For small connectors as you might want for under the dash and protected from the weather, I used Radio Shack. For weatherproof connectors I used Ron Francis Weathertight connectors. Expensive, and a little difficult to put together, but good quality and of course weatherproof. Downsides are they are expensive, and RF is reliable but slow on getting things out the door.
I should have mentioned that if you went with RS connectors, you may want to pick up one of their pin removal tools. Of course, you'd only need it if you needed to move/remove a wire-terminal from a connector housing. I also picked up a 12 pin connector set just so I'd have a dozen ea male/female extra terminals. I'll reiterate something I mentioned I think on my build thread. If you use 2 or more connectors of the same capacity, alternate the way the male/female terminals are located so it's only posible to plug into the correct mating connector. Some tips on getting those little terminals on the wires........ no special tooling required (other than removal tool). If you look at the last pic I posted the two tools I used are in the pic, right behind the date. The little fine tooth jaws on the end of the wire strippers(behind the 01/25) work just fine for grabbing bending those little tabs snugly enough to hold the wire, then final crimp them with the crimping pliers (behind 2015). Both of those std electrical tools are Made in usa Greelee, use to get Greelee at Lowe's until they replaced the whole line with made in China stuff last year.
You might also check out the terminal selection at Fry's Electronics I got my relays there and a few terminals.
do the aftermarket wiring harnesses come with wiring diagrams? If not, I'll have to make my own. I've totally rewired a motorcycle, but my 56 just might be a bit more complicated. The easy part is "one wire at a time".
What is required to get new wires on the light sockets? The parking lights, tail gate plate light and others have the bulbs seized in the socket and the wires broken. I am sure I can get the bulbs out, but how to get a new wire into the sockets escapes me. Thanks in advance for any guidance provided.
Every harness kit comes with decent instructions. I downloaded the ones from Kwik Wire and scoped them out before I made the purchase. Not that I'm pushing Kwik Wire, just that they did a nice job on everything in the kit. Dorman makes some nice weather-pak type connectors, available in 1, 2 & 3 wire, maybe more. I used those in the front of my car for the headlights & parking lights. I got mine on Amazon. For sockets, try The Wiring Depot. Fast service and good selection. Match up what you have with what they have. I used GM taillight sockets (1.125 hole) in my light pans instead of the Ford type. http://www.wiringdepot.com/store/c/31-Pigtails-Sockets.aspx
Thanks for the info. How do the light sockets in the parking lights come out? I do not want to ruin the housing during my learning process.
I got them out of my '59 with some effort. I also have a couple of sets of spares so I can pick the best.. and the best at coming apart. Post a couple of pictures of yours, from the back and front. Not sure if they're like the '59. I was able to push the light socket far enough forward to clean it it.
Try spraying some penetrating spray around the bulb let it sit overnight then try to remove the bulb if it's corroded too bad and the bulb breaks you will probably have to use a needle nose pliers to pull out the base then you can clean the socket and pull out the pigtail. New pigtails will have to be spliced into your old wiring I found the pigtails at Autozone under $2
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