Thread: Project $ 3 K Is Underway

Tweet

I haven't fallen off of my chair since...............well..........last week.

Don

My project on the T bucket tonight is going to involve some electrical wiring. It really isn't time for wiring yet, but I want to do the underdash wiring while I have complete access to it, rather than having to lay upside down with a flashlight in my teeth, like I did on my '27. By doing it now I can not only do it easier, but neater also. My plan is to make up my own harness rather than to use one of the commercial units, like a Ron Francis, or Painless. Do not follow my example on this. The commercial kits are the way to go in most cases. They are better, easier, and end up costing about the same when you factor in what the wire, fuse box, terminals, etc. end up costing individually. Plus, each wire is marked as to where it goes, so these kits are very user friendly. They are fantastic.

So, if they are so good, why am I going to make up my own wiring harness? For a couple of reasons. First of all, I like to do wiring, and can customize the layout of the components. Secondly, the commercial kits have things I don't need on this car, like turn signal and air conditioning circuits. I am not going to have either of these, so the wiring on this car only needs to be very basic. Today I will pick up the wiring and components I need at work ( I always use marine grade wiring and components because they are tinned well and made to stand up to harsh elements. I did the wiring on the '27 about 17 years ago, and have never had one problem with corrosion or anything on it.)

Tonight I'll post some pictures of the start of this project, and show how I will begin the layout and placement of components.

Don

HE realy gets them cheaper from work so he can try staying within his budget
Though I make up my own harness also unless I'm doing somthing stock. I enjoy wiring it keeps the bugs out of your brain.

Originally Posted by cffisher

HE realy gets them cheaper from work so he can try staying within his budget
Though I make up my own harness also unless I'm doing somthing stock. I enjoy wiring it keeps the bugs out of your brain.

Cheaper heck, it's FREE. I steal it all.

Don

I didn't want to infer that. But when I was building my 38 a bunch of things came real cheap that way. I had our layout man in the weldshop make my rocker panels. Axle brg. were free from berry bearing. Stainless bolts OH yea.

In the Fortune 500 companies they call these PERKS. Some guys get Mercedes company cars, I get 10 feet of wire. Something is really wrong with this picture.

Don

Tonight I worked on the dash wiring, and didn't get as much done as I hoped, but at least I know pretty much where everything is going under the dash.

The first thing I did was make up an exact duplicate of my dash out of a piece of masonite, right down to the gauge holes and ignition switch hole. By making it exactly the same, when I transfer the wiring harness I am going to make over to the real dash, it should fit perfectly. You can see from these first couple of pictures how much easier it is to wire the underside of the dash while it is in the open like this. I have total access to the backside of the gauges, switches, etc so that I can run wires without any problems.

Here are the first couple of shots of the front and back of the dummy dashboard.