You'll get brighter and much safer drives, and you can see a crisp, modern look when you upgrade the lighting in your Datsun Z to LED. LED upgrades can deliver instant-on illumination, and they like to run cooler than stock bulbs without any tough wiring changes. What matters here is picking the right parts that match the electrical system in your Z.
LED lights will change the overall look and style of your conversion project. I'll tell you about the four main areas to upgrade: the headlights, the taillights, the interior lighting, and the license plate lights. You'll need some basic tools, a wiring diagram, and about 2 to 3 hours before you start. Remember to check things like bulb compatibility, grounding, and weatherproofing of the connections.
Modern LED technology will improve your safety and your appearance as well. It's time now to brighten up that ride of yours!
Table of Contents
Headlight Upgrade
Let me help you through upgrading your Datsun Z's headlights with some LED conversion kits. You'll see how these modern and very bright lights can help change the look and the performance of your classic car at night.
The LED conversion kits can make the installation fairly easy, too. You won't need any real skills because these kits plug directly into your Z's original wiring - no tough modifications are needed. Some small adjustments might pop up during the installation process.
The wire colors in your Z might not match the new kit (or you might need to add in a ground wire). These adjustments are quick and easy to take care of. Your first step is checking the headlight socket type in your Z. Most Datsun Z models use H4 style bulbs - LED conversion manufacturers design their kits specifically for this kind of setup.
Each kit comes with mounting hardware and relays to make the installation easier. LED upgrades can give big changes to your classic Z. Your nighttime visibility will be much better compared to those dim sealed beams, which helps make evening drives safer.
LEDs draw much less power from your car's electrical system, and they'll probably last longer than your ownership of the car. LEDs run cool when compared to traditional headlights. Your old sealed beams would get hot enough to fry an egg, which could damage the wiring and housings over time.
LED bulbs stay barely warm even after they run all night long, which helps to protect your car's electrical parts. The new wiring harness that's included in most LED kits really makes a difference for your Z. Classic car wiring can struggle to deliver enough power for modern lights.
But these fresh harnesses help your LEDs perform properly at their best brightness. Start with pulling out those old headlight assemblies - it can give you the perfect opportunity to wipe everything down and check for any crusty connections. The installation takes about an hour of work. After that, you can basically just plug in your new LEDs and make sure everything's secured.
Alternatively, you can look into LED projector headlights. LED projector headlights will give you a completely new assembly, while direct-fit LED bulbs will work with what you already have. The end results can look pretty great.
Those night drives in the dark suddenly felt so much safer. The money spent ($400 to $1000) definitely shows in both how they look and how they perform. Dapper Lighting makes some really nice kits for these cars if you're interested in the LED projector route.
Install LED Sequential Tail Lights
The mind-blowing results of LED upgrades on classic Datsun Zs will light up the entirety of your day. Your parking lot area will light up just like a Christmas tree when you install some sequential LED turn signals - just like mine did at our local car meet.
These modern and sequential LED kits are leagues ahead of the basic auto parts store strips. Your turn signals will create this flowing kind of effect instead of just blinking. The light will gracefully sweep across the full housing.
You can install these lights with some of the basic tools and with just a bit of knowledge. You basically remove your old turn signal housing and then pop in the new LED one. Most of these kits come with three wires that simply connect to your existing turn signal wiring.
You should double-check all your connections before closing everything up. Water getting into the taillights is honestly a real pain in the neck. So, a quick bead of silicone sealant applied around the edges will stop those pesky water drops from ruining your new setup. Or worse, resulting in rust buildup. Water is bad. Silicone is good!
Modern tech and classic style come together beautifully with these LED kits. Your lights will give off a smooth and even kind of glow, which looks stock. The kits also adjust themselves depending on the sunlight, so the signals will stay visible both day and night.
These LED kits outdo traditional light bulbs in pretty much every way. With Hybrid-LED technology, most kits perform well for up to 50,000 hours. That's miles beyond the old-school bulbs or the basic LED strips.
Your car's electrical system will thank you since these pull much less power. Your specific setup will determine how many flasher modules you'll need. One module works just fine for turn signals only.
But you'll probably want two if you're hooking up hazard lights as well. The connection process can be easier once you locate the right wires to use. It's time to light up those license plates in style during your Z's LED transformation!
Add LED License Plate Light
You'll see the giant difference in the back of your Datsun Z's nighttime appearance after upgrading to the LED license plate lights, and this seemingly small mod can make the whole back end of the car look fresh. The LED upgrade takes less than 60 minutes, and you only need the basic tools that you already have in your garage. Your biggest challenge will probably be reaching into that tight and cramped space just behind the license plate.
Quality makes a bigger difference with these LED replacements for your Z. At Skillard, we design these particular license plate light kits specifically for these vehicles, using CNC-machined aluminum housings that outlast those original plastic parts. You'll pay more than for the generic LEDs. But our parts are built to match the factory's quality and hold up well over time.
Old plastic car parts need to be handled carefully during any work you need to do. The original license plate covers on these classic cars become brittle and fragile after years out in the sun. Many first-timers who rush this step end up with cracked parts, and that turns an easy job into a major headache.
You can finish the LED swap faster once you get to the housing itself. You basically untwist the old bulb and just pop the LED replacement into place. Most bulbs will plug straight into the factory socket. You should test all your new lights before you start reassembling everything. Factory gauges - along with our Skillard LED dome lights - make for a really nice LED makeover.
The right color temperature will help your Z's lighting look more professional. Most of those budget LEDs give off a harsh and artificial bluish glow that can seem out of place on classic vintage cars. LEDs between 4500K and 6000K will give you that clean white light output that matches the look of modern headlights.
That tight little workspace right behind the license plate will test all your patience. The mounting screws sit in some awkward and inconvenient places. When you drop one of them, you'll need to crawl underneath your car in order to retrieve it. A magnetic screwdriver, along with some extra lighting, will definitely help you stay away from the colorful language during this installation.
Upgrade Gauges And Dome Light
Your Z's interior lighting upgrade to the LEDs will make you think a lot about what you've been missing this whole time. Those original gauge cluster bulbs were never really all that bright, and they have only become even dimmer over the years.
The LEDs will change how you're able to see your gauges when you're driving at night. Your gauges will end up looking sharp and sleek after you make the switch over to these LEDs. The numbers and the needles will appear crisp against those dark gauge faces. No more leaning in or squinting while you try to read your speed or your RPMs.
Your nighttime drives will definitely be more fun and safer, too. At Skillard, we sell a super reliable LED dome light that uses very little power and works great at night. You're able to pick warm white LEDs that can match the original style - or you can even try green and amber, which are colors just like the ones in the factory lighting.
Some owners like mixing in different LED colors just to create their dashboard's custom look. The LED installation in your gauge cluster will require some patience. But it isn't rocket science, either. The wiring obviously needs to be correct since LEDs will only work in one direction at a time.
Just remember that the longer leg always connects to power, and the shorter leg will go right to the ground. You can get the best lighting results overall when you position your LEDs just as close to the very front of the gauges as possible. A little silicone adhesive will help hold them securely in the right location. Heat shrink tubing over the LED legs also helps avoid any accidental electrical shorts from happening.
Your stock dimmer probably won't work with the LEDs because they use far less power than all those traditional bulbs. The owners usually use a modern LED dimmer module instead. It'll give you smooth brightness control without causing any flicker problems at all.
Compatibility, Wiring, and Relays
Your Z's LED lighting upgrade will need a bit more work than you might think for just a bulb swap. You'll need to take a closer look at your car's electrical system because LED upgrades have some different power needs compared to your Z's original lighting setup.
Z owners can have a hard time with flickering lights after their LED upgrade, and this usually happens because the car's power supply isn't delivering the right kind of power to the LEDs. You can solve this by adding a resistor and a relay. In some cases, you'll also need a new wiring harness as well.
Your Z's original wiring probably won't push enough power through to run these modern LED systems. You can think of it as when you're trying to drink a thick and creamy milkshake through a small straw, and there's just not enough flow to get the job done.
Your fuse box needs some extra attention, too. The original fuse boxes in these vehicles weren't designed with LED lighting in mind. You'll probably need some upgraded fuse holders to manage the different power requirements, especially for LED headlight installations.
If you switch over to LED blinkers, you'll need new LED-compatible relays as well. When you switch to lights that require less electricity, the circuitry that makes them blink on and off needs to change as well.
Thankfully, they're pretty easy - you just unplug the old ones and plug new ones in.
Z owners have learned through experience that skipping these basic steps can cause you endless problems. The flickering lights, blown fuses, and mysterious electrical problems will pop up until you start with the basics. Your classic Z needs extra attention to work with modern LED lighting.
A harness upgrade makes sense if you're planning to switch multiple lights to LED. The modern wiring works with LED power requirements in a way that's better than the old factory wiring, and you'll get fresh and more reliable electrical connections throughout your entire vehicle, too.
Build Your Dream Car
Your car can gain some added safety and a bit of style when you want to upgrade it with some thoughtful modifications. LED lighting options can give you a few more options to match your individual preferences. You'll want to choose the answer that works with what makes the most sense to you.
If that's the brightest and most possible light, that makes installation simple or just making sure your lights can last for years ahead. Car enthusiasts usually start with one single upgrade. But they soon find other fun ways to make their ride feel like their best. You'll feel a sense of pride and accomplishment when you can take the time to enhance different areas of your car.
Each new modification takes your restoration project just one step closer to excellence. It doesn't matter where you are in the overall restoration process.
We at Skillard create some custom-designed parts specifically for Datsun Z cars, from sleek aluminum door cards to a variety of bumpers and spoilers. We make high-quality Datsun parts that are ready to help take your project to new levels.
Head over to Skillard.com and join some other passionate classic car enthusiasts who share the same love for making these vintage vehicles even better.
