Ok its time to wire my model a coupe,I have the wiring but never done it...any body in laredi,tx or close by that wants to wire car for me? If so how much cost n how long would it take? Need it done asap...thanks
dude wiring is not that hard to do (so long as its a basic model a without computer crap in it) , its pretty logical, check out crazy steves new thread on wiring 101, i find cheap extention leads to be a great source of cheap wire, if you do it yourself, dont skimp on the terminals and take your time and then double check all your work, draw your own wiring diagram with a birds eye view of the car, and take your time then double check it again, once i learned how to wire it was easy, measure your wire lengths 1st then add a foot, and do it sober to. but thats just me i hate to part with cash, but then again if your if ya aint confident then its best ta get help.
If you are looking at your open box of wiring it can look somewhat overwhelming, 3 pounds of assorted coloured wires all balled up however once you spread it out on the floor you can see how and where it travels it is not difficult. Each wire is labelled?
I've done 4 different cars over the years & it still scares me. One wire at a time & you'll be surprised how easy it is.
You can do it yourself. Take your time. Get organized. Do the primary wiring first to get the engine to fire and the charging circuit to work. Don't forget to buy the fusible links for the alternator lead and the primary feed lead from the battery to the fuse panel. Can't imagine you will need a very large panel with an A. Lots of help on here for wiring. If you do it yourseld you will feel more confident when something go south in the future.
Rebel has a good simple set up. For a hot rod you will not need a bunch of different circuits. Very basic. Cost around $175 you can call the tech line if you need help. Tech speaks English. Southern English.
Don't sweat this too much. I never wired a car and have done both my deuce roadster and my '46 woodie using Ron Francis kits. If you follow the kit's instructions it's just about impossible to screw up. Every wire is marked as to where it goes.
Hi Walt, Tugmaster did a thread where he has a health issue and had to close his business. He said to go through other Rebel dealers. I don't think I missed if he is back at it, but maybe I did.
Join the Alliance and get a discount from Rebel. I am just starting my first ever wiring job on my A with a Rebel 8 circuit.
I always chuckle a bit to myself on these threads. I am in the middle of RE-WIRING a 1956 F100 right now because some guy thought he could handle it with a Painless kit. Yet in reality it was such a mess, it was quicker to tear it all out and start over. And this is the 5th car that I've had to re-do because someone didn't have a clue. It is Not that hard - but Take your time, think through each thing you are doing and route all your wires Before you cut and terminate them. That way the next owner won't have to bring anohter one to me to fix.
OK, attention to details when wiring is important. So, posters 6,7 and 8-please note that the OP HAS the wiring. For the OP, all the advice is good. It's not that hard. One wire at a time. leave a little extra for slack and movement of the car. Make sure you have a good crimping tool and that your crimps are tight. I like to seal all my connectors with heat shrink tubing for a little extra support,abrasion resistance and protection form accidental shorting. Make sure your grounds are really good. Use dielectric grease(Permatex,etc) in your bulb sockets to assure good conductivity. Make lots of notes as you go so you can remember what goes where later if you need to-also make sure the wire labels are visible after you button things up.
I have the wiring but never done it Pay attention boys and girls.^^^---- Listen to what most have written. It really is not that difficult. Follow directions and do one circuit at a time without a battery hooked up until you are ready to check that circuit. Read the new post WIRING 101 for tips.
I am an alliance vendor and offer free shipping on American Autowire to Alliance members http://cappshotrods.com/product-category/electrical/customstreet-rod-harnesses/ Call me with any questions. I have sold a number of harnesses to newbies and all found AAW a simple install
ez wire kits says 8 hours. my experience is it's more like 12--but wiring isn't my thing. that said I won't "fix" wiring. i start from scratch or not at all. diagnostics are not my thing. better than I used to be, but still not an expert by any means--that's why they have tech support.
I am a rebel wire dealer and I probably have the kit in stock. If your interested. They are super easy to install and really hard to mess up. Instructions are pretty clear and very user friendly. Just Pm if interested.
Just wonder why people keep referring to kits, or wanting to sell the OP a kit? I think he said he has the wiring?
Smart A$$es I don't know if he has a box of old wires or a kit or a kit with directions im just trying to help the guy out. Im just explaining that the rebel kit has very clear instructions that he can do himself. Let him chose if he wants it or not
I find a place of zen while wiring from scratch, but that's just me I guess. I enjoy it. Like stated, get a good crimper, make sure you can solder, plenty of shrink tubing, plenty of zip ties. I like using mastic tape wrapped in electrical tape for engine looms then just hit it with the portasol and fuse it together. Oh yeah, a portasol is the perfect tool for shrink tubing. Don't know what I would do without it. Have fun!
I have a set of American Autowire Highway 22 plans that I'm trying to understand for use on a Model A Ford. How do Rebel Wire plans differ? Bob
If you are trying to cut corners ,this is not the kit for you but if you have never wired a car and want everything in one box and don't mind spending a few more buck this is the best kit in the market,,bar none! I have used no less than 8 of the kits in the last 5 years,,you won't get into it and have to buy another thing. Each step has a individual bag of wiring and a color illustrated instruction for that step,,engine,gauges,lights,accessories. I guess I'm hooked on this kit,,,I've been building hot rods for years and I've made my own wiring a piece at a time and used most of the kits on the market. HRP
I have never used the American autowire so I couldn't tell you much about that. If you already have a wiring kit by all means use it if you can. Im not trying to sell you unnecessary parts. The Rebel kit is pretty clear on individual accessories and how to wire them. If you are not running power windows power locks or any other crazy accessories I believe its something you can do yourself even with limited experience. I think all harnesses are similar. Basically you mount harness on drivers side under dash somewhere. before you make any connections route all your wires where they need to go More than likely your gonna put a hole in firewall on drivers side. Route all wires that go to the front through there. (coil, lights, starter, oil pres, water temp, alt wires) then route wires to the rear that go there (taillights, brake lights and so on). Lay all your wires out to go to the proper places. Then you can get a feel for how you will need to loom or tie it all together. If you use mechanical gauges you wont even need the oil, and water temp wires. Hook up coil + usually pink wire, Red wire to battery or starter Batt. Purple to small post on starter. You will need a jumper wire from alt. to starter so it can charge batt. Depending on what ignition switch you use its basically Power in red, Purple goes in start position to starter, accessory, then Pink is hot in run. At that point it should start and run. You will just need to hook up lights and any accessories inside. I think with all the help on this forum you can get it handles. Just tryin to help you out.
How does one join this Alliance? Will I have to go fight Wookies and Ewoks? All joking aside the prices aren't that bad for the rebel harness, but if I can save some $$ I'd like too. Was looking at a Kwikwire setup this weekend at a swap meet. Looked to be well made, the dealer said they are made in Ohio I think it was? Anyone have experience if one is "better" than another? I know "better" is hard to say since all are basically a bunch of wires.
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