[f_musarra]

first of all ...i hate electrical.and i'm not a mechanic....
i own a '65 chevelle with a straight 6. i bought the car from the family of a guy who kinda lost his mind and vandalized his own car. cut all the wiring in the engine comp, beat the fenders and roof with a hammer and slit the MINT seats......i bought it anyway,,,too good of a price.
i'm in the midst of wiring it all back together. it runs although i start it with a remote wire since there's no power at the key. it's charging...but that's it. i have no lights, guages or ignition. i've wired most of it up but i have a few questions.

my wiring diagram shows a junction block where the horn and some other wires attach. do i need to replace it? can i bypass it? it was already re-wired bypassing the block straight to the alternator. i have no block on the fender.

next...i found a thick red wire near the pass side headlamps connected to a broken off 1 screw junction box. does this go to the battery? i was told no.

next....2 wires to the starter.....how do i know which side to hook them to? does it matter? one is a silver resistance wire...i think.

please help a lost soul who can't wait to start(legallyand safely) driving his beauty.
thanks.

 

[6t7gto]

on the starter, the heavier wire goes to the "S" terminal on the solenoid.
the other wire goes to the "R" terminal.
"S" = switch or solenoid.
"R" = resistor
david

 

[sdtsdt]

If it is a real hack job, I would seriously consider just getting a replacement harness for the damaged one ... There are multiple harnesses in a car, so you will not need to replace every one ... but I would have reliability and safety concerns if doing major patch work ...

 

[f_musarra]

thanks guys for the suggestions....i think at this point i better replace the entire harnesses...i went out to start the car and i saw the top had blown off the coil....any ideas? should it be went with an oily substance...i think the car godz are trying to tell me something...

 

[1Fast7D]

Heres a general pic of the engine compartment wiring. if you have no power in the car sounds like the 12g wire from the firewall bulkhead to the horn relay if disconnected.

For factory replacement harnesses try here
http://www.americanautowire.com/
http://www.wiringharness.com/

 

[DG]

engine compartment wiring

Isn't this just the charging circuit?

DG

 

[f_musarra]

thanks for the input and great diagram. i dont even have a horn relay...it was bypassed. maybe that'll help.. the latest thing to happen is after driving to a shop yesterday i parked it. today i checked it and saw that the top of my coil had blown off and all the wires were sheared. what would cause that?i'm gonna hopefully get it running later and bring it to the shop to rewire for 180 bucks...seems like a good price.

 

[engineer]

the price of the harnesses alone is greater than $180. you better get a detailed list of what they will wire for that price.

 

[MedicTed]

I rewired my 64 with a L6. It is very similar to yours. Get replacement harnesses and do it yourself. The hardest part is the dash harness because you have to work with limited access. You can do the dash, front light harness and engine harness easily in one day.

 

[f_musarra]

thanks guys for all of the great input. got the engine compartment rewired for 180....only used my original plug at the firewall. relay for the elec fuel pump, horn and heater. everything seems to be working fine..i'll watch for troubles......

 

[ez2wire]

the price of the harnesses alone is greater than $180. you better get a detailed list of what they will wire for that price.

Never mind... thought the $180 price was refeering to a wiring harness. Not amechanic rewiring the engine.

Charles