Biting the bullet... I have to rewire my '59 Ford from front to back. I'm looking at kits and was wondering if a 14-circuit harness would take care of business. I have no power windows, no AC. Pretty much a basic car with a GM style alternator and electronic ignition as the only significant electrical upgrades. Thanks, Bob
I am a huge fan of the American Autowire kits having used most of the competitors kits over the past 40 years. I now use their Highway series exclusively,they supply the most complete kit with nothing left out and enough wire to do two cars. HRP
14-circuit should be enough. You ever wired a car before? I do lots of rewires for folks that thought- "How hard could it be?" Best one was the guy who wired up a 64 Buick- kept killing the battery overnight- did some voltage checks and found out that the choke had 12V on it with the ignition off, but it lost 12V when you turned the ignition on! Oops!
Thanks! It seemed a bit pricey at first, but the extra items in the kit are worth it. I will surely look more into it. I've never wired a car from scratch, but have spliced in partial harnesses before and fixed up damaged wiring, wired race cars and trailers. I have the schematic for the car too, lots of crimpers, testers etc, how bad could it be?
This kit is probably one of the best as far as instructions and wires being clearly marked. Each step is individually wrapped and the instructions are in color.. HRP
Not hijacking the thread, but what I am going to ask might be pertinet to what the op will ask. HRP I just purchased the Highway 15 but did not purchase the double crimping tool for the franklin fittings, seems to me it was mostly used on the headlight taillight circuit, did you purchase this tool, and what is your opinion? In my case my headlight wire plugs were already wired.
No,I had already bought all the tools I needed for wiring many years ago. The crimping tool can be purchased just about anywhere. HRP
I just rewired my 60 Ford F100. I only have electric wipers and the bower motor and a 15 circuit system left me with circuits to spare. You've obviously never wired a pickup truck with an 8' bed! Kidding aside, I second HRP's recommendation. I just finished one of their kits. I found it very straight forward. Great diagrams and instructions, and useful tech support if you need it. I'd buy another AAW kit without hesitation. While I do agree that it wasn't a cake walk, if you take your time and think logically before you act, it isn't rocket science...
14 circuit would be more the enough for your Ford. Heck, it sounds like you could get away with an 8 circuit. I like Rebel Wire's 9+3 kit myself for cars like yours, the 9 circuit takes care of everything in a basic car and there are 3 blank circuits for anything you need or add later
Are you aware you can buy a new factory style full replacement plug and play harness for that car? The Wizzard
Also American Autowire will rent you the crimping tools. Return them and you'll get your deposit back. Worked just right for me. I put a Highway 15 kit in my 51 Fleetline. -Pat
How much? Everything I've seen has been about $200 over the price of a wire kit. It would have to be ready for electronic ignition and an alternator to get my attention.
Thanks, I'll take a look at it. My complaint with the Rebel site is that they don't give as much information as Kwik Wire or AAW, so I can't make an informed comparison to other kits.
The Co name is Class Tech. They are in Bend Oregon. This is an exact to factory new harness. Yes it's a little more $$$ than a fit's all non descript Hot Rod kit but you pay a little more for quality. This is a plug in and turn on harness. No crimp tools needed. To add to that, yes they will make changes. Those changes do not look like anything has been done at all. The harness for my 57 Ford are for Ford Alt of my choice. Electronic ign. and a tach wire the way I wanted it. All terminals are exact to factory and connect to all Stock switches. All color codes are exact as factory and you get a wireing diagram exact as stock, no guess work. There is No plastic tape, no Butt connectors, nothing to do but install it just like a factory harness. Also if all you need is under dash or motor compartment, you can order just that part. You don't need to order the complete harness. The Wizzard
You should join up here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/social-forums/1952-59-ford-social-group.282/ A lot of the members have done rewires on their Fords and can pass on the "good info"
Does Class Tech have a web site? I did a search and came up with nothing except for a phone number. It would be nice to see some information. Thanks for passing that on. And I do belong to the 52-59 group, just joined recently and will post/search over there.
The info packet's I've received early on do not have any web info. I did a search and still don't seem to have one set up. I got the feeling it's a smaller operation. The ph #'s I have are 1-800-874-9981 - - - 541-389-6339 - - - Fax: 541-389-4441. Call the 800 number and talk to him. You'll soon decide he knows what he's doing and your in good hands. Just so you know I have NO financial interest in Class Tech just a very satisfied customer. I currently own 3 - 57 Fords 1 - 58 and 1 - 59. 3 of them have his harnesses in them. The Wizzard
Stay away from "EZ Wiring" kits, installed 3 kits in the past and had nothing but problems with them!
I used a Rebel Wire 9+3 kit a few years ago, piece of cake to install. They take the info specific to your car, (engine, trans, steering column, etc) and put together your harness accordingly. Mine was $185 to the door here in Hawaii and worth every penny plus. Bob was great to deal with.
American Auto wire, Rebel, or Haywire. all else while maybe "not bad" "easy" whatever folks say i think fall short of the above 3. If you don't mind a little extra cash out put AAW.... Middle of the pack Haywire and if you want the "bang for your buck" Rebel(though the Haywire economy series is very similar)
never laid eyes on one of th kits you've mentioned so hard for me to judge. I have seen some less than satisfying "factory replacement" types from other companies so only judge what i've seen in person....
I'm a bit of a skeptic on a factory-harness as these cars didn't come with a fuse panel and that is definitely a big feature of any other kit I saw.
...they didn't come with a fuse panel? Might want to check your facts there. It's not a little box that mounts on the firewall like you would expect to see now a days, but yes, they most certainly came with a fuse panel.
Here's some photo's of the 57 harness I bought. Absolute exact to factory (I thought I already posted this) . You just plug it in. Every terminal is molded and correct color. Every wire is correct color. I think they are built on the same Pin Board the factory used. No Crimpers necessary. Yes there are fuses just as factory. No they are not Cheep but very Cost effective. What is perfection, Peace of mind and your time worth? This will make your car exact as day one when it was new. They will also do modifications as requested. This one is set up for Ford Alt with all factory boots and terminals, an external voltage reg that mounts in the stock 57 place, Electronic ign with what looks like a factory resistor and a tach wire. all per my request and looks like it belongs there from day one. No band aids, no Butt conectors, no shrink wrap. The Wizzard
Very nice harnesses if you want the factory look, but thanks for the pictures. I'm the cable and harness guy at work so nothing is a mystery for making up what I need from a kit. The no-fuse-block thing is the deal breaker. I was under and over the car last night and everything is pretty basic. I'm going to call Rebel and see whet they can do for me with options.
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