1969 corvette convertible. It’s not all stock or NCRS so anything goes!! I’ll be putting my interior back in the car soon and installing the dash. I am looking for opinions on any upgrades that make the car function better, improve the look, save me headaches in the future, etc. Some of the things I’ve been researching are:

Quartz clock conversion. I have the original clock and bench tested it. It works fine but was considering going to a quartz clock so I never have to rip out the dash again. Thoughts?

LED lights/bulbs. Was looking into the various LED bulbs for interior and headlights/taillights. Does anyone sell a complete kit? Is there any one brand/model better than the others? I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the subject and it gets confusing quick! I know I need colored bulbs to match colored lenses, not looking to blind anyone with the headlights so just a good bright headlight is fine, any kind that plugs into the harness will do. I’ve upgraded the electrical so I can/would use relays if necessary for the headlights.

Anything else you’ve done that your glad you did or didn’t do and wish you had when you had the dash out? I appreciate all thoughts and ideas!!

Thanks!

 

New gauges. Starting with the center cluster. While you are in the headlight area, do the electric pop up conversion. Really easy and not too expensive if you source out the parts rather than buy a complete kit. And while you are looking at electric things, examine the harnesses really well. You might be shocked at what you find. Good luck

 

I had my dash and center console completely out to install Vintage Air AC. I added some sound/heat mat to the firewall and put in all new AutoMeter gauges as none of my factory gauges were proving to be very accurate. I also replaced all the dash and console bulbs with LED. Can't remember exactly which vendor but there was a guy on eBay selling a complete interior kit.

After I buttoned it all back up, I had a few electrical gremlins that ended up being corrosion of fuse block terminals. I am very much regretting that I did not put in a new modern wiring harness with blade style fuses while I had the dash out.

I also wish I had inspected my ignition switch before putting everything back together. I ended up replacing it later and discovered the plastic was breaking down and contacts were a bit corroded. Had I bothered to inspect it, I would have changed it out while the steering column was out.

If your steering column is out, now would be a good time to download all of Jim Shea's steering papers and do a thorough inspection and tuneup of the column.

DC

 

Thanks for the great ideas!!! I should note that I pulled the body and stripped out everything starting a little over 2 years ago. I redid the whole frame, threw in a big block, all new brake components, suspension, fuel tank and lines, basically everything that was rubber or electrical was replaced. I also put Dynomat down and heat shield on the underside and Vintage Air.

I was considering the pop up lights conversion. I replaced the entire vacuum system and was going to run that for a while and see how it works.

I looked at some new gauges and am amazed that no one makes a perfectly fitting set of replacement gauges that don’t cost a fortune. I was looking at the Autometer, which model did you use? Like I said I ran all new electrical lines from Lectric Lmts and after doing so many upgrades (EFI, electric fuel pump, dual electric fans, etc) I sort of regret not just going with something like Painless wiring and running updated blade fuses.

I got lucky and picked up a rebuilt tilt/tele column, still in the box for an early 70s vette that I’m putting in. So hopefully the ignition switch is good to go and will be using Jim Shea’s page to retrofit it into a 69.

I know some people have better luck with different LED bulbs and some are just garbage. Trying to find the good ones!

 

I used their Sport Comp II series. I went with a voltmeter to replace the factory ammeter and I went with a vacuum gauge temporarily instead of a clock as I have a decent clock in my aftermarket stereo head unit. Once I upgrade to an overdrive transmission, I'll probably replace the vacuum gauge with tranny temp gauge.

DC

 

I split the wiring harness at the speedo and tach and put them on molex plugs.

 

I split the wiring harness at the speedo and tach and put them on molex plugs.

 

I just pulled apart das replaced all interior lights with led lights from zip corvette, along with factory a/c on my 68. They worked pretty good. Gauges I left stock because any replacements didn’t look good in my opinion and I couldn’t find any that were a good fit. I really wanted an electric oil pressure but could not find one. I think if you want to replace whole center section you can get some pretty nice gauges. I replaced all vacuum lines with a kit and lights work great with no problems. LED headlights are great but the guy who put them in had to fabricate a little. Sorry note sure of the extent of work involved. My wiring was great left it alone. Did replace front harness. Very brittle after many years of heat. Hope this helps.

 

That’s what I’ve found from looking around at aftermarket gauges. There are no direct fit replacements for a corvette! Some people have built some great looking units but with serious modifications. For those prices you would think there would be a direct fit.

LED headlights also I’ve noticed you usually have to cut up the buckets to make them fit. Might stick with standard headlight but HID or something that still gives a great bright light.

 

If the gauges work, leave them alone. If they don't replace them with stock units; and TEST accuracy of the gauge and sender before you install them. Make adjustments as necessary.

LED bulbs are fine, but there are 'problems' with them. MOST of the cheap led's on eBay/Amazon are pure junk. You need units that are sized to fit in the same envelope as the original bulbs and that have 360* illumination, rather than only outward. You also need a PWM (pulse width modulator) driver to feed them so they will properly dim. If you just install them and use the headlamp dimmer ****, they will dim a bit and then just go OUT. If you want them to stay on with full brightness, you won't need the dimmer module. For the money, your best choice is to install new STOCK bulbs. They should last for 10+ years with no problems and be LOTS brighter than the old bulbs in your car.

Change your dash speakers!! The originals were junk when the car was built; they are much worse now. If you still use the stock radio ('68-77), you want 8 ohm replacements [to match the 10 ohm radio impedance]. This will make an incredible difference in the quality of your tunes. If you have an aftermarket radio and you need to change the speakers, buy some that match with the radio's output impedance. Replace radio if needed.

Check function and free action of all vacuum servos and linkage in the HVAC system and grease all the pivots with white lithium grease from a tube. Insulate inside of firewall, if you have too much interior heat [There are many other things to do for that issue, but we are only focusing on what to do with dash out.]

If you have AC, repair/replace the worn-out foam seals on the vent outlets. It would be best to replace them with proper thickness of black felt, rather than flimsy foam which will disintegrate in a few years.

You might also consider cleaning all the interior pieces and giving them a fresh recolor with matching vinyl dye, while you're at it.

 

Great suggestions!! I bench tested all the gauges in the center console by following the Willcox instructions and they all work great and accurate. The tach and Speedo I haven’t tested yet, I’d assume you would need to connect them to a drill or something to test?

All new Vintage Air so that takes care of the A/C. Speakers I haven’t picked up yet. The 69 has no dash speakers and only front speakers in the kick panels. I may put speakers in the rear if they will fit behind the convertible top. I have an aftermarket radio.

I like how you split the wiring behind the speedo and tach. Looks like it will fit much better than the OEM harness and trying to crush it in there when reinstalling. I might have to try that on mine.

 

I re-wired all the center cluster bulbs to have a common wired ground rather than each socket be grounded (not well) to the gauge case back.
This just required 2-wire sockets (5/8" I believe") with the grounds all being joined and wired directly to a good ground screw like the windshield lower frame.
Then went with all LED bulbs in that cluster.
Resolved my shaky ground/flickering gauge lights gremlin for good!

 

I agree with 7tvette on LED’S. (And everything else he wrote). I have a fantastic wiring guy who knows what LED’s to get. Most don’t fit well in the original socket. I sure wouldn’t want to do this project twice to replace cheap LED’s. My eyes are not getting any younger and the LED’s are a great improvement.

 

Which of the modern fuse blocks are available for a C3? I can find only Lectric limited ones that they fit directly.

 

I have small small hands and it was still a pain trying to hook up all the lights and get them in the right place. This way you can install the dash and hook it up later. Molex plugs are inexpensive and I used to get them at Radio Shack but there are other places. I solder all connections and I only use them on inside projects as they aren't weatherproof.

 

Don't bother with rear speakers in a convertible. You will never hear them with the top down. However, you can buy some 6x9 boxes and speakers. They fit perfectly behind the top.

 

Here's how to do the dash lights- thanks to fellow forum member "Greg"

And the place to go for LED bulbs- https://www.superbrightleds.com/

They only sell the good stuff- never had a problem with them

https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...t-upgrade.html




The molex plug has been mentioned- I like to go to the junkyard and get some really good ones for a few bucks- my choice is the 90's BMW before CAN BUS- the connectors are top quality



BEFORE you redo the wiring- take a serious look at this piece- prints on heat shrink tubing- BEST way to identify the wires!!!







Why keep the clock??? My VCR still flashes "12:00" !!!

I added an oil temp gauge and changed to a voltmeter which I highly recommend if you change /upgrade under the hood.

Also got rid of the fasten seat belt light



Here's the final idiot lights I ended up with-

alt/charge light-Door open- Fan ( lights when on and use the hole for the clock as a switch to over ride it)- headlights not open- even though I did an electric headlight conversion- this still functions.







Oh- I made my own new "fusebox"- and relocated it - big help !!!

 

I bought all new stock gauges for my 73 through Corvette Central.
They are direct fit and the faces are exactly like the originals.
They are made in the USA and good quality.
I’m keeping the interior all original except for the addition of a roll bar and 5 speed shift pattern on the console.
Oh and the ugly foe wood paneling.
Not sure what engine mods you are doing, but I’ve seen several people mount their MSD 6al boxes up under the dash on the passenger side to get it out from under the hood.

 

I was going to mount the MSD 6AL box in the interior but lack of room with Vintage Air and trying to keep live lines outside of the interior so I tucked it in on the LH fender down under the vacuum canister so it can’t be seen really from up above.

 

Don’t forget to change those nuts on the two bolts holding the radio and gauge bezel
to the lower console to coupling nuts that way you can get to them. With ac they are
really hard to get to. Good luck with your project.