Ive done that on 5 cars but then I put an ez wire kit in for a guy and now ill never wire another one unless i use a kit.. It just makes sense now days with the cheap prices on kits. Also lots of people are not like you and I and have no idea how to read a schematic let alone wire a car from one.. Dave
Oh ya i forgot by buying a kit i get more free time to drink.. Really guys this thread was started on an honest question not how would you do it.. Id go ez wire or gearhead works too. And there are many more reasonably priced kits Dave
I guess the point is this... OK...the typical EZ kit, lets say its around $130 shipped to your door. Depending on under floor brakes or whatever, its pretty much harnessed where you need it. I move a couple wires, maybe 10 minutes work. Then mount the fuse panel, run your bulks of wire, tape or whatever you do the bulk, then start connecting. Easily a 1 day job. And, your expenses are give or take $145. They do come with connectors but lets say you use $5 worth of extra ones. OR...get a fuse block and a mess of different color wires, a ton of terminals (or solder) and make your own. Then make your own schematic if you must...so later you know what you did (as none of YOUR wires are printed on like thier kit is) and figure in a couple days you might have that sucker wired up right with a good backup schematic incase anything goes wrong. So, if you live alone or with a cat, are unemployed, or time doesnt really matter to you much, you might like doing it the second way. Plus, you can be that guy that took the time to replicate an easily available, inexpensive, high quality unit that the market worldwide is flooded with. I guess my point is that the water company doesn't charge me all that much a month. Makes no sense to try and shove hydrogen and oxygen together myself.
Don't be knockin' the guy who does it himself........there is still something to be said for doing things YOURSELF, I thought that was what THIS place was for........ Your comment could be applied to many other areas of car building as well....ie frame building, etc......
I DID do it myself. Your missing the point. Let's say I could go down to the store and buy pre-labled lengths of wire and a labled fuse panel and save a few bucks in the process. I'd probably be more into it. I'm not knocking those who do it the other way. The question was not would you wire your own fuse block. The question was wich wiring kits do you like. When I buy a car the last thing I want to see is that all the wires are the same color for ME to figure out. Let's get real. How many people have bought a re-wired car and the guy says "Oh yeah, here's the schematic I drew out when I wired the car." and the inevitable rats nest 9 times out of 10.
No, it can't. You are really missing the point. Since you mentioned frame building, show me where I can get a new prefabbed chassis for my 51 Merc for only a fraction above the cost of materials and I am there. Since Im getting a ton new circuits w/ the harness, I guess proportionately give me power rack and pinion, discs and IFS/IRS. Cant be done? A set up chassis costs thousands of dollars. THERE it makes sense to do it yourself. And not doing it yourself is having someone wire your car for you (ie a shop). Buying a premade harness doesnt make you a chainer or a check signer...get real man.
I like Painless, BUT, Enos is a quality operation that i've bought other products from, and have all good to say about them
Depends on what kind of car you have and what your plans are. I have an American Autowire Highway Series kit. I have a Model A and know I will be pulling the body every once in awhile. The Highway Series kits use terminal blocks and connectors which beat the heck out of pulling wires through your body like an octopus. Also they are color coded AND labeled which is nice so you don't have to work under the dash with your glasses on to read that tiny writing. The kits are complete; switches fuses, relays, breakers, lugs, wire, connectors, everything in one kit.
I just bought a haywire pro t kit for my new 57 chevy project. It has only 8 circuts but I liked the way fuse box mounted, and its only going to be a basic driver, no power windows or door locks and it only cost $99.00 at rhinebeck. I would be hard pressed to by the parts separately for that price. Carlg
Use a kit...... don't use a kit my point is wiring is no great drama You know Phil? I know Phil ..... we are old partners in LB I'm just a long ways away now...... Phil will turn this "wiring" into a Vipers party If you don't know Phil then you don't really understand that party'n is something the Vipers do extreeeeeemly well And basically it won't matter if the car gets wired or not cause they will have fun Even fulla beer there a lot of talented guys in his club Phil post a photo of the AA/MF BBQ
For a custom, EZ-Wire all the way. The kit does all the hard work for you. If it was $500 then I might reconsider. But I figure it this way: Rough estimate of an hourly rate at a hotrod or custom shop - at least $50. So pay yourself $50 an hour. Being generous say you can rig up your 12 circuit fuse block in 4 hours. Fuse block maybe $20, wire maybe $100, connectors, solder, whatever another $20. So in total, just for your block your at $340. E-Z wire 12 circuit, $140 shipped. Done.
If that's the case, you've got a kit car unless you soldered the filament inside of your headlights and taillights! Did ya? Hows your kit car now?
ordered and waiting on my rebel-wire kit. hopefully here by friday. i want it in by the weekends over with.
Where in hell do you get enough terminals for $20? I sure pay a lot more than that for mine. Then again, I don't buy the crap they sell at Autozone, either. If I'm crimpin', I want some quality, otherwise it's soldering, and I ain't got time for that. I really like EZ Wire kits. Haven't tried the rebel or affordablehotrod kits, but it sounds like they are on par with EZ Wire. Personally, my time has some value that precludes wiring it myself from scratch....and I have done that, too. EZ Wire or one of the other comparably priced and qaulity kits sounds good to me. The ENOS box looks good in their ads, but I've never tried one. Maybe next time? my 2 sense worth. db
Man I cant believe I missed all this good stuff. I was checking the status of my coal and ore shipments. I prefer to forge my own steel at my house in which to make my patch panels. I could buy the whole patch panel for $55, but that would be poser.
for those of you who have yet to see a rebel harness outside of there product shots (which really look like any other kit...) here are some I just took when I got my shipment in. This is the 9+3 kit, I won't say a price as I don't know if he works with people, or just gives you the hamb discount or not....so take it up with Glenn if you are actually interested. Pics below.
Thanks for all the tips, pals. Now can I see some links to the kit dealers, please? Bluto is right, I have done a bunch of wiring before. But this car will have a lot of electrical stuff. I'm thinking a kit will be more compact. And my poor ol' back might like an easier install better. Making it a Viper project might be a good idea. Bluto is correct that our club has some talented individuals. But it might take quite a while, as FUN is the Vipe's main reason for being. As requested, here's a look at the club BBQ:
The Jalopy Journal
