I have to rewire my entire 70 chevelle and I ordered the complete 18 circuit wire harness from painless, but where do i begin? I'm not very mechanically inclined nor electrically. Can anyone give me any pointers of where I can begin. Car still has old wire on.:confused::confused:

The Painless system is very good but not for the inexperienced. Are you sure you need to replace the stock one? M&H Fabricators make an exact replcement for the stock harness. http://www.wiringharness.com/

I would test things and only replace what is necessary with a stock repro. They are color coded exactly the same as stock and everything is there, right donw to the ground ring on the cigarette lighter wire. If you're not comfortable with wiring I would do a Painless system.


Chuck

I redid my 64 with a Painless harness. It would work great for a hot rod, but if you can buy a reproduction harness for your car I would suggest you go that route, especially if you're not inclined in this area. With mine at least, every system had to be run to the proper place and then the end terminals installed. Doesn't sound like much, but I have may hours standing on hy head soldering connections. A true reproduction harness would have been much easier.

Devin

I have to rewire my entire 70 chevelle and I ordered the complete 18 circuit wire harness from painless, but where do i begin? I'm not very mechanically inclined nor electrically. Can anyone give me any pointers of where I can begin. Car still has old wire on.:confused::confused:
Sounds like direct replacement harnesses would have been a better choice for you. M&H makes them as well as American Autowire which we are a dealer for. Definitely more expensive but it is as simple as unplugging the old, and plugging in the new.

Mike

Listen to the good advice and go the stock replacement route. Do one harness at a time. i.e.: Forward Lamp Harness, Engine Harness, Dash Harness, Intermediate Harness, etc. The factory replacement harnesses like those from M&H are a snap. Some of the plugs are so obvious (like headlamp sockets) that it's impossible to go wrong. If in doubt, don't pull out the entire old harness at once. Start on one end and attach the new connectors as the old ones are taken off. You may not always be able to do it that way so use labels if necessary. Sometimes the length of a wire is a dead giveaway as to where it should go. If you've never done it before, it could seem a tad intimidating but it's really not the monster that you might think it is.

I would agree with the M&H harness also if you do not spend much time in the garage. I do feel the painless stuff is more than user friendly but in all honesty you have to want to do it and you have to really have an interest in modifying a major component on your vehicle. It ranks right behind steering, brakes, and suspension in my book. But if you want to tackle a feasible project and you have some additional electrical components on your car that is not factory, go for it. Their tech. support is great. I am getting ready to do my second car with a painless this fall for a guy but I enjoy doing electrical work on vehicles.

Good luck,

Thanks for all the help. I think I will try to knock it out myself.