1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

[Gregory G.]

It states in the JG that the first month of '70 production the high beam indicator light is red.My car is built Jan.24,1970,which is considered early and my indicator light is blue,which was never replaced,per my discussions with the past 2 owners.The JG maybe incorrect.

Greg

[Terry M.]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

And my 1970, built Jan 29, has a red high beam indicator. There are no other owners for me to talk to. I think we have proved something here, but I am not sure it has anything to do with the accuracy of the TIM&JG.
FWIW: Our survey of about 15 years ago indicated that the blue lens in early 1970 cars is quite RARE.

[Tony Merendino]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

Interesting but my 70 build date Jan 29 Vin# 002239 has a blue hi beam light. I don't know the history but when I pulled the dash it seemed virtually unmolested.

[Steve Nelson]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

My 1970 was built on Jan 20, 1970, and also has a blue high beam indicator, which appears to be original. It appears that both blue and red high beam indicators were used in mid to late January of 1970.

[Gregory G.]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

I find this interesting.Two cars built on the same day Jan.29th both have red and blue indicators. Could it be that Terry's car was the last of the red light indicators?

Greg

[Terry M.]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

FWIW: I'm s/n 2161. Greg, your's is is before mine, right? So I can't be the last of the red, when you're blue? Unless I am missing something.

[mike cobine]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

I would not assume that all red were used up before anyone installed a blue.

Parts is parts, and when they got loaded into the bins and shelves, they were available to be used. You could have a bunch of red at the back and blues loaded up front, and a lot of blue cars built before they got into the reds at the back.

[Terry M.]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

My belief is (and John H or Mike H could help) that the instrument clusters and the speedo/tach were assembled elsewhere than St. Louis. The paper broadcast code tags on them lead me to think that. Your point is, nonetheless, valid Mike -- just one step removed from the Corvette Assembly line.
It just now dawned on me that if the 1970 speedo/tach are one assembly (and I think they are) there may be a difference based on the broadcast code. Thus high rpm tachs may have a different high beam color beginning and end point than other rpm units. I'm not suggesting the different colors are on purpose, just that they may have been assembled at different workstations, and the supply bins filled differently. This might be more complicated than any of us would have thunk.

I would have expected federal standards enacted in 1968 would have regulated the color of the high beam indicator (as they do today), but perhaps that was not the case.

[mike cobine]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

It might get even more complicated. Weren't the tach, speedo, and instrument panel assembled in one unit for the assembly line to bolt in?

So you would have the subassembly getting red or blue as the bin had available.

Next you would have the red or blue speedo combined with one of various tachs.

Now were they tied together before being matched to a color of the instrument or at the same time?

If before, then you also have the chance of which color dash they were installed in.

Then they get shipped to St. Louis. Or maybe they were shipped individually and assembled in thedash panel there. In any case, on the line you may have a blue dash with a high tach and red bright while you have a black dash with a high tach and blue light and so on.

[Gregory G.]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

Your correct.I am s/n 1799.Curious to know of other Jan.'70 owners of what colors they all have.

Greg

[Joe L.]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

A question for all: on which instrument (i.e. speedometer or tachometer) is the high beam indicator found for your particular application and what is the color of the lens associated with that?

[Tony Merendino]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

On my Jan 29 built 70 Cpe the high beam indicator is blue and located on the Speedometer. The brake indicator is on the tach and has a red lense. It is interesting to see the variances of like cars with close build dates.

[Steve Nelson]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

On my January 20, 1970, built 350/300 4-spd Convertible, the high beam indicator is blue and located with the speedometer. The brake indicator is red and is located with the tachometer.

[Chris H.]

Re: 1970 High Beam Indicator Light Color

My old 70 big block, unmolested, VIN 531, first week of January production (1/9/70), had a blue high beam indicator.