Aftermarket (complete) wiring.

Anyone here ever completely gone custom on wiring their car? I dont mean track/trailer only race cars, but actually street-driven cars. NO stock OEM wiring at all, just an aftermarket kit (Painless? i dont even know who's making good ones anymore).

Seems to me a great way to save a lot ov weight, simplify a car, get rid ov ALL those 45 year old gremlins from cracked/corroded/otherwise compromised wiring, and have something easy to work with, modify and diagnose.

Is it cheap?

Will it work on a daily driven car?

Is it difficult to make work with the stock/OEM lights/taillights?


This would be on a 68-70 musclecar, but one absolutely stripped ov options. Maybe a heater, wipers, would have an aftermarket speedo, tach, gas gauge, other gauges, etc.

After much research, I purchased this kit: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/aww-510289

I have yet to install but it is plug and play with all the existing bulbs/switches and has a modern ATO fuse panel. It also eliminates the factory ammeter and has provisions for electronic ignition. I replaced most of the factory wiring on my 1972 Cuda over the 37 years that I've owned the car but most of the replacement wires need to be replaced again. I decided to bite the bullet and pretty much update to 1990's technology. I looked at other "grid" type wiring systems but it was too much $$ for my limited goals.

As a business I have done it a few ways. I have installed customer supplied kits like that and it would take about 30-40 labor hrs to do that you are charging a customer. When I get harness that where made for that car the parts cost more but it was just plug and play and only took 4 hrs you charged out. Now if you are not doing stock componants like one wire alt,msd then stock type harness is good but if you are changing things I just make my own harness to fit the components.

If you do decide to take this route, check out Ron Francis wiring. I had a 72 swinger with one of his kits in it. I really liked it. Nice and clean, simple. All wires labeled etc. I have talked to them a few times, they are friendly and helpful.

I used ron francis kit on my 68 dart. overall pretty happy with it and fairly simple install but like all wiring it is time consuming. liked it well enough to buy another one to turn my race car back to street use. the express kit in the dart was actually more than I needed. the duster will be using the bare bones.

I bought a Kit from jegs, 20 circuit. went in easy needed help from the board on ignition but most of it went in ok. I have after market gauges as well. Have since bought a hot wire kit at mancinis for my sons Belvedere, will be tackling that one over the winter.

I've used the painless, the ron francis, even the gearhead enterprises kits - all with good success. It is time consuming to do it "pretty", but well worth the effort.
I usually use weatherpack connectors to allow plugging in and easy removal of some items (say, fuel pump for instance), I also highly recommend prewiring the dash section and putting it on a plug - makes servicing or modifying much easier later...

I did ezwiring kit and they have one with very few circuits that would work for a race car, they are labelled just like the rest on where they go every couple of inches.

Who makes a nice harness for an ARC switch panel with relay's?...I see the newer touch pad ones come fully wired already....

On anything custom or race related, I do everything from scratch using components and design of my choosing.

On a street car or OEM/restoration deal, a reproduction harness will have the odd, proprietary, hard to find terminals and connectors for stock components. That can save a lot of aggravation trying to make a nice job of it. Depends on how much OE stuff is retained; ignition switch, turn signal and other switches, heater, lighting, etc.

Based on what you said you are doing, I might recycle the hard components from an OE harness for the original stuff with new terminals and wiring and do a hybrid system. Planning is needed for a good result.

Hmmm... encouraging. Lots ov options, and doesn't sound terribly difficult. I'm not looking for 'pretty', just 'tidy'. The car itself is not now, nor will it ever be pretty, but i do want it to be reliable.

Lets assume i want a heater/front defogger (will probably go smaller aftermarket), wipers, stock lights, aftermarket tach/speedo/gauges (in a custom dash), all the basic stuff in the column (turn signals, horn, key ignition), electronic ignition and basic engine wiring (Toyota alt, mini starter), and provision to install a stereo down the road. Thats it. Nothing fancy.

Basically... what you'd find in a basic 32 Ford build.

Whats a ballpark for total cost to do this? The wiring/kit, not the actual items (like tach, etc.).

The Ron Francis Bare Bonz kits look interesting, and it seems they can be modified by them to be even simpler.

Might be a good way to 'start over' and build a race car from scratch, like one might do with a 32 Ford body. Might be a lot simpler and quicker to fire than messing with stock stuff, especially old stock stuff.

Hmmm...

Let's substitute "pretty" for "orderly" which will make it easier to trace or repair any issues, keep wires from getting pinched or damaged by being in the wrong place and keep wire lengths to a minimum. Avoid the "bowl of spaghetti" look.

A stock heater will be simpler to use. Only reason I would go aftermarket would be to get A/C.

A reproduction or good donor dash harness will make the dash/factory switches and components part of it easier and nicer. Engine wiring on a non-EFI is simple. Fans, fuel pumps, MSDs, and anything else that it didn't come from thee factory with will have to be considered so you don't end up with a hacked up mess.

Cost? Depends. Mostly time and material, quality of parts used, detailing. Push an empty car in, start it up with everything done and drive it out? $3-5K, depending on if the guy does it for a living or just for beer money.

Yeah, 'orderly' is what i meant.

My reason for wanting aftermarket heater is weight and space. I really dont need much heat, it doesn't get terribly cold here, but i want clear windows and SOME heat. I've seen a couple neat units that would be perfect for a weight-conscious race car.

I might just replace everything in the dash with custom. Whats there is not in good shape, and this doesn't have to look stock. I'd keep the dash itself, but everything inside from gauges to switches i might swap.

MSD or aftermarket electronic ignition
Electric pump
One-wire Toyota alt
Maybe an electric fan or WP
stereo (later)
Nitrous (later)

3-5K? Kit costs $400, so i'm guessing thats pretty much all labor. Looks like i'd be learning to wire a car...

Like I said earlier, don't use kits so I don't know what a $400 kit comes with. Relays, solenoids, fuse panels, wire, quality connectors and terminals like Weatherpack or Deutsch, whatever is needed to connect OE components, loom, shrink, battery cable, good switches or a panel like Autorod's, miscellaneous hardware, etc, etc. And time to fab mounts and put it all together.

what i have found over the years, is there are quality differences that range all over the place in both high dollar kits and low dollar, generic kits. the generic kits almost always are GM based, with adapter[s] plugs and different schematics for ford and mopar applications. i have seen "hot rod" kits that offer minimal circuits that are inexpensive, but have good quality wire and components. at the same time, i have seen high dollar, [supposedly] direct fit kits that use cheap, thick wire insulation, and undersize [for the intended use] wire. the termination terminals, fuse box, relays, and fuses are other components that can vary widely in kits of all price ranges. the ron francis kits, although pricy, are pretty decent, but i have seen, and used, "no name", cheapo kits that were as good or better, than the francis kits. doing a "one wire at a time" installation can sometimes get very expensive, buying the individual components necessary for the job. and don't forget the tools necessary to accomplish a quality job. meters [i use a fluke, but while expensive, not really necessary, as there are others out there that will accomplish the objective], test lights, jumpers, picks and terminal tools of various sizes, wire strippers, and above all, a QUALITY crimping tool can not be emphasized enough ! doing ones homework and inspecting several kits in person [if possible], will go a long way before purchase, and ensure a quality job when finished. wiring is not a particularly hard job, but it does require thought, discipline, and workmanship to insure correct and problem free operation. just my experiance over the years with "spaghetti". your results may vary.........

I've used two Painless kits and what moparx says is true about them being somewhat generic.
That being said, the quality and suitability for our use is top-notch.

Wires are numbered, color coded like the FSM and "to and from" info marked every foot or so.

Wire gauges are appropriately sized for intended use and instructions are
clear, although a few comparisons with your FSM are required.
When help is needed, their techs are great.

Although some want everything terminated for them, I like making sure of my own connections and being able to solder every one I think necessary.

Joe

I bought a Rebel-Wire universal kit for my Duster, Moparts board member JonGottaDemonDad sells the kits.

It worked great for me, my car is just a hot rod so the wiring is set up very basic but the wires are all labeled every few inches and that makes the whole job easier. I was able to figure out which wires went to my steering column wires and the rest was pretty easy even though I've never wired a car.