Hey everyone, I’m new here and this is my first post. I’ve referred to these forums for quite sometime before joining. I have a 1950 Ford 2-door sedan. The shoebox wiring is still pretty good other than the headlight wires. Need some advice as I’m wanting to stay 6-volt to keep original as possible. How far back do you recommend I splice in wires or do you even recommend that? I realize this isn’t rocket surgery but appreciate any inputs you have. I’m currently finishing up body work and starting on paint at the moment. So I have some time to ponder on it.
I've done repair to a lot of harness and had great success. Most on here don't like to do it that way, would rather replace .... Do an intro ...
I always just do it one wire at a time, important stuff first. Peck away at it until no old wire remains connected to anything live.
Go to Rhode Island Wiring. They have correct gauge and color cloth wrap with correct terminal ends. They also make replacement sections and complete harnesses. If you want to do it correct and Painless they are the source.
If originality is the goal, Rhode Island should be your go-to. But they're not cheap either; quality costs money. Ford used cloth-covered rubber insulation in those days (as did most manufacturers) and the rubber is now 74 years old. Sometime just the disturbing of it will cause issues with insulation breakdown, making good repairs difficult. Keep that in mind if any other wiring is run with this, these sorts of repairs can escalate too easily. My rule of thumb is to find still-flexible rubber (no crumbling) at the splice point and more importantly, that you find bright copper wire when stripped. If the wire is dark colored, that means the insulation has at least partially failed and some corrosion is present. I won't say that splicing to wire like that will fail, but the odds have gone up.
Think about running a relay for your head lights to get brighter lights. The additional wiring could be hidden. It's AMAZING how much brighter the lights are when a relay is used. 6sally6
The best way to make a splice is to solder it together and put a shrink tube over the splice. You can make it look original by re-wrapping the wires to look like an original loom. Electrical tape is used on a lot of the old cars for this. You can clean the black color off the wires where it's stripped to connect. Just dunk it in some vinegar and let it sit a few minutes. If vinegar don't do it, dilute Muriatic acid will do it instantly. Dunk the bare wire in a baking soda solution to neutralize the acid, then apply the proper flux and solder it. You can join the wires without making a lump in the loom. Takes a little practice if you haven't done it before. I strongly agree about headlight relays on these 6 volt systems.
There's only one right, everything else is Band-aids. You won't regret paying a little more up front when you don't have to go back and redo on the side of the road.
This is what I do. My father bought a new 50 Ford and I got my first 50 in 1963. I drive a Crestliner. In other words I have been around 6 volts all my life. I Hate 6 volts. Intensely. Every time I hear a 6 volt starter I cringe, thinking there's no way that's going to start the engine. Solder should not be used with automotive wiring
I’ve got Dennis Carpenter wiring in all of mine and never had an issue. The headlight harness is a completely separate piece so just plug and play so to speak.
Wiring is one of those things where you should spend your money ONCE. I like the RI stuff, looks great on old cars. The old Fords didn't have many circuits in them.
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