Actually I enjoyed doing wiring from scratch years ago. Then discovered low priced kits and it was actually easy. The dashes got tighter and it was harder to get out from between the seat and dash. About that time I discovered my young son was better than me at wiring so now he does mine. I like it even more now! A lot of people complain about the EZ-E-Wire kits. To us they are easy! So to answer, it's been fun---and frustrating! But when I turn on a blinker and it blinks the correct direction or turn on a light and it lights it's fun!
starting from scratch , get out the notebook and draw several plans of attack using the OEms ways of doing things , and take my sweet time , kick on the tunes and go at it . having to unbutcher harnesses , I kind of hate it but the rate I charge to do it kind of makes up for it as the person whom I am doing it for often doesn't have th epatience or resources or Knowledge on how to do it in the first place and if they fubar it they pay me to fix it . heres a thought and a saying my DAd had ( he was A EE and also did commercial /residential wiring and worked on cars , .. " any bad day in the shop is way better than a good day at work !"
I found from working on latemodels , just remove the seats and lay a peice of cardboard down ( to cover any bolt heads ) and lay front to back its ussually 4 bolts a seat and you find spare change ...
Wiring is one of my favorite things to do. I wire every complete car that gos through our shop. I usually get a kit about every third one and use the excess wire on the next two. Remember don't let the magic smoke out.
I've always wired from scratch and enjoyed it. I found it a refreshing change from getting greasy or burning myself on hot steel. But the last couple of cars I did were with a kit and I may never wire one from scratch again, the kits are so much better and each wire is marked along it's length as to where it goes. I work in the marine business and almost every day I have to guide someone through the most simple wiring job. It always amazes me that some people cant get a grasp of how current starts out at the battery and ends up making some accessory work. I make lots of drawing for them but sometimes I can still see a blank look on their face when we are done. Don
Don, any fool can wire a car or just a signal light control. I've proved that. But like many things, to some it's just a special skill. My son has been wiring cars, houses, and motorcycles since before his teens. He's done things in a short time that took me hours and did it in ways I'd never think worked. He hasn't burned anything up yet. Just shows it's easier for some.
I'm a 1%'er..... I enjoy it,kinda let's me relax,and do my thing..... Even with a kit,I can still modify,alter,and add as I see fit. Doesn't make a big mess like welding/grinding,or prep/painting. To me,even with a kit,i'm customizing.Making things work,and adding touches here and there,moving things around,and making it all work. I get to put things where I want and it stays that way. benefit of easy trial fitment for testing before final ***embly. it does take time,but it's always a clean (not getting dirty) job,and I don't mind at all doing it. Try figuring out a problem on a fire engine when they use all black wire,and there's 100 in a bundle! You'll think differently about hot rod wiring.
Been doing it for years, car's , aircraft,whatever. With cars, the advance in the quality and "user friendly" components make it very easy. I will never do a car unless it's a kit.
I'm at that stage now of getting my project wired and have been putting it off. After I get going it never turns out to be as bad as I always think it is going to be.
I make my own harnesses and love wiring. Its relaxing to me for some reason. One of my favorite parts of the builds.
I enjoy it too. I particularly like harness reproduction. I save the good condition cloth wire for special projects
I like wiring for a couple of reasons, first it is toward the tailend of the build, second, it is clean work, and third, it isn't body work. I've cross bred systems in computerized cars and there is a lot of research and planning involved in those. Most hot rod stuff is pretty simple, and kits simplify the job, but my current project, being a bigger truck, will probably have to be done from scratch, trans and differential temp gauges, clearance lights, suicide door interlocks, plus no ignition, (diesel) and stuff like that just aren't part of any kits,
Don't mind it at all BUT being color blind i need someone else to help me but i use my meter and usually do fine!
Hi I'm a 1% like building them from scratch... some of the new computer stuff is a bit testing ....secret is good soldering iron and test meter and lots of patience
I like making wiring looms from scratch - With a rod or most customs, the electrical system is fairly simple. Only things I hate is working on a computerized electrical system (I understand how it works, but reckon most of it is unneccessary ********o)), and sorting out "rat's nests' of wiring where every man and his dog has had a go at it. Good ratchet crimpers, meter, soldering iron and plenty of heatshrink tubing, and away you go!
Gee Joe.............sounds like you are in the minority here. I enjoy wiring my cars but doing what you're doing? Eh, maybe not so much. That work is more like what I usta do when we worked together down at the **** plant.
well I might want to change mine , but its more of a electrical system problem than wiring , as I have a O/T newer truck with a dead wire for the ALDL , and the loom is 1" thick to where the wire disapears too and someone hacked it by installing a cheap remote starter and you have to be carefull working on computer cars .
On the hamb friendly stuff, don't mind it at all. Done bikes, cars, houses. On later computer **** here in the salt rust corrosion land, one bad terminal on a taped harness the size of your wrist will will cause a lot of grief. And you gotta love the guy that uses scotch locks to add a trailer plug. (I hate scotch locks) Always remember, don't inhale the magic smoke.
Save yourself a lot of headache. Most wiring kits have way too many circuits for our application. Figure how many circuits you will need. Add 2 extra just in case and pull, yes pull the unused circuits out of the spaghetti mess. Not as daunting and much easier to route. good luck.
I have installed 2 Kits and I enjoyed that part very much. Routing wires around the car and making a clean installation is a lot of fun. Its a detail that is easy to make look good. I am going to build one from scratch for my coupe but it isn't that complicated with no computer controlled anything. Fixing a hacked together mess is a different story. If I can help it I avoid that at all costs.
Doing a Kwik-Wire kit in my '59 shortly, found a good spot for the fuse panel, actually made up a plate to mount it on the floor. The dash is out for painting, will keep the back primer gray so it reflects light. Dash cluster has been sanitized. Biggest thing will be breaking the harness up to see what goes where, but it does look like fun and relatively clean to work with.
I did mine myself. I had schematics, wire and no money. Took me a day. I wouldn't do it again, but I did learn a lot.
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