@Black_Sheep those clips that hold the wire...I've never seen anything like that, where do you get them?
An old speedometer cable works really well for fishing wiring. Sent from my SM-G965U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
They are called beam clips and they are commonly used on semi trailers for securing hose tender springs, wiring, etc... Tectran #94-0108, Tramec #34118 I sell them at work, but you should be able to find them online for less than $1 each With the appropriate sized poly clamps they are great for fuel line too.
I've heard some inventive ways of fishing a wire or harness here but I've always just used a length of mechanic's wire [baling wire] and bent the end back on itself, pushed it through the A-pillar, rocker, etc and then attach the electrical wire to the baling wire and simply pull the electrical wire through. Easy peasy.
The OEM wire was linen wrapped many years ago . It needed to be somewhat protected from the weather . Newer wire is ok to be out in the weather with connections sealed . Run it outside and down the frame as suggested , and wish it well .
I ran them along the tunnel on my Ford, it was actually done that way from the factory. It wasn't a big bundle at all, I ran it through shrink tubing.
Very neat job. You're right, running wires along a truck's frame is a necessity. When I made the "Mickey Mouse" statement, I wasn't thinking about trucks, because, well, we were talking about wiring a '53 passenger car. I stand by my statement because running wires under a passenger car to the back is not the right way to do it.
In a passenger, just run the wires under the carpet. That is what I did when I rewired my 54. Been there 15 years w/o any problems. Had to drill a hole in the rear bottom seat support.
I used a good old fashion coat hanger and taped my wire to it. Worked perfectly. Sent from my SM-G988U using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Weed eater line is my go to to pull wires . Works good to pass pleasures from one room to another while working at the farm .
I'm a little late chiming in here. The go to method for dragging and/or pushing wiring through rails etc is...... Shower curtain wire. You can even screw picture frame eyes into the ends. Or just tape to it.
LOL.....you guys down there must have strange shower curtains....I have no clue what shower curtain WIRE is, so assuming you meant shower curtain ROD??
Use fish tape. Try running wires up the kick panel behind the dash and thru the A pillar to the headliner. Not an easy task.
Obviously lost in translation between English and "Merican" The term was coined when 1940's houses had a shower curtain over a bathtub. here......... We used this to "push" seat belt anchor plates up inside the B pillars on our 57 Chevy. [so we didn't disturb the paint] No cutting slots was needed. here is the plates which a NZ Transport compliant. We riveted 2 picture frame eyes to them to pull it up [and pull it down to allign it] but this wasn't needed. We only used the lower eye and the curtain wire could push it up without collapsing. once it was lined up, we captured it with a seat belt bolt and a lock nut to pull it outwards plug welded in place Then the curtain wire can be "unscrewed" from the picture frame eyes. We're threaded wiring inside over 100 trailer frames [RHS] using this method.
Without the curtain wire method This was the standard method to install seatbelt anchor plates Then in NZ you would need an engineer to certify the repair to the B pillar afterwards. Or weld it like this. [at the expense of the paint]
plumbers use snakes, electricians use a fish....A steel fish fish most of the time but long runs over 200 feet require a fiberglass rod fish that won't bind up in conduit... But for the car anything might do the job including a willow branch
As an "old electrician" I have the fiberglass rods, and a metal reel fish tape too, and can honestly say neither have ever been used on a car build I've done. The fiberglass rods are too stiff, and even the sections individually are too long to work with inside cars. The metal snake needs a tunnel or smooth pathway to work, and never found a car that the snake would go through well. I rip all the old wiring out, and get whatever existing path there is as clean and empty as possible. Then I use a piece of solid electrical wire like is used in house wiring. Usually romex I have to split and remove one conductor from. I strip off the insulation on the last few inches, and then bend the end of the wire over double to make a rounded end. Then just wiggle and push it through the area I want it to go. If there's any up or down hill I try to always push downhill as it tends to go easier that direction. Sometimes if it's a booger I wipe a little dish soap, or lubricant on the first foot of wire to help it slide past rough areas. Never had one yet I couldn't fish through. But if you do have existing old wiring you're going to rip out; do yourself a big favor! Before ripping it out tie a single new wire to one of the old wires securely. Then when you rip out the old wiring you'll be pulling in a fishing line. Then you can tie all your new wires to that fishing line and simply pull them in. Be sure to tie it securely and tape up the splice tightly. Also make sure it's tapered well when taped so it wont have a bulge or blunt end to catch on things when pulling it in.
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