Projects Installing a wiring harness

I have a 1950 Ford 2 door Deluxe Sedan and want to have a new wiring harness installed in it. I found the Shoebox Ford 6 volt modern Universal wiring harness to be just what I need. However I am an old man and I don't twist and bend like I use to and would like to know what I should expect to pay to have this harness installed in the car for me? Thank you

 

I would think that would be a job done, time and material. The bill might cause some twisting and bending .

 

That's like asking how much is a paint job, I have the paint. For sure you don't want the cheapest guy and you don't want a guy just learning and charging you by the hour to go to school. Tough spot to be in. There are guys that just do wiring but seem to be hard to find. Defiantly worth finding. When you just pay their price and go on.

 

should change title of thread to asking for wiring help needed in your area

 

$1000 plus in this area. If you can find someone to do it.
Worse part is getting the seat out of the way.

 

You also have to factor in time removing the old wiring and access to some components.

 

Brother did one for a guy with a 63 impala - $2,500. His had some modifying though.

 

I've done quite a few for myself or friends, and if all the old harness is removed and ready for me to install it takes anywhere from 10-12 hours. Things like full interior still in place will add time to the install, and whether I need to dress it all down, or just install it and the owner will dress all the wiring afterwards.
Most shops doing this work around here charge $100-$150 an hour, plus some materials not in the kits. I'd expect it might cost $1500-$2000 when it's done at a shop.
I don't flex well at 73 yrs. old, but neither does my wallet, so I still do it myself even if I have to stretch those hours over 4-5 days to make work days shorter.

 

Hi,
Have you already purchased the wiring harness you referenced? This could be a limiting factor in the options for installation. You could contact a restoration shop in your area and ask for their estimate, however they may not like or be familiar with the harness brand you chose. A shop might want to use a brand they are familiar with. Both for quality and understanding complexity. Also if someone is installing it would you expect some type of warranty/guaranty? This will play into the cost and willingness of a shop to do the work. Finding someone to "throw" it in might not be hard or expensive, but will it work or last. A reputable shop in my area is looking for $150+ an hour for work, that's $1200 a day times unknown time frame? Are there other issues they would have to deal with? Interior removal, defective or broken old components, there are way to many variables to get an accurate estimate forum guessing.
Best of luck with your project

 

Get ahold of a couple of local car guys and see if they will help you out. A friend and myself have helped out a couple people and all it cost him was a couple of beers.

 

The reason I was asking about the cost of having it done was not only that I can't move around very well but because I don't know what I would do if I got the seat removed, tear out the old harness and then not be able to put the new harness in. I seem to have a way with some projects that I do it once, then twice, then three times before I get someone to fix it the right way the first time. Since I have never replaced a wiring harness before I don't have a warm and fuzzy feeling about this project. I have read that you guys say its not that hard to do, it only takes time. Well I have the time but I am not sure I have the skill. Is there anyone who has actually installed a Shoebox Ford 6 volt modern Universal wiring harness? Is there anything else I need to buy besides the kit in order to complete the job? Thank you

 

I just did a 50 ford last year, with a reproduction stock harness. Converted to 12 volts but he wanted the more stock look. It’s not a bad job if you take the dash out first, not many screws and bolts. We wired the dash sitting on the bench (most of the wires are under the dash) and a few wires go to the front end and not many to tail lights.

 

Tech help questions for that harness should be sent to: @REBEL43 .
The phone number is in the instructions.

https://shoebox-central.com/6-volt-modern-universal-wiring-harness

 

Just finished wiring my '54 Ford top to bottom with a 5.0 Mustang EFI conversion in between. I'm 68 years old (feel 88). You can do it. It's just gonna take lots of time and patience! First thing you'll need is one of these.......
https://www.ebay.com/itm/3726444713...MIx6vU39vghAMVPTXUAR0XQw8qEAQYAiABEgIewfD_BwE

If you're able to remove the seat and tear out the old harness, you'll have no issue putting in the new one 'cause the hard part is removal. Don't just rip it out. Disconnect, remove and save everything until the new harness is in and car is running properly. Dashboard removal is mandatory too, especially at our age. Just a few bolts to remove that. Follow the wiring diagram carefully and reinstall.

 

My experience with wiring kits is that you'll spend as much time going to and from the parts store for various connectors, grommets, wire clamps, etc., as you will installing it. However, actually installing the harness is fairly straight forward.

As far as what else you need, read the manual about 6 or 7 times until you know it by heart. Study where everything goes on your car compared to the manual, and you'll be able to see what you need or are missing.

Someone said $1000 in his area. With labour rates in my area that would probably be 7-10 hours. If a person had all the right tools and right parts, I would bank on 15-20 hours to install if you do it yourself. Even if not, depending on how quick the person is. Putting yourself cramped in and under the vehicle to get everything hooked up takes time too.

The thing I like about wiring myself is I know the system when it comes to troubleshooting down the road.

 

It's a very big step to recognize your lack of skills before you make the job bigger than it needs to be for the person that actually does it for you. It's a much larger step to actually admit it.

 

While not a Ford, I'm about to rewire my 51 Chevy. The biggest thing to add time and expense to you doing the job yourself is how picky are you? I know I will spend time and money to make sure the wires run where and how I want. Do you plan on wrapping the wires under the car or just running them? Are there factory anchor points to hold the wires and how are you going to secure them to those points? Do you want to put grommets around the through holes in the vehicle? There are any number of little things that you might want to do differently than the basic instructions say. Can you do it? Absolutely. Before you start make sure every wire connection point is marked with what it is supposed to be. You want to make sure every wire is accounted for and every wire you remove has a corresponding wire in the kit. Make matching tags and place them on the connection points as you remove the old wires. Lay out the wires and group the wires into groups. Multiple wires run together to the quadrants of the car. Just like prewiring the dash is best done before you start and that will complete one group of wires. bundle the engine and front end wires, the rear light wires, and any other wire groups. You can even pre-wrap some of the wires paying attention to where they split and head to other places.

And most importantly when you get it done, post back and let us all celebrate with you?

 

What scares me about your post is @Babyboomerboy says they have a universal wiring harness.

I am that guy that would buy one from Amazon and install it myself.
What I found is the quality of the wire seems acceptable, since I'm converting to 12 volts.
Even the 12 circuit fuse box seems ok.

While it comes with 2 relays, 1 relay was never shipped. The wires are satisfactory or very close in length for the front half ..... they will never reach the tail lights .... never intended too.

The wires are to be marked and printed on them for where each goes ..... mine has no printing.
The fuse box cover has a paper label glued on it that tells what each fuse is for ..... it is not even close to being correct.
Peel off the label and it has another set of instructions on it for things as a sun roof, AC ....

When I pull the fuses out of the fuse box .... the plastic part literally comes off the legs stabbed into the fuse box. ..... Just total junk and need replaced.
The whole thing is just junk .....

There is zero instructions that came with it. ..... I need to buy more wire, fuses, relays and I need to spend hours deciphering how they wired it .... I have not been able to unpin the wires and move them where I would want them.

This here would cost you a lot of $$ to pay someone to go through and fix your universal wiring kit.
Would be better to spend extra for a name brand such as painless wiring and get quality product with instructions and support.

 

This original poster has a Rebel universal wiring kit, not a no name kit from some internet site.

 

That’s a pretty simple kit and a pretty simple car. It’s got some terminals, maybe even the right ones. You’ll need a good crimper, start here.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/who-makes-a-good-quality-wire-crimper.1309036/

You’ll probably need some shrink wrap to go over the terminals. You can ge that either from specialty sources, or even the big box home center. A hair dryer might work, but a heat gun is better.

1” blue painters tape is great to bundle things and keep them sorted during the install. Comes off easy when your ready for the tie wraps, tape wrap, loom, whatever you want to finish with.

I like to lay the fuse panel and harness out on cardboard or a card table. Get the relative positions and bundles in my head first. Not full size, not talking about a harness board here. I do that before I remove the old wiring in as large a bundle as possible. Might come in handy as you go along. It’s not rocket science.

For specifics and background you can read thru Crazy Steve’s extensive post. More than a simple project needs to know, but great knowledge to have in the back of your mind as you go thru it.
I’m 74, I don’t move that well either. But with the seat out, and even better the dash, it’s not that bad.

Wiring 101, courtesy of Crazy Steve
https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/wiring-101.843579/

 

I put a Rebel 9+3 kit in my '54 Ranch Wagon converted to 12 volts. No real issues that tech support didn't handle. But if the OP wants ease of installation he should consider a direct kit not a universal one. Not that there is anything wrong with the Rebel kit but a non universal kit specific to his Ford would be an easier install. JMO

 

I did a wiring kit in my 51 Chevy. I completly stripped and removed ALL old wiring (otherwise you might be tempted to connect to it) so there was NO turning back. I used a Kwik Wire kit that came with everything i needed except bulbs. I layed it out on the dining room table and grouped wires together with electrical tape. Then took it out to the car and mounted fuse box then ran the groups of wires to their locations. My wires are labeled every 6 inches. I started at the back and worked to the front 1 wire at a time. It took me a couple weeks but i wasnt working on it steady. I think alot people get overwhelmed when they look at the kit and say i cant do it. Do it as follows. Group wires left tailight, licence light, right tailight, etc, etc,etc. Then just connect each wire of each group accordingly then onto the next group. Dont get overwhelmed, just 1 thing at a time. You CAN DO THIS. And youll feel good about it after.

 

True, I gave up about a year ago. If you pay some to wire your car and it gets destroyed in the future electrical fire does insurance still cover the loss?

 

My car, the dash and interior was out. Prep is key, outside of the car you need to create a "harness board" and establish the main trunk and run out the "breakouts" logically. What goes to the rear of the car, what goes out the firewall, etc. I used the steering column as my datum.

Label everything as it gets routed. I made a "wire run list" in Excel, it was only around 12 circuits and 50 odd wires. I had to tidy up the dash cluster wiring, the heater control wiring too. I added 2 barrier-strips (terminal strips) under the dash, made each all common with jumpers. One was for gauge lights, the other was gauge power.

Good instructions are key. I was able to see the Kwik Wire manual before I laid out my cash. I made notes in it and it is now in a binder so I can go back to it if I have to.

 

I am 77 and don't bend and twist either but I still managed to rewire a deuce roadster on my own. It took about two weeks of several hours a day working deliberately and slowly. I used a Rebel Wiring harness which I think was the key to a successful job. Their kit is American made using quality wire and connectors, but the biggest advantage of using a Rebel kit is the technical service after the sale even though the printed instructions were very good I still had some difficulty. I called them six times with some minor problems and each time they patiently talked me through the correct procedure to get the job done and thanked me for using their product. The advantage is not only the satisfaction of doing it yourself but in case of future electrical problems you know how every thing is wired and routed.

 

Take photos of the old terminations with your phone, and then take more....before you disconnect it
If you pick away at it...you can do it I suspect. Think about it...it pays $50+hr if it takes you twice as long as a shop

 

Every insurance company has a bit of a different list of items they consider for coverage. For instance, if you haphazardly wired your car yourself and knew there were issues and it burnt, they would probably deny coverage. If you instructed the installer not to put in fuses and it burnt, probably coverage denied. If you chose a qualified installer (or did it yourself) and the job was good and the fire was not predictable, you should be safe. Insurance companies go after installers and their insurance companies all the time to recover costs, this would be no different.

 

I have a Rebel. 2nd to none on all counts. Anyone worth their black elec tape should be able to install it with no hassles.

 

Just go and do it. What can go wrong? It's just an old car.

 

Whatever you might need besides the kit really depends on the particular kit you bought. So tough to tell you whatever else you might need without knowing what you have now.
I have a method I use when doing a new harness kit that's worked well for me. The first one I did puzzled the heck out of me as it was an EZ Wire kit, and had a bunch of jumper wires tied into the bundles of wiring, and I couldn't figure out why so many ends had the same labels? Once I cut all the ties the jumper extensions fell out and I realized what they were.
I begin by cutting all the old wiring out, but leave about 6" at each termination just in case I need to splice. Then decide on a location for the fuse block and mount it first. After that I group looms to 3 groups for dashboard, engine bay, and trunk or tail area.
I always begin with the dashboard and instruments first as they take the most time. Then move to engine bay and headlights, etc., and finally to the taillights and fuel sender. When everything is done I check operation, and then begin dressing the wiring down along the routes it takes.
Occasionally you'll find a universal kit may not always be compatible with all the original gauges, but those things can be addressed as you do your testing. Sometimes a new gauge might be needed if yours are odd or maybe not working properly.