I bought LED bulbs from Mustang Project in a newly-released Aqua color, intending to match the original color of the instrument lighting in my 1968 Mustang. Here is a link to their website:
MP-6768-LED-GA-AQA 67-68 Mustang AQUA LED Gauge Bulb Kit – MP Custom Car LED Lighting
I was pleased with the result. They are much brighter than the old bulbs and closely match the original color. The LEDs are dimmable just like incandescent bulbs. A couple of years ago I replaced the bulbs in another car with blue LED’s. Other colors are available including red, green, amber, and white. This company has conversion bulbs for many other years and models as well.
Replacing the instrument panel light bulbs is a simple and easy thing to do. The hardest part is removing the instrument panel from the dash. Most of you with older cars have done this before, more than once.
- Disconnect the negative battery cable from the battery. I always do this when working on something that might possibly cause an electrical short circuit.
- Remove the instrument panel from the dash and place the instrument panel on a suitable workbench.
- On my 1968 instrument panel, I had to place it upside down and remove the screws to separate the plastic bezel from the instruments in order to gain access to the light bulb blue filters.
- In most instances you will want to remove the blue bulb filters from the instrument panel. If you are buying white bulbs you may choose to keep the blue filters.
- The kit comes with colored bulbs for the instrument panel background and white bulbs for the turn signal indicators and the high beam indicator. It also includes a bulb for the glove box.
Remove the old bulbs and install the LED bulbs in the appropriate locations. - Put everything back together and reinstall the instrument panel in the dash.
- Reconnect the negative battery cable, turn on the parking lights and make sure they work.
- Note: if you have a car that is 1969 or newer, the bulbs may be polarized, having two electrical contacts on the base. If the bulbs don’t work, remove the bulbs, rotate them 180 degrees, and reinsert them. You may want to use a jumper wire to test them in the instrument panel before reinstalling the instrument panel in the dash.