Im about ready to start sorting out the electrical system in my Pontiac. The current wiring in the car is original and slightly worn. Some of the wires are cut and others are missing. Before i started tackling it, i was curious if it's easier just to rip out the old system and buy a new harness or would that not be worth the money? Thanks for the advice! George
I bought a Rebel. Not expensive, easy to use, for my 52 Pontiac. No oiginial looking but should be trouble free. I added headlight relays and a few other things. The fuse box is not labeled as well as more expensive ones. I also added a newer Gm dimmer switch with the wires inside.
I'm into this same issue on a ' 55 Ford my parents bought new. You're way ahead of the game to pull it all out and rewire from scratch with a good quality wiring kit, especially if you are adding non-original components such as changing from generator to alternator, adding a sound system, etc. Kits that have more accessory circuits than you need right now make it easy to add accessories later on without cobbling things up and overloading circuits, and kits with a lot of accessory circuits don't cost much more than a kit designed for the bare essentials. The insulation they were using back in the '50s and '60s has a tendency to become brittle and start falling off, which at best means electrical gremlins and blown fuses and at worst means the car catching fire. This is especially true with wiring in the engine compartment that is exposed to more heat than the wiring in the rest of the car. Any splice in an electrical system is a potential trouble spot (the splice has greater resistance than the wire on either side of it. Increased resistance=increased heat. The worse the quality of the splice, the more true this is.) Electrical systems that have been cut, spliced, and patched are a fire hazard. Any good quality wiring kit will cost you less than an electrical fire. General Motors' OEM harnesses 50 years ago were probably the best quality wire available at the time, but the insulating material used on the wire in a good quality aftermarket wiring kit is vastly superior to what was available back then in terms of heat resistance and in terms of remaining soft and pliable over time. Even if you've never wired a car before, wiring it from scratch, a circuit at a time, with a quality aftermarket wiring kit is far easier than troubleshooting the gremlins in a 50 year old electrical system, especially one that has suffered much cutting and splicing at the hands of previous owners who may or may not have known what they were doing. Don't be afraid to tackle wiring your car with an aftermarket kit. All of the good ones come with very detailed instructions. You follow the instructions to the letter, wire one circuit at a time. Most kits now have the circuit labeled every few inches along the length of the wire. You will need to crimp on terminals. Throw away the cheap crimping tool made by happy children in China and spend $20 or so on a really good Channel Loc brand Made in USA crimping tool. I've never had a terminal come loose that was crimped on with my Channel Loc crimper. Do it once and do it right. It will cost you less in the long run. Your electrical system is the wrong place to try to save money. If you try to patch up the original system, you'll find yourself spending a dollar to save a dime, and you'll have a car that is less safe and less reliable.
38fordpickup is right on the money. The time and money that goes into troubleshooting the current harness along with the uncertainty of the condition of the entire system isn't worth the risk. Take advantage of wire quality enhancements that have taken place over the last 50 years. The wire coating used today is of much better quality and will stand to last a lot longer. At the end of the day, installing a new harness isn't as hard as it seems. As stated above, take it one circuit at a time and do it right. We offer Kwik Wire wiring harnesses. The owner of Kwik Wire built up a '37 Pontiac himself (really cool car). The harnesses are manufactured by hand right in Wisconsin. These harnesses are really high quality. If you have any questions, feel free to give me a call (414-454-9473). I'll try to help you out any way I can. Hope this helps...Good Luck! Tyler Tyler@StreetRodElectrics.com (414)454-9473
All good advise above. The new harness will have better fuse protection as well. Lay out your harness out side of the car putting circuits together that run across the car, to the engine compartment, and to the rear of the car, this all makes it easier to install. Also avoid sharp edges when installing. Convoluted tubing in the engine compartment and any circuits exposed to the outside of the car is a good ideal. Good luck with it!
Did not know where to post sorry for hijack but what is a round around figure labor for installing a 14 circuit wiring harness on a 59 Apache? Not sure if I am ready to do this just trying to plan I have grounding issues hack job going on.
If you have some wires bad sometimes you can remove some of the tape or covering and the wire is good under neath,splice and hook backup.I'm to fat and lazy to change harness.
4 to 40 hours...depends on how much stuff there is to wire up (are you using anywhere near all 14 circuits?), and how much time you have to spend fixing other stuff that the wiring connects to (ie. lights, switches, gages, etc).
THis is one area I will say to get new vs. old. A harness from Larrys electric or easy wire is not really that expensive, about $180 , wires are labeled throughout to make it easy for novie electiricians. If you want original looking , there is a company that reproduces the old cloth covered harness and will make a copy of yours if they do not have it . It's been a long time since I used them so the name is escaping me
NO I would not. I dont even have wipers that work, no radio, just tailights signals, hazrds, head lights horn brake lights dome light gauges.
wiring is not a how fast kinda game. its a take your time and do it right game. the more time you spend looming, routing, taping, supporting and then finishing the job the less trouble it will be down the road.
One of the best things I ever bought/did for my hot rod was the new RebelWire wiring harness this past summer. Two friends and I tore out the 71 M#nte C#rlo harness that was shot and replaced everything. The job took about 16 hours over four days (and we BBQ'd,goofed,enjoyed the day) and then secured/covered all the wiring with good loom and clamps. For the cost of the harness,quality tape/loom/clamps/etc it's well worth the time and money. Consider the investment and the value now added to your ride plus you'll learn how to troubleshoot your own electrical problems?
If your's looks like the one in my 55 Ford , there is no way of fixing that butchered up mess at all but to get a NEW MODERN harness and do it the right way . As some said before , buy a larger circuit harness to add some extra on later . Also when you get the harness open the box and look for the booklet that is called the instructions . Now read it a few times over & over till you now it by heart . Then take the harness our and lay it on the garage floor as you would be installing it in your car/truck . Look it over very well and look at your instructions on what goes where first . That way you know what extra coupler , shrink tube , tie straps , sockets and looms you will need BEFORE you start the job . Make sure you have everything you need to complete the entire job sitting before you . Then look at you car/truck and see how you are going to run you harness . Check for places that will rub or pinch your wires . If you are running your wires under the carpet make sure you have a place sut out for them to lay on the floor so the carpet doesn't have a hump in it from the wires . As long as you TAKE YOUR TIME , it will work out fine . Now if you run into a problem , CALL the help line for ***istance . They are there for you . I am going to be doing 2 cars this year . My 55 Ford is first then my 50 Ford . I will be buying a Rebal Wiring Harness that you get right here in the Alliance Vendor section . If you are an Alliance member you will also get a sweet discount as well . They are made right here in the good old USA and made with materials from the USA so you know you are getting a quality wiring harness ! Start with the best and you will never have to worry about that ever again ! Just remember who ever you buy one from , make sure it's USA made with USA parts . Follow the instructions and when it's all done , you can tell everyone at the next car show , You rewired the car yourself ! Most people are afraid of wiring a car , but it surely beats splicing 50+ year old wire with a spool of cheap chinese wire from you locals parts store together ! Just do it right the first time ! Retro Jim
Like some of the others have said, new would be the way to go if your not really good with electrical. In either case, I'm a big fan of robbing connectors and such off late models in the junkyard. New-ish weather proof parts are nice to have
My 39 chevy , 53 ford flathead and my caddy powered A coupe all have new wiring . Any car I build will have new wiring. Solves many problems you have and ones you don't have yet. Save yourself some headaches. It is not rocket science to do either all new harnesses are labeled very well , just take your time and do it right. You won't be sorry . end of story.
One other thing , if you want the wiring to look original for a car show or something along that line there are some places that will make the harness for you with the cloth wrapped wiring but they aren't cheap at all . You could do that yourself if you really know what you are doing . If not just buy a good modern wiring harness and your doubles will go away that you have now and the ones that will get you down the road ! You can do it as long as you follow the very simple instructions suppled in the harness kit . Retro Jim
Since the truck is going to be mostly just stock I'd suggest a reproduction harness, such as sold by Cl***ic Parts http://www.cl***icparts.com/1955-59-Wiring-Harness-Alternator/productinfo/52-028/ they offer one for the stock generator too. This will save lots of labor if you're paying to have it installed. It's plug and play--no need to figure out how to make it work.
You can figure about an hour per circuit...14 circuits=14 hours. Some are quicker others are slower but this is doing it correctly. If you remove the old harness completely first it makes things a lot easier.
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