I used to do lots of electrical work--both at work and as a side business. Lots of people like the look of zip-tied harnesses,but found it hard to keep the wires"lined up"--so the colors stayed inline. I used a big-ass plastic comb--took out a few of the tynes and clamped it in a vise. Had rolls of wire behind the comb and pulled the wires thru ---all wires stay inline--just pull a little--zip-tie--and over and over.I also would put stiff wire inside some harness and then could bent them by hand to conform to objects:valve covers--intakes--trans and bellhousings,etc. Ugly wiring makes me CRAZY!
I do vehicle wiring on a daily basis. The wire comb does work but can be combersome in tight spaces. If your in a tight space take one wire tie and pull it snug but not tight on the wires and us it as a "chaser" . Pull the chaser down the bundle a little then zip tie then repeat. As you pull the chaser it will keep everything nice and neat. The stiffiner in the bundle as Hot Rod Willie stated is a great tip for for making easy routing. Fitysix
Nothing makes a car look more half-assed than ugly wiring, and my cars aspire to look half-assed. On my way to the garage now - Thanks
great tip! let me add something. when making up a harness in the shop just past where the wires go through the comb take a piece of masking tape and with all the wires laying flat take your dollar store hot glue gun and apply some glue to the wires: it will allow your wiring to lay flat and out of the way hidden under your insulation or upholstery.
zip ties on a wiring harness are both ugly and non-traditional.....but how could we make it look better? Lacing twine has a nice trad aircraft type look to it, and takes a lot of effort to do it right, plus there's a steep learning curve...still, it would be the way to go. Friction tape (that cloth black tape) looks trad, but not real pretty. Running the wires in the cloth tube like is used on antique car resto harnesses is a good way to go, if you can find the stuff, and maybe use friction tape to deal with the ends. For newer cars (late 50s-60s) I like to use the repop GM harness tape, it's like wide black electrical tape, without the adhesive, so you have to tie the ends with a knot. I don't know any current suppliers, but I did get a few rolls years ago from a vette resto place.
May I agree with squirrel Plus I've not need a comb for many years and don't want to own one at this stage in my life. You can still get real friction tape if you look hard enough
When I worked in Cellular Telecom, they used waxed string to lace the wires. Looked really cool and sorta vintage, I don't know where it came from, but there is a learning curve to it.
waxed string = lacing twine we discussed this a little while ago.... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=164464
Hey- Bluto's back! Haven't seen you post for a while, buddy! Now that you're living in Poland, ya been held up by anybody with and electric razor yet?
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