Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
#96555
07/29/08 10:37 AM
07/29/08 10:37 AM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,113
Lost in Pooler, GA
Gumbydammit
OP
super stock
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OP
super stock
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,113
Lost in Pooler, GA
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Ok, I hate the moniker Street Machine, but I guess it fits.
I'm building a 68 Dart Street / some strip car. The 40 year old wiring harness has been hacked too much for my taste. So, I am thinking of installing a Painless Wiring Harness. I'm not sure if I should go for the "Mopar muscle car" harness and just use an add-on harness for other items, or get the universal 18 circuit street rod style harness.
The car will have a carb'ed 440, 727 with probably a Gear Vendors OD, electric fuel pump, electric fan ( not sure which one yet ), stereo, A/C eventually, and must retain all of the standard street guages, lights/ signals of course. ( Think a Steve Stroupe style build but more stock appearing ). I plan to drive the daylights out of this car when it's completed, so the wiring has to be reliable.
Anyone have any experience with the painless kits?
I'm Gumby dammit!
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: 79powerwagon]
#96559
07/29/08 01:39 PM
07/29/08 01:39 PM
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 576
Escondido, CA
kick_the_reverb
mopar
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mopar
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 576
Escondido, CA
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I know Jason @ painless (BJSracing here on Moparts) keeps updating (or at least suggests updates) to the Mopar specific kit, so I would contact him to find out exactly what's in it now...but in the past the Mopar kit was really barebones compared to universal ones they had at the same or cheaper price. From the sound of what you're planning I'd get a universal kit. My buddy did an install on a Chevy Truck and liked the kit so much that he got the 18 circut Chevy Truck kit to use in his Valiant.
You are right about the need for more harnesses, but that applies to the Mopar specific kit also, as far as I know.
For example : wiper switch and wiper motor. Kit will probably provide you one wire for each of these. Do you think that's what your car uses? So take your pick - reuse the old connectors and wires, make new ones or buy a resto sub-harness.
That is the nature of universal kits, not a complaint, just something you have to be aware of.
Good luck,
Ran
"Hey mister, something's wrong with your car, it idles roughly" - number one comment I got in Israel when daily driving a 70 Barracuda with a lopey cam.
Currently working on - 1966 Dodge A100 van 318/auto
Finally - disc brakes on the front.
In the plans - rear disc brakes, B&M 250 blower
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: west]
#96561
07/29/08 09:56 PM
07/29/08 09:56 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,565
Omaha Ne
TJP
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 15,565
Omaha Ne
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Here we go again, PAINLESS or PITA. My experiences with their over rated and Overmarketed Crap are just that. Crap. Yes Jason, I'm still here, and I am still reporting my experiences with your dime store harnesses and connectors. NO personal offense meant  WHY??? Because I haven't seen your company do ANYTHING to IMPROVE it's product, SO I'm still here trying to protect the unknowing from the marketing machine. what a SIN!!!! A good Idea, viable market and CRAP to the end user In the meantime, for those of you that want QUALITY, I'd check out CENTECH centech if you want a stand up company and custom harness for your projects. And NO I am not a dealer nor am I affilliated in any way with CENTECH. Jason, feel free to give this to your company president, I spoke with him 4 years ago, got a lot of smoke and mirrors but no ACTION. WHEW SORRY  Tim
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: AlexP]
#96563
07/29/08 10:02 PM
07/29/08 10:02 PM
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 27,728
places
79powerwagon
Too Many Posts
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Too Many Posts
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 27,728
places
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Quote:
I'll post some pictures of my KwikWire harness later this week. Nothing looks factory about it and I couldn't be happier.
Because it actually WORKS! 
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: 79powerwagon]
#96564
07/29/08 10:22 PM
07/29/08 10:22 PM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 10,645
Houston, Tx
AlexP
I Live Here
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I Live Here
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 10,645
Houston, Tx
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Quote:
Quote:
I'll post some pictures of my KwikWire harness later this week. Nothing looks factory about it and I couldn't be happier.
Because it actually WORKS!
I didn't want to say that, otherwise the purists might go insane.
In all fariness, I'm running the electronic version of my stock voltage regulator...the VR706. I've got a roundback 60AMP on it now, but I'm buying AndyF's kit to properly adapt my Denso 120AMP to it. MSD 6AL is handling the ignition now and was a night and day difference from the MP orange box. Used 30 AMP relays for the lights, fuel pump and horn.
Brighter headlights, no fires under the dash or amp gauges killing power. I can't see the downside to replacing the wiring in one of these cars is your staying away from originality like I am.
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: AlexP]
#96565
07/29/08 10:43 PM
07/29/08 10:43 PM
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,968
North Riverside IL & Lowell IN
GTXKen
super gas
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super gas
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,968
North Riverside IL & Lowell IN
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Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
I'll post some pictures of my KwikWire harness later this week. Nothing looks factory about it and I couldn't be happier.
Because it actually WORKS!
I didn't want to say that, otherwise the purists might go insane.
In all fariness, I'm running the electronic version of my stock voltage regulator...the VR706. I've got a roundback 60AMP on it now, but I'm buying AndyF's kit to properly adapt my Denso 120AMP to it. MSD 6AL is handling the ignition now and was a night and day difference from the MP orange box. Used 30 AMP relays for the lights, fuel pump and horn.
Brighter headlights, no fires under the dash or amp gauges killing power. I can't see the downside to replacing the wiring in one of these cars is your staying away from originality like I am.
I did pretty much the same way. I wired my MSD and coil under the dash along with the fuse box, I have a relay box under the hood near the core support. The quick wire kit had more than enough circuits to do complete my car.
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: west]
#96566
07/30/08 09:16 AM
07/30/08 09:16 AM
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 576
Escondido, CA
kick_the_reverb
mopar
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mopar
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 576
Escondido, CA
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Quote:
i bought a painless fuseblock and a bunch of painless wire and just ran everything from scratch.i also had to buy a relay to get the signals to work
it's much cleaner,no extra stuff you don't need and you understand you wiring better when you are done.
That's more or less what I did - I bought a painless fuse block through Autozone (cheaper than Summit), and bought spools of wires and some shorter lengths through different suppliers. I also bought terminals, shrink tubings, harness tape, various junction points, tools and other stuff. The problem is wires are very expensive - most places sell a minimum of 100ft. I initially got a bunch of shorter lengths from KayJayCo, but when I needed some more, the price more than doubled.
BTW - if I would do it again today (from scratch), I would probably not buy the specific Painless fuse block that I used (universal 12 circuit), mostly because I don't like the way it connects to the wires (using spade connectors).
Ran
"Hey mister, something's wrong with your car, it idles roughly" - number one comment I got in Israel when daily driving a 70 Barracuda with a lopey cam.
Currently working on - 1966 Dodge A100 van 318/auto
Finally - disc brakes on the front.
In the plans - rear disc brakes, B&M 250 blower
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: kick_the_reverb]
#96567
07/30/08 09:39 AM
07/30/08 09:39 AM
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Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,968
North Riverside IL & Lowell IN
GTXKen
super gas
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super gas
Joined: Apr 2003
Posts: 3,968
North Riverside IL & Lowell IN
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Quote:
Quote:
i bought a painless fuseblock and a bunch of painless wire and just ran everything from scratch.i also had to buy a relay to get the signals to work
it's much cleaner,no extra stuff you don't need and you understand you wiring better when you are done.
That's more or less what I did - I bought a painless fuse block through Autozone (cheaper than Summit), and bought spools of wires and some shorter lengths through different suppliers. I also bought terminals, shrink tubings, harness tape, various junction points, tools and other stuff. The problem is wires are very expensive - most places sell a minimum of 100ft. I initially got a bunch of shorter lengths from KayJayCo, but when I needed some more, the price more than doubled.
BTW - if I would do it again today (from scratch), I would probably not buy the specific Painless fuse block that I used (universal 12 circuit), mostly because I don't like the way it connects to the wires (using spade connectors).
Ran
The nice thing about buying the kit is that it comes with the fuse box prewired and 99% of the wire you need. My guess is that you will save money buying a kit.
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: kick_the_reverb]
#96569
07/30/08 11:13 AM
07/30/08 11:13 AM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,136
Byesville, Ohio
Tomsecks
super stock
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super stock
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,136
Byesville, Ohio
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My vote would be for the EZWiring mini 21 setup. I did my A-body with it, simaliar style car as yours, and absolutely love the results. The harness was very "affordable" and the wires seemed to be very quality. The Painless kits are too pricey. To maintain the stock appearance, buy the proper tools and you can rebuild your factory conectors, see photo. I invested about $250 - 300 total in my setup, and now EVERYTHING, stock and aftermarket, works great.
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: Tomsecks]
#96570
07/31/08 10:44 PM
07/31/08 10:44 PM
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Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,113
Lost in Pooler, GA
Gumbydammit
OP
super stock
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OP
super stock
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 1,113
Lost in Pooler, GA
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The EZ wiring looks good. Did you have any problem getting your guage lights and dash lights to work with it? I'm not too worried about stock appearing wiring since most will be hidden anyway. Does it come with the fuel pump and electric fan relays too?
Last edited by Gumbydammit; 07/31/08 10:45 PM.
I'm Gumby dammit!
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: Gumbydammit]
#96572
08/04/08 01:12 PM
08/04/08 01:12 PM
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 576
Escondido, CA
kick_the_reverb
mopar
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mopar
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 576
Escondido, CA
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I got a Weller 40W solder iron and a Weller 140W solder gun (for the bigger wires), I got a plier type crimper for the non insulated terminals (which were the ones I used the most), I got a ratcheting crimper with dies for the oem type double crimp terminals (one crimp goes on the exposed wire, and another supporting crimp goes on the insulation), later I got a set of dies for insulated terminals (I used very few but they were the high buck insulated/crimp/solder/shrink type), I got an automatic stripper, I borrowed my friend's heat gun, when I was making the heavy gauge alt and battery cables I got the hammer type crimper and a cable cutter (other wise the strands flatten out when you try to make a nice cut). I already had a digital VOM, good side cutter, and a little vise that I used to hold the wires that I was soldering.
Good luck,
Ran
"Hey mister, something's wrong with your car, it idles roughly" - number one comment I got in Israel when daily driving a 70 Barracuda with a lopey cam.
Currently working on - 1966 Dodge A100 van 318/auto
Finally - disc brakes on the front.
In the plans - rear disc brakes, B&M 250 blower
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Re: Painless Wiring in an Abody street machine ? ? ?
[Re: kick_the_reverb]
#96574
08/04/08 05:01 PM
08/04/08 05:01 PM
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Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,233
petaluma,ca. u.s.a.
west
master
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master
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 4,233
petaluma,ca. u.s.a.
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Quote:
Quote:
i bought a painless fuseblock and a bunch of painless wire and just ran everything from scratch.i also had to buy a relay to get the signals to work
it's much cleaner,no extra stuff you don't need and you understand you wiring better when you are done.
That's more or less what I did - I bought a painless fuse block through Autozone (cheaper than Summit), and bought spools of wires and some shorter lengths through different suppliers. I also bought terminals, shrink tubings, harness tape, various junction points, tools and other stuff. The problem is wires are very expensive - most places sell a minimum of 100ft. I initially got a bunch of shorter lengths from KayJayCo, but when I needed some more, the price more than doubled.
BTW - if I would do it again today (from scratch), I would probably not buy the specific Painless fuse block that I used (universal 12 circuit), mostly because I don't like the way it connects to the wires (using spade connectors).
Ran
i agree,the fuse block isn't junk and it works fine but i would rather not deal with those type of connectors either. 
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Standard issue hot rod universal, you don't need anything more than that. If you are a mopar purist, then grab your checkbook and find other sources...
