I once found a small 12v halogen bulb with a bayonet base, and I also
found a bayonet style socket that would fit the holes on the back of
the early B tach and speedo. These lit up the gauges like crazy, but
I was afraid the heat would eventually get to the gauges. Also,
these bulbs were only available from a store that sold these
high-tech gooseneck halogen lamps (called "littlelites"). Because
these lamps were high-tech and futuristic, the replacement bulbs had
a futuristic price also, about $9.00 per bulb.
A day or so ago I poked my head into the cockpit of a friend's 1977
roadster as he was about to drive away at night. I was amazed to see
that the gauges were lit up almost like modern ones! It's obvious
Smiths did something to the late model gauges to increase their light
output. I'm thinking of prowling the swapmeets for some late gauges,
so I can find out the secret. We may be able to retrofit the late
housings with early guts and bezels, or incorporate the new
developments into the early gauges. Time for some research...
Cheers, PK
Paul D. Kile
kile_paul@aphub.aerojetpd.com
(916) 355-5162
GenCorp Aerojet
POB 13222
Dept 5784 Building 20019
Sacramento, California 95813-6000
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