Fellas, I'm getting ready to buy some cloth wrapped wiring for my wife's '27 T roadster. I've searched all over Helen Back but can't find an appropriate "color code" that shows which colors (and colors with tracers) to use. I have a CenTech fuse box on the way already. This isn't an over-the-top 100% period build, but I'd like to keep it clean and appropriate for a late 50's early 60's build. It's a '56 283 and Powerglide, drums on all four, but done with a little of her style thrown in. It IS her car. VERY basic features, electronic gauges, lights and blinkers, horn, maybe a stereo in the future. I have the green bible (we have a Shoebox too), but dissecting it is proving to be nearly impossible as the colors are shown but grouped within the schematics. Worst case I'll just copy Rebel Wire's color code as I have one of those panels on the shelf in the garage. Thoughts? Opinions? Guidance? Much appreciated!
Oh, and just for this thread's posterity, I'm planning on buying the wire here: http://www.ynzyesterdaysparts.com/ No reason, just looked like fair pricing. I think these are the guys who make the wiring for Sac Vintage, but I'm not certain.
There was no accepted color code. Each manufacturer had their own color code. Get a manual for the year and brand of car that you want and copy it. Cloth wrapped wire was not used in the 50s for 12V cars. My 56 has plastic covered wires and the terminals are "heat welded" to the wires. They list the wire color and the terminal color to determine the location and purpose of the wire. It doesn't matter too much if you are using a modern fuse box and electronic gauges. JMHO
Around 1955 is when Ford changed from cloth wiring to plastic wiring on the Fords. Current available wire is modern vinyl/plastic/PVC wire with a cloth over-braiding. So, you have the look of the original pre-1955 wiring but the functionally of modern wiring. The Ford color coding remained fairly consistent from the 1930s thru 1955. Wire color coding and tracer colors are easy to come by, it is the tracer patterns that is not readily available. Ford used five basic color-tracer patterns: Solid (no tracer), Single Straight Tracer, Double Straight Tracer, Single Cross Tracer, Double Cross Tracer & Ford 50/50. (the attached figures are from the Road Island Wiring site)
Built a table for 1950 F1 wiring colors. The F1 is good to use for wiring color and tracer color, but the wiring layout is a little strange for modern style wiring. I will build an additional table in the next few days that use the F1 cloth wiring colors and the early F100 wiring arrangements.
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