Who has the best wiring kit??

[fuel pump]

I want to rewire my shoebox but I'm not really sure what wiring kit I should start with. Painless, Ron Francis etc.... what have you used????

[jerry]

i have used haywire and really do like them. did a 54 chevy pick up with one and had enough length of wire to go from the panel mounted at the center of the firewall inside to the right rear tailight.

they also have super tech support if ever needed.


jerry

[flying clutchman]

i wired my buddy's truck with a francis wiring kit. i wasnt impresed. he paid something like $500 for that kit. the kit didnt come with light bulb sockets, you had to re-use the old ones. some of the wire roll werent long enough to reach where they needed to go. dont think it was worth his money, and my time.

diego

[badpat]

we did a friends 57 ponch woth EZ wiring- reasonably priced and worked great

[fatabone]

Rodparts Warehouse kit under $200 no problems.

[BigDaddySteamRoller]

There have been a few posts about wiring kits in the past. I am looking to do my 50 Chevy & have gotten some good feedback regarding the ez wiring kits. They are like 160.00

[shoebox72]

I rewierd a 51 Ford 'vert using a Painless kit. I'm glad I did because it was the first car I ever rewired & the instructions were outstanding & everything worked when I finished.

I bought an EZ wiring harness for my 57 Ranchero cause it was cheaper, I havent installed it yet, but looking at EZ wires instructions they seem kind of vauge & I think I would have had alot of problems if I chose EZ wire for my first rewire job. I'm sure I can install it now that I have 1 rewiring job under my belt because the painless kits instructions gave me a better understanding of the different circuits involved. So in my opinion if you're a wiring dummy like I was & never rewired a car go with the Painless kit. It costs more than EZ wires but it's worth it because it's hard to mess up.

Again, just MY opinion.

Billy

[flatheadpete]

I hear EZ is a good way to go. A friend wired my bucket from scratch, took him about three hrs. What exactly do you need, Fuel Pump? Call me at the shop and maybe I can hook a HAMBer up! 810-787-2960 Pete

[FoMoCo_MoFo]

I have used EZ wire on my 59 Galaxie and a friends `62 pickup and they were cheap and EZ (sorry) to wire.

[JimC]

I also used Haywire.
as mentioned,. great customer relations and support.
I used it on my 62.
Going to use Haywire in the 47 Ford Coupe

But there are no best, use what you like and make it work.

Jim

[48bill]

I used a CENTECH (http://www.centechwire.com) kit when I wired my 48 F-1 pickup. The instructions were clear and easy to understand. There was a lot of extra wire so no short ends. All wires are labeled along their entire length. I called their tech phoneline on two ocassions and they were extremely helpful.

I highly recomend using them.

[katzenhammer]

I have helped friends rewire two different cars using both the Ron Francis and the EZ Wiring. Actually I found the Ron Francis to be the better kit. It is way overpriced and the friend that bought it has way more room on his fuse panel than he will ever need, but the kit installed really easily. The wires were well labled, and the instructions were complete with vivid descriptions. When it came to firing the car up we were almost there on the first attempt. We had wired something incorrectly on the Clutch safety. After fixing that the car fired. Approximately 2 days worth of work pulling all old and installing all new.

The EZ Wire kit is actually not a bad kit. I would not reccomend it to someone who had never rewired a car. The wires are all one color the intructions are poor. In some cases as I was helping a good friend rewire his 52 Ford the wires to the taillights were not as long as the stock so some improvising had to be done. I have yet another friend who has rewired a 1950 Pontiac using EZ Wire. His first rewiring job and needless to say whenever he pulls the headlight switch not all of his lights come on, Turnsignals turn on the headlights and blah blah blah (nightmare).

I think the EZ wire is not a bad kit. It is cheap and if you know what you are doing it isn't a bad kit. But research in depth the wiring diagram of your car and familiarize yourself with what needs to be done!!

Neither of the kits come with sockets. Ron Francis does have bulb sockets available and they are of nice quality. I installed a pair of the tailights in my Plymouth and they work sufficiently.

How much you wanna spend? How many headaches do you want? How much time on your hands? How much do you know about rewiring?

Justin

[WZ JUNK]

Haywire is just up the road from me about 15 miles. I am using a lot of their stuff on the car that I am currently working on. (air conditioning, electric windows...) I have used several wiring kits from other manufactures in the past. Haywire seems to be as good as any of the others currently available and they have very good tech support, which is a very important feature that I look for.

[Kojack]

My friend's '55 Pontiac burned up after the alternator had a fit, and melted the whole damn thing. He snagged a Painless and it was pretty damn good. A little pricey, but I was suprised how good the directions were and how every wire was labeled, making things really easy to install.

[voodoo]

I rewired my 55 Chevy using the American Autowire kit. It comes with everything. You do not need to buy or reuse any other parts. The wires are extra long even for a wagon. My first wiring job and the only mistake I made was with the neutral safety switch. Great instructions also...

[JimC]

A plus for any wiring job is color coded wires and the really neat thing about most wire kits is the id on the wire every few inches.
At night, purple and brown wires can look the same.
I would not advise using the same color wire for all circuits.
It is most distressing to be driving along and smoke starts from under the dash.

Jim

[andysdeuce]

Rich, I used a Haywire kit when I wired my sedan a couple of years ago and so far no problems of any kind. Plenty of wire and circuits. Easy directions and good color coded wires. The one question I had they answered in language you can understand and were very helpful. Next wiring kit I need they will get my money.

[enjenjo]

I used to sell EZ wire kits, and installed about 30 of them. Outside of an issue with the connections at the dimmer switch plug, there were no problems. I feel that the wire is just barely adequate in size for the circuits they are used in. EZ Wire supplies color coded kits now. The wire has crosslinked polyethelene insulation, the thinnest of three thickness insulations manufactured. The price can not be beat.instructions are fair.

I have installed several Painless kits, including three TPI kits, all good quality stuff. The only problem I had, the printing on the wire is very difficult to read. I would not hesitate to use them again. Painless uses crosslinked polyethelene insulation in the middle of three thickness manufactured. instructions are good

I have installed several Francis kits, they are way too complicated to trouble shoot, and use way more wire than what is needed to do the job. They are terrible on tech support too. francis uses crosslinked polyethelene insulation, thin type.the instructions are of the tab A slot B type, no clue to the curcuits used in the black box.

I have used centec kits, real similar in quality to Painless, and fairly easy to install. Centec used high temp Vinyl insulation, unless they have changed lately. instructions are good.

I have used kits from Rhode Island Wire, these are good for that original look with fabric covered wire, but are expensive. the wire is actually vinyl insulated with a fabric cover, real high quality. instructions are not good, very basic.

I use and sell KwicWire kits right now. they use thick insulated crosslinked polyethelene insulation, legible printing on the wire, and a nice compact fuse block. The instructions suck.

I also wire from scratch, but only when the car is an unusual situation. I use crosslinked polyethelene wire unless fabric wire is desired.

Been doing this for 40 years.

[tomslik]

hey enj, how much are the kits?
i've got a bunch of cars to do....

how about e-mailin' me some info and do they have a website..

huh?
pretty please?

[hotrod54chevy]

if you're not doin anything too complex,you could do it yourself.there was a post on here awhile ago about TECH: How To Build An Old Driver Cheap! that did include a diagram and tips on how to do this yourself.hope this helps!
~Creepy

[roadstar]

I found the Haywire kit to be the same as a painless kit but the price was painless http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Ron Francis kits are retarded. GM color coding is a standard to me. And he uses odd colors for everything. Also the connection you have to make at the fuse panel is just one more place for something to go wrong. A kit with the wires hard wired from the fuse panel is the way to go.
EZ make a good one I just don't care for the non color coded version. They might be labled but colored wire is still easier to trouble shoot.

And i have to agree about the tech support being real good with the Haywire people. I had an issue with the fused feed for the tail lites. I like to do it like the OEM does it and they didn't. But it was easy to fix. I would use the Haywire panel again and if you buy it at a show like the nats or something you can usually get a real good deal.

[Ham]

Yep, used EZ for the shoebox. No problems...

[Missing Link]

I used an EZ wire kit because of the price. I got what I paid for... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif
It is probably not a bad kit, but when the fucker let's you down due to no fault of your own it sort gives one a bad impression.
I like the fact that the box is hard wired.
They do have good tech service.
The instructions sucked.
Plenty o' wire length to all connections.
I can't recommend any brands as I have not used anything other than the EZ, but I know if I wire another vehicle I will NOT be using an EZ wire kit again.

[BoomBoom]

I used the Painless kit on my 50 shoebox. Had one problem with a universal type blinker system I had picked up at a swap meet. Called Painless and they had me Fax them a diagram of the switch and they drew the correct connections and Faxed it back within the hour. Good kit and excellent support if you do have problems.

[Jimv]

Narragansett reproduction in wood river jct, RI has a nice kit, you can buy the whole car or just sections!!
JimV

[50Fraud]

enjenjo: Great summary. Thanks!

[flamedcoupe]

I have used Ron Francis when there was no one but Ron Francis mid 70's and I would stop playing with cars if he was the only game in town. He's a piss poor excuse for a business man. I probably wire about 5 cars a year and I now use Centech. I think there are user friendly, compact and the gentleman is a pleasure to deal with. Thats my two cents

[Pist-n-Broke]

As you can see you are getting a lot of good information on several venders kits. Another good thing about this H.A.M.B. site is the hands on information. Wireing is only as difficult as you make it. Use your resorses! In your case I'd look at what it is you need compaired to what is availoble on the fuse panels then make a choice. The cost of the kit should be second behind what it is you need. I personally like all black wire. When done properly you won't half to worry about smoke rolling out from under the hood or dash. I've installed several different brands and E-Z-Wire is the only brand I keep in stock, not because it's cheep but because it's easy for the customer to deal with should he want to add something at a later date. I will however install anything the customer wants. Do your home work, take your time, and you will do fine what ever brand you choose to use.
ThE Wizzard

[TheDooWopKid13]

makeing you own. my borthers buddy, and i wired my bros car that was on the cover of ol school rodz. all you need is wire a fuse box, fuses, and an electrician buddy/pops that can help you if you need help.
tdwk

[Thirdyfivepickup]

I think you should use Painless. I got my Dad, Uncle, and best friend one... they work great. I admit, the print on the wiring is a little tough to read. That's really the only problem I've heard of from them. Their stuff is usually bulletproof. Any problems, the tech guys are awesome!

Besides... I gave Pete a smokin' deal on it for ya!

[old beet]

I had good luck with E Z...........OLDBEET

[4woody]

I used EZ and it was pretty EZ.
The color coding helped with the install a lot, but I didn't like all those bright colors so I ran my wires using "Asphaltic (or asphalted) wire loom as conduit.
It is a cloth tube treated with some dry asphalt-like stuff to make it stiffer and give it some protection. Keeps your wires together and gives them some extra protection whilst imparting an instantly aged look to your shiny new harness. You can buy it in various diameters by the foot at trailer supply or finer auto parts establishments.

[fuel pump]

35,
Thanks for hookin us up. I'll call pete today.

[dixiedog]

I am 95% complete on my 61 truck with the EZ wire,
the wires to the ignition switch are not long enough so i had to splice in more http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif,
I cant find out where the wire to light switch that operates the dome light is http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif,
I am never with the harness and a tech support at the same time so i never have called,
also one of the wires is mislabled,
no ground wiring is included
I tried talking to them at Turkey Rod Run and the guys wife was kinda crappy and told me to call tech support.
Other than that it has been pretty easy to wire.

When I wire the DOGG bucket, I will probably buy a boat panel and some GM colored wire and do it myself for half the money.

[flt-blk]

I used Painless and it was a piece of cake. The
instructions were complete, the kit was a complete.
Everything worked on the first try. And there from Texas.

We just picked up a Haywire kit for MarkX's car, the
lettering is bigger on the wires, hopefully it will get
mostly installed tonight. Mark can post an update.

I had the thing layed out in my living room for 3 days before I had time to install it. That helped me determine wire routing and bundles.
TZ