Vans are a strange entity. Once beloved, then derided, then forgotten altogether, the van has in many ways filled the space in societal memory that station wagons once did. And late-90s Chevy vans stand apart as one of the prime examples of the breed. Reliable as anything else on the road, versatile in a way that many modern vans aren't; part-time conveyance, full-time motel and a comfortable place for a half-dozen adults, it's kind of difficult to justify not owning at least one. But, no matter where you take your van, you won't get far if you can't see where you're going.
Instructions
- 1
Locate a white wall. When you find your wall, pull all the way up to the wall, and get your van oriented at a perfect 90-degree angle to it. Tape your string to the curb ahead of your van's front tire. Pull the string about 30 feet back, angling it so that it just brushes the sidewalls of both the front and rear tires. Keeping the string taut, tape it down to the parking lot about 25 feet from your van's rear bumper.
2Place a chalk mark on the wall just above the center of each headlight (marking the horizontal orientation) and just to the outside of the center of each headlight (marking the vertical orientation). Back the van up, watching your string reference line, and keeping the tires exactly the same distance from the string. Keep backing until the rear bumper lines up with the end of your string; now, you're perfectly aligned to the wall, and 25 feet from it
3Return to the wall, and tape a length of string so that it runs horizontally from your vertical orientation marks (the height marks that you placed next to each light). Tape it in place to give you a "horizon line." Tie a weight to the end of a four-foot-long length of string. Fishing weights work well for this, but anything will work as long as it weighs the line down. Hold your new plumb bob over the horizontal orientation marks you placed over the headlights. The plumb bob will intersect the horizon-line string. Draw a cross-hair or and "X" on the wall where the two strings meet. Repeat on the other side; now you have your headlight targets.
4Make sure that you have half a tank of fuel or less, and place a weight in the driver seat equivalent to your own. Or, just have someone sit in your place while you adjust the lights. Look at the top and outside edges of your sealed-beam headlights; you'll see Phillips-head screws centered over and next to the headlights. The top screw adjusts the vertical, and the side screw adjusts the horizontal.
5Turn your headlights on low beam, and turn the adjustment screws so that the point of highest light intensity fall about one inch below your target marks. Tightening the top screw raises the beam, while loosening the screw lowers it. Tightening the side screw pulls the headlight beam outward, while loosening sends the headlight beam inward toward the center. Once you have your headlights adjusted, turn the high beams on; they should center either on the reference mark, or about one inch above it.
