I am thinking of having my truck completely rewired. Most of it is original and showing it's age(frayed and exposed). Any recommendations on if I should redo with original cloth wiring or a modern harness (street rod)? Any other pitfalls I should be thinking about?

I'm also planning to convert from 6 volt to 12.

Bob

 

Well, I have herd some good things about EZ wiring harnesses. I am going to go that route because its a heck of a lot cheaper than a $500 painless wiring system. Its more of a street rod looking type setup than the original cloth looking wires.

 

I used a EZWIRING harness and its just that EZ. Every wire is labeled were it go's with all the add on you could ever need. It covers everything from headlights to the tail lights. You won't need any cross over wiring for the headlights . Even i could do this and i did and it all works. LOL

 

Bob thats a really good idea to convert over to 12 volts. I am an electrician and wanted to make my harness myself for my 50 f-1 but i did cheat a little i downloaded the ez wiring harness wiring diagrams. I really should of just bought one because it would of been cheaper because i needed to buy fuseblock and loom.but money is tight for me at the moment so i had to make one.If i were to do it again with your money i would just splash out and buy one and you can not beat ez wiring price as i know this is a quality kit . I highly recomend this for the price and quality and the diagrams are super easy to follow too.
thanks

sean m conroy

 

I just rewired my truck earlier this spring. I got my new harness from Rebel Wiring. It is similar to EZ's, every 5 inches it has what wire it is on it. It comes with directions to wire up any brand motor you want and if you have any questions they will help you and not make you feel like a dumba$$ if you have to call them. I got the 21 circuit harness just incase I want to add things like power windows, A/C, or whatever down the road all for under $200. I did my rewire over 2 weekends all by myself...

 

i just got through rewire the old 6v system. Just like yours, my harness was in very bad shape. I just went to a local electrical supplier that would sell me 12ga wire by the foot. I purchased 30ft of 9 different colors @ $0.16 a foot ($43.20) & some crimp on ring connectors ($5.00). that was it. I couldnt see paying $240.00 for a 6v wiring harness & then paying another $200+ to convert it all over to 12v. I wanted to drive the truck now and then later on switch the hole system over to 12v.

 

You wouldn't have to pay $240 for a 6 volt harness and then another $200 to convert it to 12 volt. I ordered the 12 volt harness (Rebel wire automotive wiring kits for street rods, hot rods,custom cars) second from the bottom and it was $200...

 

Thanks for the comments.

Did you add the alternator and the 12 volt starter or did you stick with your six volt starter and risk it burning out?

 

If you are asking me, my truck has an 12 volt alt and starter. You can look at my gallery if you want to see my set up. It has pictures of my rewiring job...

 

My truck is 12V with a late model mill...I made the harness with some help from my friend. Hit the swap meets for loom, find a local vendor for the wire...WAY cheaper than buying one. Most of the connections were free from what I had and what my friend had since he wired his truck earlier in the year. I would guess total investment was no more than $50.

I did happen to score an original replacement cloth wire harness for the rear of a '47 Ford truck (single tail light), so I used that to wire the engine so the cloth wire is exposed, which looks pretty neat. I need to tidy my engine area up a little more this spring, but I am happy with the results.

 

You may also want to look at Ron Francis wiring. I have been talking to them through email to help me with a custom app for my 53 with a 4.6 DOHC Cobra engine. They had been great and I have not spent a dime yet. Really good information from them and great communication.

 

Hello,

Sorry to hijack this thread, I guess Tardster would be the one with the answers, was the Rebel Wiring harness you used long enough to cover the entire length of the truck, from the headlights to the tailights or did you need to add any additional wire? Do you headlight sockets come with it or is that a separate harness? My project this spring as soon as it gets better out is to go from 6 to 12 volts and replace all the old wiring. I also want to upgrade to a Alternator. I'd like to use the Rebel harness since they are made in the USA and have pretty good pricing.

Thanks.