LED Upgrade - Fitment Problem on 1973 Front Parking Light

[Moderator73]

I wanted to share a recent unexpected experience I had when upgrading my 1973 Mustang convertible to all LEDs. I purchased a full conversion set both interior and exterior bulbs from HiPo Parts Garage based on the great reputation they have on our forum. Unfortunately, one LED bulb did not work or fit in my factory original socket. Everything else fit perfectly.

The front parking/turn signal socket was the one place where I encountered a problem. When I tried to fit the LED bulb, I actually destroyed it trying to force it into the original light socket enough to engage the tabs on the base. I don't know if others have faced this problem or not but according to Bill at HiPo, I'm the first customer on the 1973 Mustangs to have or report this problem. That's why I thought it might be worth a post.

I wrote up a Problem/Solution paper (attached) that more fully explains my situation and offers a simple solution. That is, a modification to the factory socket to make the 1157A LED bulb fit. Not a big deal, but perhaps another member might find this helpful.

Bob

 

[Stanglover]

I wanted to share a recent unexpected experience I had when upgrading my 1973 Mustang convertible to all LEDs. I purchased a full conversion set both interior and exterior bulbs from HiPo Parts Garage based on the great reputation they have on our forum. Unfortunately, one LED bulb did not work or fit in my factory original socket. Everything else fit perfectly.

The front parking/turn signal socket was the one place where I encountered a problem. When I tried to fit the LED bulb, I actually destroyed it trying to force it into the original light socket enough to engage the tabs on the base. I don't know if others have faced this problem or not but according to Bill at HiPo, I'm the first customer on the 1973 Mustangs to have or report this problem. That's why I thought it might be worth a post.

I wrote up a Problem/Solution paper (attached) that more fully explains my situation and offers a simple solution. That is, a modification to the factory socket to make the 1157A LED bulb fit. Not a big deal, but perhaps another member might find this helpful.

Bob

Did you talk to Bill? I'm sure he could have solved your problem. Maybe it was a mistake and you got the wrong bulb(s)

 

[Moderator73]

Did you talk to Bill? I'm sure he could have solved your problem. Maybe it was a mistake and you got the wrong bulb(s)

Yes I did correspond with Bill. He was very interested in what I ran into and said that I was his first 1973 Mustang customer that he's aware of having this problem. This is not at all a problem with the 71 or 72 mustangs because they use a different socket. Perhaps some of the earlier production run 73's might also not have this problem. My mustang was built on 5/21/1973 so pretty late in the year.

In my writeup attached, I've included comments from Bill on this problem. You are exactly right though, if anyone contacts Bill, he will definitely solve the problem. He's a super guy.

 

[Stanglover]

Yes I did correspond with Bill. He was very interested in what I ran into and said that I was his first 1973 Mustang customer that he's aware of having this problem. This is not at all a problem with the 71 or 72 mustangs because they use a different socket. Perhaps some of the earlier production run 73's might also not have this problem. My mustang was built on 5/21/1973 so pretty late in the year.

In my writeup attached, I've included comments from Bill on this problem. You are exactly right though, if anyone contacts Bill, he will definitely solve the problem. He's a super guy.

Interesting! There might be the possibility Ford changed suppliers or specification late in the year to accommodate upcoming vehicle changes. I've seen this sort of stuff happen back when I built prototypes.

 

[Big Red Mach 1]

I swapped mine out on a 73. First set of bulbs I got I could not get them to fit properly. On my particular set I determined it to be an issue with the base of the new bulbs. I believe the top of the base flared out too early and wouldn't let the little pin at the bottom of the base turn and lock in. I tried a different brand and they worked just fine. I can't remember where I got them. Either Amazon or superbrightleds.com. I wish I could remember and be more helpful, but those details escape me right now. But I did run into the issue you are having on my 73.

 

[Moderator73]

I swapped mine out on a 73. First set of bulbs I got I could not get them to fit properly. On my particular set I determined it to be an issue with the base of the new bulbs. I believe the top of the base flared out too early and wouldn't let the little pin at the bottom of the base turn and lock in. I tried a different brand and they worked just fine. I can't remember where I got them. Either Amazon or superbrightleds.com. I wish I could remember and be more helpful, but those details escape me right now. But I did run into the issue you are having on my 73.

Thanks. Good to know that I'm not the only one that ran into this. Yeah, your experience is exactly the same as mine. Instead of going the route you did though, I ended up using a 3/4" grinding cone and opened up the socket slightly to make the "typical" LED bulb that has the bigger base fit. Your way probably makes more sense, and it's actually what Bill at HiPo Parts Garage suggests also. He said he sells the type of LED like you ended up getting, he just doesn't have them listed on his website. So if others run into this, they can just contact him and he'll supply them.