hello there whats the cheapest easyest way to wire my rod all i need is enough to get it running no power windows or air could i recycle one from a 79 chevy truck ??? some input would be great thanks....
IMO you don't need a kit for a basic car like you are talking about. Unless you cut the truck harness up to scavenge the wire and parts, you'll spend more time trying to trace everything out and get confused. Notice how each system is inside it's own black box. Do one system at a time. Notice that there is no fuse box. A simple hot rod doesn't need a fuse box. The fuse for the lighting is on the HL switch in this layout. If you are running an alternator then just substitute the alternator wiring for the generator wiring in the charging system box. The nice thing about doing it yourself is that you learn where the wires run and why they go there instead of screwing wire A to terminal B with no idea what it is for. It is not rocket science and taken in basic steps and individual systems it's very easy to wire and trouble shoot if something breaks down on the road. Don't over complicate it with unneeded circuits. JMO This diagram is for a GM system. A Ford system will have some of the components like the solenoid in different locations but the basic wiring is pretty much the same.
If you're thinking about wiring your car using a donor loom, do yourself a favor and get a copy of "How to wire your streetrod from start to finish" by Jack Sweeden. I'm not saying buy it from Speedway (your choice), just a link to the first site that came up on my search engine. Larry T http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Book-How-To-Wire-Your-Street-Rod,2824.html
While I am in total agreement with Tommy, his drawing doesn't have turnsignals or brakelights or neutral safety switch. Add in those things and maybe a tachometer and its a bit more complex. Still totally doable, but not quite as simple. You'll never learn anything by buying a kit. I'd rather design and build everything myself, and wiring a car is pretty simple. Most of it is connecting terminals, and choosing wire gauges and fuse sizes is trivial. The hardest part is figuring out how the turnsignals work, which can be found out from a good factory service manual (you do collect those dont you?). But dont go down to the autoparts store and buy those little blisterpacks with wire and butt-connectors. Go to a real electrical supply house and get good wire and the right solder terminals.
Cheap 'N' easy - a car nut's dream. What kind of car are you going to wire up? Going to run working headlights, heater, etc.? One reason to buy a kit is because most aftermarket wiring has identification info on each wire as to where it goes. Plus, you will be using the correct size wiriing and fuse for whatever you are connecting to what. Forget the donor car method, more time involved than you might imagine. If you do not buy a ready made set up buy wire in spools and get different colors. As you go along write down what went where, even on a basic system this really helps. LOL
I'd say for what you are doing wire it yourself. I just did my 29 roadster, headlights, taillights, turn sigs and indicators, 4 way flashers, brake lights, dimmer, fuel pump, radio, and 6 SW wings guages for about $75.00 including fuse blocks and two relays. I've got a GM column which makes it really easy. If you're using a stock column it gets a little complicated, but if you're not using turn sigs and 4 ways it should be pretty simple. I agree that the kits from Rebel are the way to go if you decide to use a kit, but I'm glad I did mine myself, I now have a much better understanding of how shit works!! And the good news is that everything I wired works just fine. I also agree that using a harness from a doner car is a bad idea. Using parts from a doner car ( ie relays, circuit breakers, terminal blocks etc. is a good idea, it will save you alot of money.
I have used donor car harnesses a few times, before we had the wealth of suppliers we do now. I used to plug in the component with the factory plug(say headlight) then run the wire back to the firewall connector area. With the fuse panel mounted in its final location, I would then run the wire to its respective firewall connector. Remove the ores frrom the block, route it through smaller grommet, and do a solder/heat shrink splice. This would eliminate the bulky block, and tidy up the loom of wires. You could then remove whatever wires you didn't use when they were left in the firewall block. That being said, the available harnesses on the market are reliable and inexpensive.
Something to think about with that 79 harness, it's pretty old and may be kinda rotten. Once you pull it and stretch it into place some of the wires might break on you and you'll be tracking problems for days. If you have the harness already, stretch it out onto a board and trace it to get an idea of wire lengths. Then scavenge the fuse block and the connectors. After that just get new wire and put it together. I used to be deathly afraid of wiring, but after I wired my first car I realized it wasn't so bad.
The problem with a donor harness is that wire does suffer from age. Exposure to weather, engine heat, automotive chemicals and that sort of thing can make the insulation stiff and brittle. And often the copper if exposed at all becomes corroded and does not conduct as well. I read somewhere that a wiring harness is good for about 20 years. If that's the case I'm driving cars that should be in trouble, so I know they can last longer. But I sure would not do the work to adapt one that is already 30 years old when its so easy and cheap to buy a new one. If you doubt the concerns I express about the wire, remove a sub-harness from the truck and check the connectors and wire ends for corrosion. Then try bending the wire. You'll be happier with new stuff.
I just got a Rebel Wire kit and was very impressed! Any circuits you think you dont need now, you may need later.
I wired my 58 F100 with a harness from a 68 F100. It was free, and it was all I had, there had been a fire under the dash of my truck at one time or another. It's worked fine for almost ten years now. I used all of the switches too. I did have one wire I had to bypass from the ignition swith to the start solenoid, but other than that it has worked fine. I did it all in one day. But, it was in a truck, and very easy to get out.
For what a kit costs I'd go with one. Particularly Rebel Wire or someone that can tailor it to your needs.
I am amazed that you guys think $150 to $250 is "cheap" Dont you always keep the wiring harnesses when you strip donor cars?
I'd do it for an EFI or TBI transplant, to run the stock computer controls, but otherwise it's not that much money to spend on a key component that you're going to rely on every time you drive your car.
Ring ring ring, we have a winner folks!! Johnny please tell the contestant what he's won!!! Good looking wire can be had from a hardware store in several colors, good crimping tool, shink wrap, if it's going to see weather. You can do it!
so this would work on anything? just substitute the points wiring for HEI and the external stuff for internal reg. and be done?? i think i might have solved my shitty wiring problems if so just cut it all out and start from SCRATCH with this diagram leading me dear sweet baby jesus tell me is true!!!!
Now *that* is a simple wiring harness! 14 ga SXL wire is $14/100ft roll at delcity.net, get 5 different colors, some heat shrink and connectors without insulation. Then crimp/solder/heatshrink everything together, run a fuse box if you want( I do/would), and re-use the headlight/ign/hi-lo beam etc etc switches if you're on a tight budget. I used a rebel wire 18 circuit kit and liked it. It was my first and I thought about wiring it from scratch, but I thought I better install a premade one first before making my own.
A new harness would be the easy way out. The broke chump way would be to buy a 50' extension cord from the local hardware store ,and go wire for wire. Enjoy...I hate wiring.
I bought a ($135) E-z wire 22 circuit for the 60. The original is hacked and spliced to much for my liking. We will see how it measures up.
The whole thing depends on what you need on your vehicle. If simple, u can do it yourself. If complex, it may be worthwhile to go thru Rebel, Ron Francis, or Painless. Just depends on needs. If you have the original wiring diagram with the colors for each wire and you are doing this yourself, then try and keep the same colors or similar. Spools of wire are available in various colors and if you are replacing the cloth covered wiring with vinyl insulated type, then all the better. Lots of jacketing available too.
Larry's Electric out of Illinois or Affordable Street Rods out of Kansas both have reasonably priced kits and the owners "are" the tech guys that answer the phone and have always been willing to walk you through any issues.
if you want a cheap wiring harness http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/EZ-W...r_Truck_Parts_Accessories?hash=item35a4077008 thats what i used in my 57. It's a 21 circuit so it has stuff for auto door locks, sun roof etc, but you just cut those out and tape em off or pull the fuses. BUT if you simply want to do it cheap, just go to your local auto parts store and buy a fuse block and a few rolls of wire good thing about the harness is that it comes with "directions" if you need them and all the wires are labeled along the entire length. my advice is, if you have minimal wiring or electrical experience, just save yourself the aggrivation and buy the kit. you'll probably learn quicker that way
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