1952-59 Ford Where does this part mount?

Trying to sort out the butchered wiring in my 54 ford. This was laying in a box. Was this originally in the engine compartment or somewhere under the dash?

 

That’s an add on, not original. The ones they sell at West Marine are stainless steel. I ran one under my dash to power up accessories and lights.

 

Thanks! Yeah a new stainless unit sounds like a good idea.

 

Barrier strips. I have 2 under my dash, gauge power and gauge lights. I got some T&B pieces from work, sampled from a vendor.

 

Stainless or br***.
Outside the cabin, I used power distribution boxes from a Volkswagon Jetta. Neater, keeps the contacts clean and has built-in 3 fuses and 5 fusible links. I have 3 or 4 of them in my car. Ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/1915824952...JMthFxkl**jialmdy8ShbZH98=|tkp:Bk9SR5aHksyiZQ

 

Why not do a total wiring upgrade, the harnesses can be had with labeled wires to make it easy and then you will have all fused circuits. https://www.ebay.com/itm/156201528107? You can pay over $200 for some named brands but this will do the trick.

 

JeffB2- I think that is the likely next step. The wires are all falling apart and someone cut the entire dash harness in half.

 

The fact that these old cars have no fuse panels is a good reason to go with a new harness.

 

Whoever cut the dash harness in half was probably ensuring that no future owner would try to use the oem wiring. Good for him.
Plan for the future when picking a new harness kit. This area is where what is available is not on equal levels. jmho.

 

It's funny to me how many car guys have more courage rebuilding/replacing an engine than they do re-wiring their cars. Both processes are like eating an elephant. You do it one bite at a time. For re-wiring, you break the wiring harness into three main sections (Engine, P***enger Compartment, Rear) and then plan and run each section of wire into those three main sections of the car the rest will take care of itself. Take Texas57's advice and buy a harness that has more circuits than you currently need. You'll be amazed at how quickly you will use the extras.

 

As I progressed with my build, I had ****erflies in my stomach everytime I thought about doing the wiring! It turned out to be the most enjoyable project overall........even though my engine/****** had 90+ wires coming off it, and I was adding stereo, pwr. windows, A/C, pwr. antennae, etc etc. My car is also wired as though it was a fibergl*** car....all grounds are wired, NOTHING grounded to the body except the main ground strap group.
Only one reason why it became so enjoyable....."Ron Francis' instruction sheets!".
What I'm saying is, whichever kit you decide on, try and find some feedback about the quality of the instructions. If your not an auto electrician, a very well built harness can still create headaches if the instructions are poorly written. Also, try and avoid a "universal" kit as they are generally made for/lean towards GM products. So, the feedback will better serve you if it is from a Ford owner.

 

I went Kwik Wire on my car and it made things a breeze. The Rebel 9+3 is a good one.

The Kwok Wire instructions were great. I put them into a binder with my notes stapled in with it.

I was a harness designer at work and I took the same approach. Harness board where everything was broken out and routed. I made a from-to wire list in Excel.

 

Excel is awesome. I haven't used it in more than 20 years though. When I had my Picture Framing businesses, I wrote a program for calculating framing retail prices. It would calculate materials needed and pricing based on size and type. Lots of data storage. It was fun to actually make it work!

 

That issue with the universal harnesses is mostly in the headlight switch, to solve that the "Sticky FAQ" is your friend, go to page 5 and scroll to Posts 122-125, that will cover your Ford. There are also some good rewire videos on Youtube to help out, and do not forget adding some relays to your new system, good info on that also in the "Sticky"

 

With my harness, I ordered their HL switch, dimmer, just to avoid compatibility issues.

 

For my restoration I went to YnZ. The wiring looks like factory with color codes, cloth insulation (with modern insulation under it), the same type connectors. It came with wire diagrams that were easy to use. They fabbed an original looking power wire for my electric seat motors after I sent them the old faded one. Of course the body was stripped, the dash was on a work bench and every area was accessible. Not cheap but worth every penny to me.
YnZs Yesterdays Parts; Manufacturer of Cl***ic and Antique Automotive Wiring Harnesses

 

So I decided just to check on Facebook marketplace to see if there were any deals to be had on harnesses, and I found one locally for $30! a brand new 14 circuit still in the box that the guy had bought and never installed. It is some generic Chinese knock off of something, but for my rusty old beater it's fine. I guess I should go read the sticky note on headlight switches. I was just going to use the stock one...

 

You can use the stock headlight switch, the link in the Sticky shows the jumper wire in the picture you need to add. One thing that is a common complaint is headlights not being bright enough after doing a 6 to 12 volt conversion, this will fix that and is dirt cheap. https://www.ebay.com/itm/355979142376?

 

Wiring 101 | The H.A.M.B.
Turn Signal Wiring How-to | The H.A.M.B.