I wired this car back in 1996. Since then there have been additions. I soldered most connections, and only had one failure in 28 years. But it is a bit of a mess, and although functional, i think it would be smart to rewire for next season.
I may need a switch panel with six switches , fused , or breakers

My circuits are,
Pushbutton(starter)
1 ignition on/off
2 water pump
3 radiater fan
4 driver fan
5 primer +
6 data logger activation toggle
7 primer plus primer pushbutton switch
Budget is a consideration, but i don't want to sacrifice reliability.
Teach me how to wire a car and make it look professional!

I used two painless wiring kits. One stock and a 7 circuit "Race Kit" for electric fuel pumps, fans. w/p etc. Not very good 'pics unfortunately, the race panel went in the trunk and the stock under the dash. At the same time we also converted all the lights to LED's (bar the headlamps) and I bought a load of weather pack, Deutch and Anderson connectors. Also upgraded the starter cable. We've since added a Dakota Digital dash and a V300 Racepak.

Thanks Tig. I will study those photos

I wired my own car but no way could have done it without help from DVW. I bought a new painless kit years before I started redoing the car and used that as a basis BUT, it is not engineered well enough for some of the loads our cars see. So, again with help from Doug, I repurposed a few circuits. If you don't have quick access to someone like DVW...You be better of buying a kit from another manufacturer. I can't recommend one specific but hopefully someone else here will. It definitely took some patience doing, undoing and redoing the routing etc It's a nice feature if you route a morse cable accessible from the cockpit for the master kill switch. Also group the accessories on a board that is easily accessible!!!

It's a bit pricey, but I do all my wiring lately with Teflon wire, it might save an oz of weight as the very tough high temp insulation is slightly thinner.

200C to 265C ratings

The K and R switch panel kit is expensive but it makes the job easy. The kit contains everything you need.

Teflon is unnecessary in my opinion. XLPE is what I would strongly recommend. Considered a low smoke insulation, it does not burn like PVC and does not have the same toxic fumes when burned. It has excellent electrical properties and is rated at 125 dec C.. I believe it comes in three insulation thicknesses - thin wall, standard and heavy wall. If you want to save weight thin wall works well.

This is what I buy:

https://www.waytekwire.com/search?query=xlpe%20wire&page=2

The way i found the easiest if doing it yourself. Start by drawing out a complete diagram . Each item can be drawn by itself first. Then decide if there are common feeds. Pick a battery constant fed power source close to your items to be run. Mount relays close to the items/power source. You may have one main source at the engine area, one in the rear, and one at the dash.. Route the wiring from pumps, fans etc neatly to the relalays. Leave it a little extra length. Mount a switch panel. Route wiring from the panel to the relays. Fuses near the switch only protect against failure in the relay control circuit. Either fuseable link or heavier rated fuses between the relays and battery fed power source. Find a good common ground point near this power source. Run ground circuits to the relays and powered components. Once all the loose wires are Run then bundle them with zip ties. Don't cover in tape as diagnosis in event of a failure is tough. Now trim all the long ends and connect it up. Leaving all the wiring long really helps during the routing process.
Doug

Here are my diagrams.
Doug

That's what's going in my Cuda now. I liked the kit better than painless (I used that in my wagon). The owner of K&R is great a d always willing to discuss issues or concerns.

I will say I'm cheating this time and farmed it out. I realized that I know longer have the ability to start something without being able to finish without start, stop and then start again. If I can't do it all at once I'm going to forget something and meas up.

Dang Doug that's really nice.

I have used Smartwire relay and switch panels on my last cars and womnt go back. Use Duetsch connectors on all connections and Milspec connectors on bulkheads. Buy most my wire supplies from Waytek, DelCity and Wire Depot.

what are Anderson connectors ?

I already had some so I used them. Just hi ampage, locking connectors, I used them on the fuel pumps IIRC.

https://www.12voltplanet.co.uk/anderson-powerpole-connectors.html

I use Anderson connectors for the battery charging port, also on my battery chargers to go from anderson connector to clamps if needed.

Well....Mine is a mess. But, by next summer it won't be...I started a thread on here, but have not updated it much lately. But I bought a Leash Board and a Vincent harness...I burnt ARC switch panel out when I switched to the new cooling fans...It was just too much...with two fans and electric water pump.

Mine is an organized mess. It is in a crappy spot for access but really didn't have a lot of options. I also have a leash relay board at the fuel pumps and at the fan. I went way overboard with the 12 relay panel when I first went EFI, I think I only use 3 of the 12 relays and have 3 relays closer to the loads. I still use the factory wiring for lights and wipers.

In my case I always start out nice and clean and then it goes downhill for the remaining 75 wires. If I did it all over again I would probably put a panel between the main hoop and passenger side cage downbar. It would be easily serviced with the door open and wouldn't mess with the passenger seat at all. I looked into doing this awhile back and it would have cost me so much in wire it wasn't worth it.

Thanks all, i am learning. Looks like a K&R kit may be my best choice, since it has a lot of conections already done? A good thing for someone not very experianced in organizing a harness, Like DVW and others. Still listening, every answer has had something for me!

We wire all of this along with a Racepak dash and V300 in my car data logging 23 systems.

I have used the k&r kits and the digital delay kits. It just depends on what your doing, the digital delay kit is somewhat simpler but it doesn't include as much wire as k&r and doesn't have as many connections on the relay board, like transbrake. It also doesn't come with the giant diagram either. But both are nice kits. I run digital delay in my dragster

K&R all the way. I had re wired my car a few times. Not due to any issues I experienced. Mainly because I would wire it, then decide to add something, then add something else and before you know it, I had a mess on my hands. I then decided to buy the K&R kit and wow was it a good decision.

I like DVWs approach with drawing it out. Wish I had thought of that when I wired mine.

Grounds are important. Can’t stress that enough. Don’t run alternator charging wire or spark plug wires next to crank trigger/distributor pickup wires. That will cause you all kinds of grief.

The K&R kit comes with a nice diagram and all the wires are labeled and color coordinated.

I dont have any pics but the ARC 8000 kit was very easy to install and is a very neat and clean set up. I have had the same unit in 2 different cars and it has been rock solid reliable. I wouldn't hesitate to buy another if needed.

FWIW we have been grounded EVERYTHING to the battery(floating)for a few years and will never go back to chassis grounds again.

I have used K&R panels many times. It is a good budget option.

thank you sir !

Al, not fully understanding your comment on grounding. I definately want to get that right.
My battery is in front of the radiater. So my guess is, with less distance to all componants, that may work better than a rear mount battery? Still, i want to go direct, and i want to understand how to avoid problems with poor grounds.

I did the same as Al and ran an open "Horseshoe" of 8mm square ground cables, from the trunk mounted batteries to 5 ground "Bars" in the car. One in the trunk, two under the dash (L&R) and 2 up front near the headlights, again left and right hand side. Each bar has about 10 connection points. I also run a filter capacitor on the data logger supply AND the MSD Grid supply. Doing this ensures an equal ground for everything (within reason) without the potential ( see what I did there ) for the voltage to differ between sub systems. Sure it's heavier and uses more wire but it reduces the risk of any that issues that can be caused caused by the above, especially on Data loggers and ign systems. Heads have an earth cable to the block and another thing I did was run a separate earth cable for the starter (welding cable), that made a noticeable difference. The batteries are still earthed to the chassis as well but the chassis isn't used as the ground for any circuit.
HTH's

Same kit I purchased for my son’s Coupe. Nice piece and heard good things about the touch control system.

Everyhting in the car ground directly to the battery. Mostly through bulkhead connectors or distribution blocks that go directly to the battery. Every component is grounded that way. No cables on heads, no cable on starter. Just every wire for every relay or switch in the car is grounded directly the battery. The igniton and racepak stuff is as well both receive direct battery voltage and grounds from the battery. Rahter than relying on the chassis engine etc. You wont see near the voltage drop this way.

I ranan arc panel for about 20yrs. I really liked there kit. It just didn't have what I wanted this time around.

A friend recommended the Leash Electronics (https://www.leashelectronics.com/) stuff to me to do my own car, it's something I'll be looking at in the new year. I'm just posting so I can follow along, electricity is witchcraft as far as I'm concerned :-D

Agree with the floating ground.

Well, i am commited. Just ordered a K&R kit and six fused relays. Grounding wire will be fine braided welding cable and terminals by the battery and in the footwell area of rhe passenger side. The only ground i will leave on the chassis is for the primer plus pump, which is not critical. I am thinking a dialectric Loctite of some sort might be a good idea ?
Thanks Doug (DVW) for the excellent photos and info, and thanks to all that have contributed. Now the fun begins. I will take pictures of my current mess and will be looking for sugestions of where to put switch panel and fuse block, etc

Greg, I run the K&R stuff in both of my cars. Love it. Super simple to install.

Thanks,
Casey FJ

My mess

Last one

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
not as bad as some i have seen and straightened out.
it will be work for sure, but just take your time, use quality crimping tools, and you will be pleased and proud of what you will accomplish.
if you don't own quality crimping tools, you should buy or borrow some before you start.

Looks like fun

I feel your pain.

,I guess I like everything tiddy.

K&r comes with wire ends and heat shrink precut, so easy

YAAH
looks like a snakes din to me

for whatever it's worth, i have started to use marine grade heat shrink with the glue inside for all my wiring chores over the last couple of years.
i think it's just a little more protection from whatever moisture may find it's way in and around any terminal connections.
is it really necessary ? who knows ?
but it makes me feel a little better......... i guess.............

Twenty eight years and some add ons will create issues, also i recently had to track down a dead short in the starter circuit, and the whole harness got opened up to figure it out. Turned out to be a braided steel presure line got too close to the engine compartment starter switch.

I love my ARC 8000. Been in the car for 15 years.

Ordered the top of the line K&R delay box last night . At a total of $1220 so far this is costing more than i figured in,,,,,,
Question, what are you guys mounting tour fuse panels on?

Pictures of the new switch/delaybox panel and fuse panel locations. Used Lexan for rhe fuse panel, some circuits will be fused on a seperate block ,like the drivers fan, so it is independant of the K&R fuse block. Haven't started to route the wires yet, but have all tagged with destination. Next, bundle them up, do my best to make it look neat.