Install LED Tail Lights In 1964-1973 Mustang

Safety is a high priority for me in my 1968 Mustang, primarily because it’s my daily driver. When the car failed its annual state inspection for inadequate tail and signal lights it provided a good excuse to install LED tail lights.

Lets face it, the factory single bulb tail lights in our old cars are pretty useless. Shortly after buying the Mustang I tried replacing the stock incandescent bulbs with replacement type LED bulbs, but they were no better. In fact, in the mid-day sun on more than one occasion I’ve had people stop to tell me my brake lights are inoperable. They’re not, but the bulbs aren’t bright enough for drivers behind me to see them on a sunny day. That’s a recipe for disaster.

Now, with a rejection sticker on the windshield where an inspection sticker should live I could no longer put off fixing the problem. I looked at my options and decided to install the Mustang Project sequential LED tail light kit. The Mustang Project kit comes with two LED tail light boards boasting 115 LEDs per side, a flasher, instructions, and all necessary hardware.

There are several benefits to upgrading your old tail lights with LED boards. There’s the obvious benefit of improved visibility during both day and night driving. LED bulbs also run much cooler than incandescent bulbs, and consume less power which takes some load off of the car’s nearly fifty year old wiring harness and electrical system. And of course, since the LED tail light boards illuminate a total of 230 bulbs rather than two, if one or two of those bulbs does go out you won’t be left without tail lights, brake lights, and turn signals.

Installation is very straightforward. Start by pulling the light socket out of the back of the housing and removing the inner housing from the tail light assembly. Remove the light bulb and wipe some dielectric grease in the light socket, so you don’t forget before reassembly.

Mock up the tail light board in the housing to choose the appropriate stud spacer. Now, in the trunk, assemble the LED board, housing, and socket, taking care to install each board on the correct side so the sequential lights sequence in the correct direction. You also want to ensure the LED boards are not touching the housing at any point before running power through them to avoid shorting out the board and voiding your warranty. Once you’re satisfied with fitment of those pieces you can bolt the housings back into the car.