I need to find, buy or make a wiring harness for my 1940 ford Tudor street rod soon, who do you guys recommend to buy from and who not to buy from
I've used Painless brand kits in the past for drag cars but not for a street rod.
A friend mentioned Ron Frances (SP ?) as well as Painless and some others I've never heard of, all help is appreciated on this

My son has bought 2 different set of wiring harnesses for old cars, that I got to install. The bought the cheapest thing he could find, from two different places. My words of advice is, don't buy the cheapest stuff you can find, there are many reasons they are cheap.

I've seen a lot of guys are buying Rebel Wire harnesses, I've seen them post their wiring diagrams on the HAMB board, and always seem to be among the first responders when wire harness questions are asked. They are suppose to be USA made with USA components, but I personally don't have anything but hearsay to back that statement up. Don't have a web address either, but google should be able to find them. Gene

I've installed a couple of American Autowire kits. No complaints, they tailor their kits for the complexity or simplicity you desire. Highway 15 shown below.

https://www.americanautowire.com/sh...ginal-modified/universal-street-rod-kits

I'm thinking that at the cost and of course your comfort level that all you are really buying in the kits is the fuse box / flasher socket / terminal panel and some wire, terminals and terminal strips.
And instructions that can be very important. You might consider scratch wiring it, ... it is certainly a character builder. Some I have done.
,,
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I used the Speedway Motors house brand 22 circuit kit when I rewired the mess that was my 51's electrical system. Been two years, no complaints. Being a universal kit though, it wasn't a simple plug and play. I ended up getting new contacts for all my light sockets so I could replaced them and eliminate the spliced on to the original cloth covered wires the PO had scabbed on to. Some wires were too short, primarily the brake light switch since it's a brake pressure switch located near the rear axle. Price has gone up about $50 since I bought it. I converted to a later Moapr externally regulated 12v charging system, so I had to hand built part of that setup.

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/22-Circuit-Universal-Automotive-Aftermarket-Wiring-Harness-Kit,229874.html

Agree I have used the speedway harness on several street rod builds and have never had any issues with them.

We have used American Autowire almost exclusively for the last 20+ years. High quality, excellent diagrams/instructions and tech support if needed. In addition they are one of the few that discuss proper crimping methods. I also like the fact that you can cut the wires to length and terminate at the fuse box using only what you need circuit wise. A lot of the kits are pre wired at the fuse box leaving a balled up mess or wires to cut off.

BTW: Due to downsizing, I do have an extra set of the Packard crimpers. if anyone is interested send me a PM

I believe that America Autowire is who made the Speedway kit I used. At least their schematics match up and work better than the Speedway provided ones.

American Autowire and Ron Francis have been easy to use. May have to check into the speedway one, haven’t used it yet.

That's an issue worth mentioning, pre-terminated fuse boxes make stringing the wire a PITA...better if you can snake the loose wire from both directions.

Coach Controls

as one who has wired a few [? ] vehicles over the years, as well as repaired MANY um, shall we say, mistakes, most of the popular kits will do good for most applications.
it basically boils down what a guy wants to accomplish in his particular build.
most kits are somewhat GM based, so that may or may not, be something to concern yourself with.
which ever kit you choose, make sure [if possible] the wires are long enough to make it to the intended item without having to add additional wire.
good terminals and connectors are a must.
it is also good to have a couple of extra places in the fuse box for future additions if the need arises. if that is not possible, there are several add-on fused strips that you may want to consider.
make sure the insulation is the correct automotive grade plastic [i forget what the name of that plastic is. sorry] also, make sure the wire gauge is the correct size for the item being powered. just like the new vehicles, there seems to be a trend to down size the wire gauge to the minimum required to run the accessory in the kits.
as to "no-name" or swap meet kits out there, i have seen some pretty nice ones as well as pure trash, so be careful with those.
good crimper tools are a must - DO NOT use those crimper tools that come in the 3,821 piece terminal kits from elcheapistanfright.
get extra wire and terminals, then practice using your crimper until you can produce solid crimps. it may seem like wasted money, but i have had to replace too many bad crimps over the years because the tools were not used properly, or bad tools were used in the first place.
and finally, sometimes it is just better to wire from scratch. when doing this, make dang SURE you draw out a diagram of your harness ! it will come in handy in the future !

Agree on getting a good crimping tool. I got one from Mac tools. Not cheap but worth every dollar. My personal preference is solder and shrink wrap. Especially on a race car.

that is what I did on my 51, crimp, solder, heat shrink. Every connection. Probably double]d the time involved, but in reality there aren't a lot of electrical items in a 51 Plymouth and I will never have to worry about it again.

I have wired 4 cars using EZ Wire kits. They have all gone smoothly. In fact the last car I did (1967 Caprice) I did in under a day. However you must understand what you are doing and be prepared before you start. If you are adding things like fuel injection you must know how to integrate it before you start.