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So after much tinkering and coaxing i got the high beam and turn signal indicator lamps to work correctly that are inside the speedo head.
Were those lamps colored ?
I can't find any evidence of any color on either bulb or the housing.
My guess is that there was a colored cellophane of some kind over the light openings.
Red for the high beam, and green for turn signal ???
1951, 300, so it only has the one lamp for turn signal, about the 2 o'clock position.

Any one know if i am close ?
Also open to ideas for remedies.
Thanks.

My 55 has red cellophane over the high beam indicator and plastic jewels over the turn signals. I don't remember the turn signal situation for 51 but I think the high beam is the same.

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Red for the bright headlight indicator..




51 and 52 only had a single amber light for the turn signal indicator which is a yellowish color that is tinted a slight bit toward orange.




When I did my 47 I was able to get some heavy cellophane sheets at a hobby shop. If you go this route you will probably need to get some kind of diffuser to go under the cellophane so you don't see the filament thru the clear color sheet.. I tried thin styrene but it was not satisfactory. If you can find a VERY thin white acrylic or plexiglass sheet that will transmit light that could work but either might be hard to find in a thin or small enough sheet. A good quality white typing paper might also work

On my 53 Cavalier the contact at the bottom of the socket for the bulb was oxidized. Cleaned them up and all the lights started working correctly.

Your are right, little cellophane covers, which may still be in your instrument cluster like mine were. I was able to warm and straighten them and then glue them back in place.








I think the cluster in your 51 should have the same bulbs the same as my '53. *After reading Howard's reply I see that in 51 there was just one turn signal indicator.
Small bulbs for high beam, gen and oil lights. 2 bulbs for the turn signal indicators (only 1 for yours) and then 4 bulbs to illuminate the rest of the instrument cluster.



After my initial cluster overhaul I updated most of the bulbs to LED, some are coloured LEDs. I had to tone down the shift indicator bulb as it looked like a UFO! The turn signals need resisters, which I didn't want to mess with, to use LED lights for those. *The radio still has a regular bulb in it, if I need to remove the radio again I'll probably change it to LED as well. I generally like to keep things pretty original, but because these are easily changed back, they look good, and they draw less power I changed them.

Removing, cleaning, and making any necessary repairs to your instrument cluster is a rewarding project! Requires time and patience!!!

I would suggest one or two layers of white (or yellow) tissue paper, the type used for gift wrapping, as a diffuser.