I am getting ready to tackle completely rewiring my 69 Chevelle and wanted to get some guidance as to the best harness to get. I read through some of the previous threads and did take Dave's advice and ordered a complete wiring diagram for my car. Now I have to decide which complete harness to purchase. Painless seems to be the standard out there and comes with a step by step 120 page instruction set. Any other suggestions on alternatives? This will be my first attempt at completely wiring a car. I am going to need all the help I can get !!
69 Chevelle wiring Project
Bodine45
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
I am getting ready to tackle completely rewiring my 69 Chevelle and wanted to get some guidance as to the best harness to get. I read through some of the previous threads and did take Dave's advice and ordered a complete wiring diagram for my car. Now I have to decide which complete harness to purchase. Painless seems to be the standard out there and comes with a step by step 120 page instruction set. Any other suggestions on alternatives? This will be my first attempt at completely wiring a car. I am going to need all the help I can get !!
Not sure I understand your question, are you looking for OEM factory replacement wiring or a complete aftermarket harness. I have purchased and installed OEM style harness from Year One and also M and H made I think was, and was well pleased. As for the Painless aftermarket harnesses , I have no experience . With the OEM style you can upgrade to HEI s units over a point dizzy and also swap over to gauges, clocks , and they will match your OEM wiring diagram as to color and gauge sizes. I do like plug and play over custom fitting when possible.
Joined
·
15,814 Posts
Lots of people here use the American Autowire classic update kit. It comes with a complete wiring diagram although may be somewhat different than the one you bought.
American Autowire has excellent tech support and you will most likely need them a time or two. They also have very good install instructions. Overall their kit is pretty good.
One thing I don't like about AAW is there bayonet style sockets. They are on the cheap side and tend to drop bulbs. Trust me, on a 69 that is a major pain for dropedbulbs in the instrument panel. I have replaced all my AAW bayonet sockets with Pico brand sockets.
A few tips no matter what brand you use.
1. Get yourself a couple rolls of harness tape which is not the same thing as electrical tape
2. Get yourself some dielectric grease and use it on all your connections.
3. Consider using LED bulbs throughout your interior. Superbrightleds is a good brand to use. I recommend their warm white for all interior. If you do go led I highly recommend the Pico sockets which are very reasonably priced and available at Summit Racing.
4. A good reasonably priced set of crimper is the Tool Aid brand with the interchangeable jaws
5. When reinstalling your instrument bezel it helps to have a second set of hands till you get a few screws installed
6. If doing a complete rewire you will have most of the interior out. Good time to install sound deadener.
7. One cannot rewire (remove the old wiring) for the dome light unless you remove the headliner which will destroy it and once again a good time to remove original insulation and install sound deadener on the roof.
8. If you don't have one get a multimeter. You will need it.
American Autowire has excellent tech support and you will most likely need them a time or two. They also have very good install instructions. Overall their kit is pretty good.
One thing I don't like about AAW is there bayonet style sockets. They are on the cheap side and tend to drop bulbs. Trust me, on a 69 that is a major pain for dropedbulbs in the instrument panel. I have replaced all my AAW bayonet sockets with Pico brand sockets.
A few tips no matter what brand you use.
1. Get yourself a couple rolls of harness tape which is not the same thing as electrical tape
2. Get yourself some dielectric grease and use it on all your connections.
3. Consider using LED bulbs throughout your interior. Superbrightleds is a good brand to use. I recommend their warm white for all interior. If you do go led I highly recommend the Pico sockets which are very reasonably priced and available at Summit Racing.
4. A good reasonably priced set of crimper is the Tool Aid brand with the interchangeable jaws
5. When reinstalling your instrument bezel it helps to have a second set of hands till you get a few screws installed
6. If doing a complete rewire you will have most of the interior out. Good time to install sound deadener.
7. One cannot rewire (remove the old wiring) for the dome light unless you remove the headliner which will destroy it and once again a good time to remove original insulation and install sound deadener on the roof.
8. If you don't have one get a multimeter. You will need it.
Joined
·
164 Posts
I use Dave, He rebuilds the origional harness and labels each connection. 1000% easier than following the schematics.
Joined
·
2,012 Posts
1st question who is Dave, 2nd question how do you rebuild a wiring harness, does he just replace the connectors using the existing wire. I'm not sure I understand this method.
Or did I misunderstand and he just uses the old harness to make a duplicate harness?
Or did I misunderstand and he just uses the old harness to make a duplicate harness?
I am assuming Dave is Davewho1, the fellow that posted all the wiring diagrams in another thread. That is kind of why I wanted his contact information to find out more about what he does and what are the costs.
Just wanted to follow up on this thread as it has been over a year since I originally posted. I am getting my Chevelle back from the body shop today and will have the opportunity to start installing parts before it goes back in for final paint. I have to do: fuel tank and fuel lines, brake lines and master cylinder, Holley Terminator Max, exhaust system and of course the wiring. I landed on a product made by a fellow out of Hilliard Ohio - "Haywire". I was actually in the area and met Darren at his shop. I was super impressed with the quality and the price of his harnesses. Every wire is labeled just like Painless but at a fraction of the cost. If anyone is interested, the website is www.haywire.com
I will follow up once I get the car wired with a thumbs up or down! Thanks again all.
I will follow up once I get the car wired with a thumbs up or down! Thanks again all.
Joined
·
2 Posts
Team
FYI
The email address for Hay Wire is actually . . www.haywireinc.com . .
Looks like a GREAT company !
Bill
1 - 12 of 12 Posts
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
-
?
