There seems to be a lot of interest in LED conversions, so while I had the instrument panel out installing my Pro-Flow EFI system I decided to upgrade to LED bulbs.

I was concerned because it seems many have had a bad experience upgrading to LED bulbs mainly because of bulb quality. I researched bulbs and finally pulled the trigger and received them today. Check out the pictures and see the difference the bulbs made. I have a few shots with the speedometer only converted for comparison as well as with the full conversion.

The only problem I had was that I had to reverse the storage compartment polarity. I have a heavy duty flasher and the indicators worked with no issues. All of the bulbs were 100% functional and fit the original sockets well.

As expected diming is limited, after the voltage drops to a certain level the bulbs go dark, but they do dim to some level as shown in the pictures. I also noticed that when the key buzzer is going off the bulbs flicker a little. I expect this is just noise on the line but I am not too concerned. I used 5-SMD bulbs, but if you want a dimmer cluster you could always go to a 3-SMD.

I really a brighter dash so I am very happy with the look. I thought about going with red, and may try that later.

Hopefully this helps if you are considering LEDs in the future.

Photos:
http://s203.photobucket.com/user/TX-...LED_Conversion

 

Great pictures! LED's are on my list too. I have all S-W gauges so the bulbs are probably 1894 or something like that. I have to find out what the gauges take for bulbs, then find a conversion LED. Really tired of not being able to see the gauges.

 

My son just bought a bunch off ebay for his 74 Camaro. He got blue, but we haven`t seen them in action yet.
I like the way yours look! Are they white, or blue?

 

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Mine are pure white, I am not certain what the color temp is but think it is in the 6 to 7k range. I hope the blue work for you, I thought about going blue as well, but from the info I read blue is hard on your eyes. The recommendations for instruments are white or red, with red being the best according to some military studies.

I ordered some red off eBay to try but they did not show up and I was ready to get the car back together, so decided to go with white.

Let me know how they work, my car is Lemans Blue, so it would certainly look cool! I don't think I want to go through pulling the dash again though :-)

 

They will probably be either BA9S or T10 bases. You will need to see what the bulb actually looks like and compare the different LED styles available to make sure the fit. Mine has 4 LEDs on the sides and 1 on the tip. I had plenty of room for them, but if space is tight they make them with LEDs on the tip only so it takes very little space. Hopefully they are T10s, there seems to be a lot more choices. I thought about changing my bases but could not find a base for a 5/8 push in mounting hole.

Good luck with the conversion!

 

Love the look! Its perfect in my opinion.

Can you post the url of where you bought the bulbs? Do you have the actual bulb model number in the white color?

There are so many manufactures and colors so this would help.

 

Below is the link to the bulbs I used. You will need 20 of the BA9s bulbs, I purchased mine from Zitrades on amazon at the link below.

This covers the Speedo, Tach, small gauges (Except for Seatbelt light), HVAC, and center storage bin.

In addition you will need: I have these on order and will post an update. My concern is matching the color.
1 - T10 for the Seatbelt lamp 5-SMD
1 - BA9s Single LED on the Tip for the ashtray
2 - 1156 style for Courtesy Lights (I may go with a adapter and larger SMD count)
1 - 1157 style for rear compartment (I may go with a 30-SMD and adapter)

 

I went with red LED's. Not bright enough. Went back with standard bulbs. If I would have had the white ones, I would have used them instead. That was about 30 bucks in red LED's. Ouch...

 

Good to know, did you had the 5-SMD red bulbs? I thought about red but glad I went with white. The ones I used are about a buck a piece so not to bad. I am still waiting on three bulbs for the courtesy lights and I am hopeful the color matches the instrument bulbs.