Lady72nRob71

Okay, so jeffreyalman’s “Beautiful Interiors” thread finally motivated me to post this thread…
We have seen many nice Olds interiors, but I want to see something I do not see that often - nighttime dash lighting of classic cars! They are captivating to me for some reason… The nicest I have seen so far is the soft, romantic, sapphire-blue glow from a 1963 (?) Chrysler Imperial dash. Lots of lights - what an elegant car that is…

So post your dash lighting pictures here of any Olds or any other pre-90’s American cars!

Photographing them clearly can be challenging, so here is the time to practice nighttime photography skills.
I find it best to sit in the back seat and use the front seat back / headrest to hold the camera steady. Hold it securely but not tightly so you do not cause any shake.

Camera flash must be turned off, so long shutter speeds will be needed (from 2 to 4 seconds for a whole dash!) Aperture needs to be at lowest numerical setting to allow the most light into the camera. Do not exceed ISO 200, or pictures will be grainy and noisy. Set white balance to incandescent if the dash uses regular bulbs. Use fluorescent if you are using LEDs. Use a camera with an image stabilizer if you have one. You will need to take a few dozen shots and delete the bad ones.
If your picture is clear but just a bit too dim, you can use a photo editing program and SLIGHTLY bump up the gamma one to 3 points (not brightness or contrast).
If you find it difficult to get a non-blurry photo, then a tripod might be needed. Courtesy lights can give a unique effect also, and reduce shutter speed to boot.
Of course some cameras may not give you the flexibility (or ability) to take shots like this… Most Canons will, even my cheap old A520. So give it a try and see what happens – perfection is NOT a requirement!
Sure this will take some time, but it would be worth it to show off some well-lit dashes from those wonderful old cars!


I will go first…
Below are the dashes of Lady, my Ford, and even the Harley. I used a Canon S5-IS set to Tv (shutter priority) and used about an average of 3.2 second shutter speeds for the cars and half second for the bike (since I was close to it). I think 4 seconds would have been better on Lady. ISO was 200 on all, so there is some noise present. However, I did not want to use a tripod and I was able to hold the camera steady enough. Several beers seemed to help keep my hands relaxed, too… Total time to take all these was 20 minutes – not bad. They are not perfect, but nice.
Worst part was listening to those “lights on” chimes and buzzers…
Enjoy!

1969w3155

Oooo, aahhhh pretty cool. By the way, that dash bead trim is an easy fix..did mine last year.

Boldsmobile

I just upgraded all my dash bulbs to LED. Much brighter and current draw went from about 200mA per bulb to 20mA per bulb.

From this:
CIMG0303.jpg
To this:
CIMG0307.jpg

Lady72nRob71

Well? Time to let your repair secret out then! I guess "replace"!
mine seemed to have shrunk over the years...

Very nice color from those LEDs - what color did you use?? Standard white? Looks almost the way the factory intended!

Boldsmobile

Standard white. Its amazing how much brighter they are.

MJAKS462

Hey Rob , Whats up with the car being in drive while you are in the back seat ? Lights look great , mine are pretty dim because the lens need replacement.

Lady72nRob71

Cruise control!

Thanks...
It is possible your gauges may need to be taken apart, cleaned, and repainted.
My speedo was just cleaned and the repro rally pac was painted inside to reflect the light properly to match the cleaned speedo.
I have a thread "brightening the repro rally pac" that tells you how.
https://classicoldsmobile.com/forums...tml#post130178
This also applies to factory gauges that have faded or discolored interior paint.

In my pictures, only the Harley uses LEDs.
My cars use just regular 168 or 194 bulbs.

Bunser

Nice pics! Was especially pleased to see your light switch light lit up. I spent a couple of hours today replacing the "lipstick light case" which illuminates the "light script" above the headlight ****/switch.My "super qualified master mechanic/bodyman" apparently couldn't be bothered to hook it up.Guess I didn't pay him enuf!

we jeep inn

Cool pics Rob. Might go test might nightime photography skills later...

Lady72nRob71

Thanks... I had to replace that stupid little bulb and took almost an hour and a half. That would equal to about 100 bucks or more to replace that one tiny, unimportant bulb.
I should have replaced the light switch while I was at it.

Do that!

jeffreyalman

yeah right Rob easy for you to say your's look awesome - I took this yesterday morning with your pic in mind - seems like I need some work - and this is the best of my 3 (looks much better in person my cell camera is not the best)

In Atlanta for BOPC so I am limited but this is what I can put my hands on right now

Lady72nRob71

All I see is a red X in a box. It can't be that bad could it?

jeffreyalman

more better now

Lady72nRob71

Nice - At 60mph, there is very little shake - what a smooth riding car!

jeffreyalman

ok this should be better



this looked cool too now that I know how to turn off the flash I took lots



not bad fresh after 650 miles - actually hasn't been cleaned in over a year, needs it

wjustinmartin

I believe a mouse or something similar must've chewed up around my gauges before I got the car - none of my gauge lights work in my '67 cutlass supreme except for a dim speedo light - which does its own thing and goes out too, occasionally.

I believe I have a short in my dimmer switch, too - sometimes I lose low beams after a switch from high and have to switch again to get lows and tail lights, too

those pics of nice dash boards inspire me to get mine fixed - for safety and aesthetics - maybe will solve my gas gauge issue. too

Aceshigh

Big fan of your efforts. In fact seeing your write up is what prompted me to fix my horrid lighting in my gauges.

Same here.

I did all 194 SMT LED's in my 70's gauges.
I didn't do the broke dick clock though, because that's coming out.
That one takes 1893 bulbs and they are $10 each in LED's.
.....so not worth the money to spend $20 on a broken clock.

I'm looking for a Tach to put in it's place.

Lady72nRob71

Jeff - VERY NICE pictures! Even the little thermometer in the AC vent lights up - how cool is that?
Evening interior pictures (no flash) would look very nice, too - much like how the sales brochure pictures were taken. Yours is almost there - except the seat backs are in the way, blocking the dome light...
Engine looks great - how do you keep it looking so nice? Mine gets so dusty... Look at it only at night?

I think it is time to pull the gauges out and see what the critters did. If it was indeed caused my mice, then the problems might be all related.
If there is chewed up wire insulation, I would park the car and disconnect the battery until all wiring can be inspected and replaced if needed.
A short when driving can cause a bad distraction and anytime, a possible fire. Please check soon!

Post some pictures when you get a tach and finish it all up!

jeffreyalman

thanks Rob yeah it turned out nice for a 1st try - I have no dome light - have to figure something out for lighting
funny that little thermometer is illuminated from just the dash-light-level combination dash/map light. it's perfect.
I use it for the remote too, just hold it under the flood.
Always loved those dash floods.
Just found one for the Toro, $9, musta been a option
on another subject, just got this in the mail from eBay NEW IN THE BOX!!!

OLD SKL 69

Nice lighting tips on the gauges! Rob, my 71 has the lens but I can't find a lamp or wire for the light that should be above the wiper switch?? I did replace the lamps above the temp control so I at least got that working.

Boldsmobile

Try these:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2pcs-...Q5fAccessories

2 pieces shipped for $7

Lady72nRob71

Wow - that is cool - looks well made, too... Know any history on it like how old it might be? What did the box look like?
It almost looks like something that would be on the salesmans' desks back then.

Thanks... Your car may not have come with that other floodlight.
In 72, you did not get it unless you got the lamps and mirrors option package, which included that, two map lights, vanity mirror, under dash footwell lights, trunk, ash tray glove box, and hood lights, and a few others. Do you have any of those?
That option package was pretty much standard on the 72 CS convertibles since there was no roof dome light (my speculation)...

OLD SKL 69

Rob,

I do not have any of those lights. So I guess that explains it. I would like to add them though if I could find them out of a donor car.

jeffreyalman

hey Rob I just noticed what HAS to be the Pinto - with a Lincoln stereo??? LOL

kartmaster

Here ya go!

So futuristic!

1969w3155

[quote=Lady72nRob71;168765]Well? Time to let your repair secret out then! I guess "replace"!
mine seemed to have shrunk over the years...


Order a new one from Fusick, pull old one out, put in new one with the barbed pins. Viola! Inexpensive and looks good when done.

Aceshigh

1895 and 1893 don't have the same base according to a site I checked with.

One is slightly fatter at the base. I forget which.
I could be wrong, but that's what the measurements said.

I checked because I saw a similar auction for cheap like this one.
The dead clock just has to go anyways.

AWESOME!!!!!

That side light just gave me a GREAT idea for improved lighting in my Camaro.
I can do a similar thing on the sail panels. Now I gotta go play and see what I can find to do it.

Lady72nRob71

Yet so old...
Very nice indeed - those cars were ahead of their time back then.
Nicer looking than a newer one, IMO... I bet it drives very well...
Now where did that Delco-Bose radio go??


Easy enough... JUST when I thought I was "done" with the interior...

I belive that is the premium radio out of a late 80's taurus... I wanted it to say "Ford" on it and match the dash. It will be replaced soon with another similar one, as it has all sorts of intermitant connections. Time to hit the yards...
The cheapo sparkomatic speakers from the same era still sound great though!

kartmaster

Thanks!

The Bose radio is still packed away in my basement. The LCD display and tape deck were non-functional. Radio sound quality was great, but those old Bose amps in the speakers didn't have much volume left to 'em.

I can swap it all back in someday if I decide to restore the car, but as it's my daily for now, it was far more cost effective to convert to a regular head unit system, and the convenience of playing MP3s is nice.

jeffreyalman

kartmaster that Toronado is sweeeeeet

Lady72nRob71

If that thing has the Blaupunct tape deck (has the music search feature) I have a write up on how to repair it. Typically the belts would stretch, but they would often get stuck auto-reversing continuously.
The display could be fixed with parts from a junkyard radio.

we jeep inn

KM, very nice.

Growing up we had a 98 with the Bose system in it. That was the $@&% back then. Heck I've still got my Bose 301's that I bought way back in '78. Still going stong, they don't make 'em like that anymore...

1966_F85

here is ours not much to look at

Lady72nRob71

Hey, looks good to me!
Clear enough and bright, too!

mv213

Hey Rob, have you ever counted the bulbs inside your car? I'm doing my interior right now and the number of bulbs is amazing. 2 in the rear armrests, 3 in the console, and at least 20 in the dash counting the map light, ashtray light, glove box light, light switch light, 4 bulbs for the dash switches, 2 courtesy lamps up front under the dash.....I have a coffee mug full of used bulbs!

Olds luvr

MV, I bought a bulb kit for my convertible...everyone you will need to do the car. If you are anyone is interested PM me. the kit saved me 50% from buying all the bulbs in packs

Lady72nRob71

To be honest, I have never took inventory. Most of mine worked when I got the car, and replaced just a couple that were bad.
The light switch light was a total PITA to change. The cluster lights were changed and got them in bulk from an elecronics supply house.
Now that your bulbs are all in a coffee can, the puzzle will be figuring out which go where!
If you have an owners manual, that can help ID them and count them...

mv213

Actually I've already put the new ones in, I didn't pull the old ones until I had replacements on hand. Also amazing is the variety....there must be 6 or 8 different types.

wjustinmartin

Is the bulb list/type found in the service manual for the cars?

Also, I am assuming there are only LED replacement for some of the bulbs for a dash

bmort

Bulbs for a cutlass