has anyone installed one of these in a pre '68 A body? i have a '68 GTO and a '67 Buick Skylark that both need the wiring completely gone through. how difficult is it to install the whole harness? does it cover everything you need or is there certain bits of the factory harness you have to retain? any input would be great to know before i make a decision on which way to go.
thanks,
chris

Do a search, there are some here that went with the Painless harness and say it is anything but Painless. Most recommend an M&H harness, www.wiringharness.com for the website.

I'd have to disagree. I though it was pretty easy. Except trying to figure out what they mean. Pretty much, it is written on the wire where it goes, you put it there, and run a ground (that is the only thing that isn't provided). To answer your question, keep the old harness as you are doing it. You need a few connectors, not many, but i decided to use a factory just for the factory look. The one thing i couldn't figure out but just gave up on is the heater/ac i never had time to call painless but my heater and ac doesn't work anyway so i didnt bother. Also, if you are going for stock then this obviously isnt the kit for you. But if you want a custom, CLEAN look, it will beat any other kit out there. I have no regulator for the alt. now, no horn relay, hei etc... Oh, and for time wise, there are a few key things that can determine whether you finish in a week or a month. If you have something else to compare it to (i.e. a car with a STOCK wiring is the best) you could probably finish in under a week. The reason is: some wires will be like a two connector but which one goes on which terminal? And wiring diagrams aren't always good cause they don't say where the wire goes from that terminal. It isn't that bad, i couldn't find anything so i just did trial and error, sure i burnt two fuses but now i know which goes to which!! Well, i really think the kit gets ALOT more trashing then it deserves, i've boughten MANY repro and other parts and this was one of the better ones. Hope that helps.

If you want an exacting "plug and play" replacement...go with American Autowire/Factory Fit kits. Yes,,...they are a tad expensive but the easiest to understand and all the sockets and connections are already there.

If you don't understand basic circuits or are NOT able to read schematics, then this is the kit for you.

Nothing wrong with Painless but I like Centech kits better....a bit of a savings too. If you are reeeeeeeeal good at electrical stuff, EZWire is the cheapest albeit the most presuming to install.

I went with Painless mainly because of the addtional circuits for electric windows, door locks, fuel pump, ect. If you are trying to do a stock factory replacement - this is not for you. But if you are going to add stuff and ARE comfortable with reading schematics and soldering, it's a great way to go. On the GM 18 circuit harness, wire colors most closely match '70 Camaro. It's important to save the old harness for any special connectors you might need.
-Bill

I'm putting in the 18 circuit right now. Pretty straight forward. BTW, Painless does make another harness that is a complete factory stock style. I chose the universal harness because of what it DOESNT have. Mainly, wires for idiot lights, voltage regulator, key buzzer, seat belt warning and numerous other outdated systems I've deleted. I used the Painless harness for my custom dash with Autometer gauges so it just plugged-in. Seemed easier to me to add a circuit or two than try to eliminate a bunch of 'em.

I installed the Centech harness and it is awesome. I hid all my wiring so I went with a pre-terminated kit which let me run all my wires from their destination back to the fuse panel (which I moved into the glove box). Every wire is labeled every 2 in. so no confusion. Great customer service for tech and advice. The kit is universal, not drop in though like some of the others out there, so a bit of patience is needed. You will need to wire your wipers by yourself, and the reverse lights kit is additional as well. You basically spend about 1/2 hour with them on the phone telling them what your car has and what you want out of the harness and they fab it up for you with factory correct terminals etc.. Killer setup.