Thanks for the tips!
I wish I didn't have to wreck the plastic but you gotta do what you gotta do right!
Just thought I would mention this. When I rebuilt mine, on examining the original bulbs, I found them to 'carboned' quite a bit on the inside of the glass so they were not as bright as they once were. The original bulbs are spherical in shape.
I hunted all over for exact replacements, but never found any. However, I did find some GE 1891 bulbs, they are 12V but rather than round, they are somewhat elongated, thus slightly taller. I replaced all mine with these and low and behold, they are noticeably brighter because they're new and it puts the top of the bulb slightly closer to the colored lens. I have no problem noticing them even in sunlight. It helps for those times when I forget to cancel a turn signal.