Technical 59 Chevy Bel Air parking brake light

Was the parking brake light an option on 59 Chevy sedans? I have a Bel Air that has been in the family since 1986 and is very much original and untouched. The leftmost gauge pod does not light up and when I removed it to put a bulb in, there was no socket and no evidence of any modification done to the wiring harness. There also appears to be no wiring for the parking brake light and no switch down on the pedal.

Without this option are the dash lights supposed to be missing that leftmost pod?

 

Welcome to the no frills world of the base Bel-Air model year 1959!

 

At least they spec'd a clock. It may not work, but it's right twice a day.

 

Parking brake light was an option no matter what model it was. As for left pod, isn’t that just idiot lights?

 

The left pod does have a spot for a light. I cannot find a picture online of a 59 Chevy dash lit up, oddly. But yes, that is the idiot light section with generator and oil for me.

 

https://diagramonwiring.blogspot.com/2011/12/1959-chevrolet-v8-biscayne-belair-and.html

 

Simple enough to put back.

 

Even if it's not stock, I may add it for the sake of symmetry, yes. It takes 2min to get everything apart.

 

I haven’t been into a 59 dash (yet). That said, sometimes the dash light wiring will have a single lead to just one dash light. Per wiring diagram posted above, there’s 3 leads from the fuse for the dash lights.

 

classicwiring.com about $20. Laminated, color coated, all options.