similar-looking AMC available fog lights that had ROL stamped on the glass lenses. The nickname for them was Rust Out L-something (I forget); the steel housings were crapola. Marshals are still around because they are "correct" for Mustang restos, but as Eagle says, expect on paying at least $100/ea. H4 bulbs. I think the Marshal and Cibie lighting products were the only thing the French got right. :cheers: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJJeep Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 Eagle is of course correct about the Marchals, I think the were optional up to 95 or so? Some of the early Ford Mustangs also used the same Marshal fog light. There were also similar-looking AMC available fog lights that had ROL stamped on the glass lenses. The nickname for them was Rust Out L-something (I forget); the steel housings were crapola. Marshals are still around because they are "correct" for Mustang restos, but as Eagle says, expect on paying at least $100/ea. H4 bulbs. I think the Marshal and Cibie lighting products were the only thing the French got right. :cheers: I never dreamed the foglights had such a history. LOL The foglights on my '88 Trans Am are metal, and rusty. I can relate to the ROL joke. Do you guys know which set of holes is the "correct" ones to mount? I may try to clean up my junkers tomorrow. Then again, the junkers may just barely fit into my Trans Am's nose, and if so, they may be a permanent solution to my rusty ones. Then off to Walmart for those "OEM" Blazers. LOL I've seen the other threads on wiring a set. Awesome resources are on this forum! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glundblad Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Does anyone know what he is talking about with the mounting holes? I have an '87 with the original factory bumper and fog lights. I looked and have only one set of mounting holes. I measured them and they are exactly 1' 7" apart (center to center). You should be able to see them on my link. They were centered to the third "panel" on each side of my grill if that makes sense. By the way, not to hijack the thread but I have the ROL fog lights. I assume those are no longer available? Does the Jeep lens caps from the ROL fogs fit the Marchals? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 The original factory bumpers had two holes on each side. I have never figured out why. Sorry, I don't remember whether the inner or outer holes were used by the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaekl Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 Could one set of holes be for the brush guard? I bought those Marchals through the dealer for my new 86 XJ in my richer days. I'll have to check which holes I used when I get home. There probably were directions with the kit as to which holes to use. Probably still have the directions too. As for the light pattern. These are the only fog lights I have had and I didn't think the pattern was so flat. To keep the reflection off the fog to a minimum, they have to be angled down quite a bit. I have the lenses almost vertical and they're great for rain and snow, but I don't use them for fog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJJeep Posted August 20, 2009 Author Share Posted August 20, 2009 Does anyone know what he is talking about with the mounting holes? I have an '87 with the original factory bumper and fog lights. I looked and have only one set of mounting holes. I measured them and they are exactly 1' 7" apart (center to center). You should be able to see them on my link. They were centered to the third "panel" on each side of my grill if that makes sense. By the way, not to hijack the thread but I have the ROL fog lights. I assume those are no longer available? Does the Jeep lens caps from the ROL fogs fit the Marchals? Your Chief is awesome!!! :bowdown: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaekl Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 The 86 bumper only had one set of holes, 26 inches apart. Sorry, no help, but I'd go for the outboard ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aemsee Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 One set of holes for bumperettes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 One set of holes for bumperettes? No, my '88 XJ came with bumper guards and there were also two round holes on each side of the bumper. My best guess would be that the second set is for the old style brush guard, too. I don't remember where/how that mounts, but I think they did have tabs that bolted to/through the top of the bumper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted August 22, 2009 Share Posted August 22, 2009 Do you guys know which set of holes is the "correct" ones to mount? The inner ones are for your fog lights, the outer ones are for the brush guard as Eagle stated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJJeep Posted August 22, 2009 Author Share Posted August 22, 2009 Do you guys know which set of holes is the "correct" ones to mount? The inner ones are for your fog lights, the outer ones are for the brush guard as Eagle stated. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dasbulliwagen Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 I just parted out a 95 Cherokee Country with what I assume are factory fog lights, they have a factory style connector, but the lenses on them clearly say BLAZER. Sorry to hijack, just thought Id let you know! :dunno: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJJeep Posted September 6, 2009 Author Share Posted September 6, 2009 I should give an update. I don't know if my bumper sits too far back, or if the Blazer light housings are fatter front to rear. I had to get creative. I went to Lowe's and looked around for the longest and I finally found something that would let me offset them forward a bit. It's a type of grounding mount for home wiring. It's aluminum, and I had to spray paint it and matching bolt black. The Blazer housing is plastic, and the swivel for aim adjustment is the bolt head riding in the curved plastic base. I could have mounted them and twisted the housing right off the bolt, or bolt them too tight and pull the bolt through the plastic... I cut up a small prescription medicine bottle that had about the same radius as the swivel base. I put a thin piece of rubber in there, too. And I added a washer. It's rather robust, but it's a PITA to truly adjust them. If I had it to do all over again, I'd kept the junkyard specials and reused their housing (with some elbow grease and TLC) and used the fresh innards of the Blazer lights. and the end result. :yes: Many thanks to jpdocdave and Hornbrod for some private messages and emailed help on the wiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 Do you guys know which set of holes is the "correct" ones to mount? The inner ones are for your fog lights, the outer ones are for the brush guard as Eagle stated. Well I just went through the '88 Comanche sales brochure and they show the lights in either position :dunce: , I prefer the outer from these pics. My neighbor's MJ has a brush guard that does mount to the outer holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comanche09 Posted September 12, 2009 Share Posted September 12, 2009 I installed the Wal-mart blazer fogs a couple weeks ago... The OEM chrome bumper I got from an XJ had the factory fogs mounted in the outer holes. I fulled the fog harness and relay too so that I could use the factory switch. I went with the Yellow Fog light version (and they were a couple bucks cheaper). I got them to fit the in the holes without modding a bracket. I just loosened the bumper to give as much room as possible. It is tight and they are up against the grille. As previously posted, they will be a b*tch to adjust, but I play with the angle prior to fitting the bumper up. They do take care of that unlit space just in front of the truck and work as advertised. They are also H4 bulbs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJJeep Posted September 12, 2009 Author Share Posted September 12, 2009 Fiatslug, thanks for posting the brochure pics! In my mind I remembered all Eliminators having dark bumpers! I think from that shot, the lights look a little better in the outer holes! It makes the truck seem wider. Comanche09, those look good! When I got my truck, it had a winch bumper on it. I had a hard time removing it (was welded to the frame) and getting the stock bumper back on. The way I have it on there, I was more inclined to rig up a new mount for clearance than to loosen the bumper and hope I had a little room to push it forward. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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