Just picked up a 1950 ford car. Last owners converted it to 12v, but the wiring looks really bad. 327 auto on bags. My plan is to buy a 21 circuit universal wiring kit from Rebel wire. I was thinking of mounting the fuse block in the trunk. Last owner has the battery mounted in the trunk behind a upholstered panel. I figured it would be a good spot to also hide the fuse block. Anyone see any issues with doing it this way? Second question is, car has air compressors, stereo, and hopefully in the future some kind of hvac. Reading the description, the 21 circuit should have plenty of room to grow. I dont plan on power windows or locks. But do have to account for air ride and stereo. I should be good with the 21 circuit ya?
That should work. I’ve done a couple of bagged cars. The air management system is usually a direct connection to the battery. If you are going to mount the fuseblock in the trunk, might thing of mounting it inside a tool box affixed to the trunk floor. Out of site out of mind .
I'd suggest reading through this thread and all the info on the site. It should help you plan out and select kit and locations. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/rebel-wire-harness-diagrams-and-wiring-info.1120201/
I was going to build some type of panel and mount everything to it, relays etc. Want to keep it out of the engine bay. thanks for the link
There are a lot of threads on wiring. Here's another here on the HAMB. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/wiring-101.843579/ If you can wrap your head around circuits and routing along with relays and controls, I'd suggest Tim's thread where he's gone pretty deep into his bucket planning. It starts around page 43. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/members/tim_with_a_t.149617/featured-threads There are others, too. A lot of people tend to get thousand yard stares when talking about electrics. If this is you, the kit and support will be more useful. I will mention that having the fuse block and labelled wiring is very useful, but it is when you are trying to connect to 70 year old sockets and locating the correct terminals it can get sticky. Just like bodywork, it starts with getting it clean and straight, then the extra effort to get it right makes a big difference.
Don't understand the thinking of a trunk mounted fuse panel. That just adds a lot of unnecessary wire into the harness.
I tend to agree. If you look at the component locations, the most central location is the firewall. So long as the main junction is accessible, that's the logical location. https://imagelala45.blogspot.com/2022/02/1950-ford-coupe-wiring-diagram.html
I did a 53 for a friend with an air system. We moved the gas tank so there was room to lower the compartment for the air system. Here it is This is the second air system. Everything air is located in this container in the trunk of a 64 Impala. I think this is kind of what you meant….
Did a 56 Pontiac for a man. Got to his house and he had a trunk mount painless kit. started to walk away. Wish I had. Never again.
As Goldmountain said you will have to run a lot of wire and most kits won't have enough feet of wire to mount in the trunk without splicing in more. Mounting it on the firewall (I prefer inside just above the brake) provides close access to the engine, front lighting starter and other add ons. Kits normally have enough wiring to reach the tail lights.
write the rebel guys and let them know what you are doing, maybe they will help out with extra length added too the wires. Also if you have a shaved and electric popper trunk, add a manual release. I have one of those Mustang Drake pull levels for mine.
suggestions noted. I just wanted to put it in the trunk so it would be out of sight. I just didnt think there was much room under the dash to mount it out of sight. Ill look again. Thanks for the insight and thread links.
I will second your idea of mounting the fuse panel in the trunk, having done so on a dozen or more builds in recent years. Makes a much more comfortable experience. I'll make a panel out of ABS sheet and mount everything including the fuse panel so that the owner doesn't have to search for any hidden fuses, relays, etc. I primarily use Coach Controls as I like their design and the fact that none of the loads go through the switches. The board-mounted design is a much more modern approach to the '70-style plastic fuse holders and all that mess of wiring underneath. It's a much cleaner design and in my opinion superior. They also offer a "long wire" option that is perfect for relocating the panel to the trunk, under the rear seat, etc. Here are a couple I've done... And when it comes to routing the bundle from the fuse panel to the dash and beyond, I like to concentric twist the bundle together, in one or two groups, depending on the number of wires. Makes for a very flexible harness that can be easily routed around, up, and over various components. It looks cool, but it ends up getting hidden in loom for protection, which is a bit of a bummer. LOL
Thats exactly what I was envisioning. Very cool to see an idea in your head executed by someone. Nice work! Ill take a look at Coach Controls. Thanks
Most of the wires are under the dash and in the engine bay, the only wires near the trunk are tail lights. I think it is better to run less wires. Cleaner and less chance of trouble.
Most semi finished kits assume a front location.Shorter wires for the engine/under dash.Instead of four,or five wires running back to the trunk you will need a dozen,or more coming all the way forward.If you build from scratch its just money to pull it off.You might call one of the made in America companies,and ask if they would make up a "reverse harness" for a few bucks more.Your dash board wires are going to be 12 to 14 feet long...........
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