Dash top removal

You'll find solid fiberglass under the dash top vinyl so no help.  You might be able to get a hand under the dash and remove the tow knurled nuts holding the gauge clamp on.  Then maybe you will have enough extra wire to pull each gauge out a few inches?  Or find a 12 year old to pull old lights out?

@Renfrance You should be able to push the gauges out, from behind. ( reach behind your dash, and push from back of gauge forward you - torwards the drivers seat).  They should push right out.   With the gauges hanging from the front from the connected wiring you bill be able to access wiring/bulbs from the front/ drivers seat. They are pressure fit in place with the rubber rings you may see from the drivers seat.  I will try to dig out some photos for you.

The dash face and top are one piece of fiberglass, so the top can't be removed. Remove the seat and track, place a folded up a blanket on the floor and wiggle under the dash , it would be best to have a helper that can hand you what you need..... good luck wiggling back out from under the dash :~)

I second the push the gauge out from the rear approach. Do them one at a time and take a quick photo of the wiring before you remove anything. You may need a reminder of what goes where later. If the rubber rings are looking tired you can buy replacements. Let me know if you need a source.

Found some photos from when I replaced my bulbs in 2015 with LEDs.
take a photo and label wiring before you unplug anything.

gauges are pressure fit, held in place by the black rubber ring pictured below ( my thumb is resting in the rubber ring).

light bulb holders are also pressure fit ( gold colored ring pictured below).

all the labeling you see I did.  Don’t expect anything to be labeled/ color coded)

When you push from behind, and the gauge pops out, it will look like a rats nest of wiring- at least my VS did).  Labeling each wire, and where it connected to saved my but when re connecting everything—- after cleaning up the wiring ).

for reference, each of my VS gauges had about 6” of wiring  available when I pulled the gage out.  Here you can see one of my gauges hanging below the hole.  Plenty of room to remove/ replace bulbs.

ps- the only bulbs I did not replace with LED were the gauge  backlight bulbs.  The bigger bulbs.  The heat they emit keep my gauges from fogging up with condensation in the early mornings/ when it’s cold outside).   When I put LED bulbs to back light my gauges they  would fog up… and condensation would build up on the bottom 1/2 of each gauge.  

the only LED bulbs in my gauges are my “ warning lights”- I.e.-  low oil pressure, high temp, alternator, brights.

hope this helps,

cheers

I have the new Vdo gauges and the wattage o. The bulbs are weak so I got some higher wattage bulbs but trying to change them with my AC pénale and the steering wheel was a nightmare when I changed my defective speedo .... a challenge for sure also to get out from under there, claustrophobic much....tell me more about the led lights.

good luck

Led bulbs are available through Amazon that should slide directly into the twist bulb holders. You just need to make sure the twist bulb holders are the same size as your original or order the led bulbs that fit into your original twist sockets.
I agree that you must be a contortionist to get into a position change any of the bulbs . I will post info as I gather more information.

Thank you for the photos and suggestions. I normally stop driving my speedster when it get cold out but a good point to consider on fogging.

Thé issue is the led’s cannot be dimmed with the rheostat

Alan, I was afraid of the main option was to lie on my back and try to remove the gauges. Unfortunately my “wiggle” isn’t what it used to be. It is more a back spasm that happens at the most in opportune time.

renfrance

Wolfgang,  pulling out the gauges seems to be my only choice other than wearing a head band light at night to see my gauges. As for getting a 12 year old to remove the gauges is a good idea. Unfortunately I am at the point in my life where I am as flexible as  a steel girder and my mind is closer to the same as the 12 year old.  I will keep trying to get the bulbs changed no matter how long it takes. it may require a wrecker and an ambulance to to extract me from under the dash.

Renfrance

My gauges have U clamps that hold the gauges in place with two screws. I don’t have the luxury of press fit rubber seals.

Renfrance

I should have mentioned that you may have those. C clamps, they are easily removed.
I had to take my wheel off to change mine though.

I figured I would need to do that.

Thank you,


Renfrance

@Renfrance posted:

Alan, I was afraid of the main option was to lie on my back and try to remove the gauges. Unfortunately my “wiggle” isn’t what it used to be. It is more a back spasm that happens at the most in opportune time.

renfrance

I get calf leg cramps every time I am under a dash without fail and the longer I wait to get on my feet, the stronger the cramp gets. (Bladder dictates too )

I am contemplating drilling a hole in the floorboard so in the event I can get out quick enough I have somewhere to “go”.😀

@Alan Merklin posted:

I get calf leg cramps every time I am under a dash without fail and the longer I wait to get on my feet, the stronger the cramp gets. (Bladder dictates too )

Must be a Speedster thing. When I did my pedals, and a bunch of work cleaning up the wiring and installing a horn button, I removed my steering when, entered the passenger door and laid across the passenger seat that the bulkhead and nearly frill asleep in there one day. It was about if a challenge to "wiggle" back out, but no more than getting out if the driver's seat.

Old school C bracket and knurled nuts -

That is it

Some gauges just push out(911 or 914 style) and have the rubber ring holding them in place. Early CMC with 3 black gauges have this. The gauges are black faced and the tach is larger than the other two. These are also the same as Lfepardo posted in his gauge bulb pictures several posts above.

The other style of gauge(VDO aftermarket) has a bent "C" type clamp and knurled nuts holding the gauges to the dash. All three gauges are the same diameter. These look like the picture in Wolfgang's post directly above this post.

And there is a third type as well(much less common), Speedhut gauges actually have a large threaded ring to secure the gauges from behind. This tach is also larger than the other two but not quite as large as the 911/914 tach.

Tab Tanner has a 911 tach and two smaller guages and it looks awesome IMO.