[SUGAGOAT]

Hi Guys, Does anybody know where to get light bulbs for the rear courtesy lights in a 66 gto convertible? the book says # 68...i tried a # 90 but its a bit too tight...Thanks in advance & HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL....Pete

[engineer]

68 bulbs are still available at the auto store.

[SUGAGOAT]

what auto store? i've tried Auto Barn, Auto Zone, Pep Boys & local auto stores...Has anyone purchased them recently & where?? Thanks again

[bradkline]

I had the same problem as you did. After 40 years of service one of the original rear courtesy lamp bulbs in my '66 Bonneville convertible burned out. Talk about service!
I too looked around and found what I thought was a replacement bulb at Advance Auto Parts. The contact/pin configuration was corrrect however the bulb height was too high and I couldn't get the lense covers back on. After quite a long search on the internet for obsolete bulbs and coming up emptyhanded I just happened to look in my Ames Performance Engineering catalogue (Sorry PY) and found they had a #89. Fearing it was just like the one I got at Advance I called Ames and the rep actually measured it for me and it was practically right on. I ordered two and they fit perfectly. I don't have an "A" body catalogue from Ames but the bulbs are found on page 98 of the fullsize catalogue and show a part number of LB0089.

Hope that helps............

Bradley Kline

[SUGAGOAT]

Thanks Bradley, The # 89 bulb have one contact. the # 68 have two conntacts.I
tried the #89's and they didn't work...Either way I just lucked out and bought a package of 10 # 68's on ebay. Hopfully they'll be the right ones...Again Ithank you for your input...."Pete"

[awsum67]

Sugagoat, this topic is a little long in the tooth, but I recently experienced this same problem. One of my old GE 68 bulbs gave up the ghost. Like someone in this thread said they had done previously, I called every auto parts store in my area with no luck. I just happened to discover a CarQuest distribution center about 20 miles from me. They said they had 4 in stock. I drove over and picked them up.

They looked correct when I bought them, but when I tried to put them in they would not fit. Yes, they have two contacts and their diameter is correct for the socket, but the six little fingers on the socket that holds it in the back of the chrome trim bezel catches on the bulb and will not allow it to seat deeply enough to turn it into position.

I compared this bulb to my burned out GE 68 and found that the GE brass base, up to the bottom of the glass, is straight. The Chinese 68 has a flare in the brass just underneath the glass and this flare is what prevents the bulb from seating. The six little fingers that I mentioned earlier catch on this flare. I tried these bulbs in both sides of my 69 convertible and in two sockets from a 67 Lemans convertible that I parted out. It will not fit in any of them so I know that it is not the socket..

The reason that I am leaving this post is to ask if anyone has discovered a solution for this. Sugagoat, you said that you bought 10 on eBay. Did these fit? If so, would you share the vendor's name with the rest of us so that we can purchase from them as well? Thx

[SUGAGOAT]

AWSUM67..I CAN RELATE WITH YOUR FRUSTRATION... I'LL DO MY BEST TO CHECK MY EBAY PURCHASE ARCHIVES...THAT WAS REALLY A WHILE AGO..I'M PRETTY SURE IT WASN'T A VENDER I GOT THEM FROM BUT JUST A GUY THAT HAD THEM ON THE SHELF... "PETE"

[SUGAGOAT]

ASUME67...THE GUY ON EBAY I GOT THE BULBS FROM WAS LOOS TRADING INC., 2395 U S HIGHWAY 90A WEST, P.O.BOX 1652, SHINER, TEXAS 77984.. HIS EMAIL IS LTIPARTS@SBCGLOBAL.NET ...LIKE I SAID I THINK IT WAS A ONE TIME THING BUT YOU CAN CHECK IT OUT....GOOD LUCK..."PETE"

[awsum67]

I assume that your bulbs worked well for you. Thanks for the information.

[Ogre]

I have this shortcut on my desktop (http://www.bulbs.com/eSpec.aspx?ID=11581). I know I am going to need them for my '72 LeMans Vert eventually.

I haven't ordered or tried them yet, so I can't vouch for their "correctness" (is that a word?) .

If anybody tries them, give us all some feedback.

Ogre

[Old Goat 67]

Good post Ogre!
That site is saved for future. Hope I can find it when I need it.
Give it a shot Terry.
Charles

[awsum67]

The saga continues..........

I followed up on the link that OGRE provided. I called these folks (Bulbs.com)and asked if someone could talk with me about dimensional information on their 68 bulb. They could not help, but they provided me with a phone number for the manufacturer. CEC is the name of the manufacturer, and they build all of their bulbs in China (what a surprise). I spoke with tech support and explained the situation, The guy that I spoke with said that he would pull one of their 68 bulbs and measure the diameter of the base and the diameter of the flare just beneath the bulb. His engineering drawings only showed the diameter of the base with no flare information. If you go back and re-read this thread you will see why this information is important.

My original GE bulb that burned out had a .592" base and a flare that measured .603". As you can see these dimensions are pretty close to being the same. This bulb fit the rear arm rest socket nicely.

The dimensions on the replacement Chinese bulb that I bought is .599" at the base and .664" at the flare. This is a big difference. Because the six retaining fingers on the socket are so close to the bulb they hit this additional flare dimension and prevent the bulb from seating.

CEC is supposed to call me back tomorrow to advise the dimensional information. If it is acceptable, I will order a small quantity from Bulbs.com and try them in my car. If that works we will have a source for the replacements. I guess the thing to remember here is that a 68 bulb is not a 68 bulb, is not necessarily a 68 bulb.

[Ogre]

Great work, awsum. And thanks for the info.

Since I am not in the market for the bulbs just yet, I haven't done a lot of homework, so I assumed that a "68" is a "68". The measurement differences is surprising (to say the least)! Just so I understand, you are saying that the larger flared circumference of the bulb hits the socket retaining teeth and keeps the bulb from fully seating and making contact with the two contact points on the base of the bulb ... is that right?

I guess if the only 68s out there are the slightly larger ones, we will all be looking for the sockets which they fit, so we can cut and splice new sockets !!

I hope not. Please keep us advised on what you find.

Thanks Again,
Ogre

[69gtocv]

Went through the same thing with my "68"s in my cv courtesy lamps. I managed to get them, but I'm surprised I didn't smash the glass squeezing them so tight to get them in.. hopefully I'll never have to take them out!

[SUGAGOAT]

FORGET ABOUT TRYING TO SCREW THESE LITTLE BUGGERS IN...I FIND IT EASIER TO REMOVE THE LENSE, THEN THE HOUSING, THEN THE SOCKET FROM THE HOUSING SCREW IN THE BULB & PUT IT ALL BACK TOGETHER..A LIL' MORE THEM CONSUMING BUT MUCH EASIER THEN TRYING SCREW THEM IN PLACE...

[awsum67]

Sugagoat, I thought it was just me, but I find the same situation with my lights. You can't just remove the lense and install the bulb.

Did the #68 bulbs that you bought off of eBay have any markings on the base that identified them?

As a parting note, I expect to get the information that the manufacturer promised to me on these bulbs today. I will share it when I get it.

[Ogre]

Well guys, I decided to go ahead and order some (the cost was so cheap). They are not perfect but they will work.

The dimensions from awsum67 are very close, but they do fit the '72 Lemans Sport Convertible sockets "snugly". I'll get more on here later today, with some pictures (hopefully), so that all can see the differences.

Got to get on that deck building that the wifey wants SOON!

Oh Priorities ...
Ogre

[awsum67]

Ogre, it sounds like your solution works. Look forward to the pictures.

I got a response from CEC on these bulbs. CEC makes the bulbs that are sold through bulbs.com. I assume these are the ones that you bought. According to what I have read, all convertibles from 64-72 used the same 68 bulb so if these work for you, then they should work for me and others.

CEC told me that the flare on their 68 bulbs ranged from .650" to .670". The bulb that I have that will NOT fit is .664" at the flare. Based on this, I concluded that theirs would not work. It appears that I may be wrong.

[Ogre]

Ok gang, Let's see how bad I screw this up! First caveat = I am not a photographer. But I do like digital cameras because I can take a pic and look at it, and delete it wihout wasting film!

First the bulbs and differences. If I do this right the first pic is the bulbs side-by-side. The one on the left is the old bulb (I'm not even sure it is a 68, because there are no markings on it). You can easily see the flared area just below the clear bulb, that awsum67 is talking about.

Next the housing from the armrest of my '72 Vert. The six retaining teeth can be seen, but they may have been "tweaked" by a prev owner. I don't know. Next, the bulb holder removed from the housing so you can see the teeth better. Next the old bulb in the socket removed from the housing. Top of pic shows considerable room between the retaining tooth and the bulb brass base.

Next the new 68 showing the small distance between the bulb base and the retaining tooth. It's a close fit, but I am still able to insert the bulb in the socket with the housing attached, and still turn it to snap it into the right position. If your retaining teeth are in "excellent" shape, you may need to "tweak" them a little bit to get some clearance. It may not be perfect, but I think they will work.

BTW, I took the pics at High Resolution and macro to get good detail. I hope they're not too small.

Ogre

Oh yeah, I forgot to add: I HATE BUILDING A DECK IN 95 DEGREE WEATHER WITH THUNDERSTORMS IN THE AREA!! Hope my wife doesn't see this ...