wasnt sure if this should go in electronics or interior but my 82 t/a's gauges are very dim (perimeter lights) so im wondering if there is something i could replace the stock bulbs with to help put a little light on the subject? i thought about looking for some red/orange leds but i have no clue what to get or if i could get replacement leds for the factory style bulbs or if i have to cut and splice.

 

I have a similar issue. I had the cluster out the other day to replace my speedo cable and thought it would be a good time to investigate this. My '83 employs bulbs that press fit into sockets that twist into the back of the cluster (I've read posts of later models where the bulbs are soldered into the sockets)

My local speed shop carries LED bulbs that are a direct fit. The only problem is that when I went they were virtually out of stock. So I got a single white one. I was hoping that I would see a difference in the corner where it is installed. I haven't had the car out at night since then but in a dimly lit garage it doesn't seem noticable. Orange or blue might be cooler but I don't think they would be any brighter unless you were to change the gauge faces for the white ones.

One thing I did was to repaint the black metal plate the sits behind the clear plastic with a silver/aluminum spray. Since nearly all of this plate is masked by the final black plastic trim it gives the appearance of an aluminum trim ring around each gauge. I quite like how it looks in the day time and it should reflect a little of the glow cast by the cluster lights.

Hope this helps a little.
Jon

 

yeah i ended up ordering like 20 red ones on ebay when i pull the cluster apart im going to see what i can do tol help make them reflect. ive never pulled apart a pre 85 cluster before. ill post pics when i pull everything apart and my end result