the 53 is going to get new wiring, what kind do yall recomend, its going 12 volt. also what kind of sound deadening mats is the best bang for the buck

 

I'm not a wiring guy but check out B-Quiet sound deadening material for sound dampening on the cheap!

 

I have the EzWire 21 circuit harness in my green truck, and will be using a similar one from speedway motors for my red truck.

Easy, labeled well, plenty of wire.

I like the doc with the speedway harness.

I used Rattle trap 80mil deadened on my green truck.

Sam

 

I am going with the Speedway Motors harness too. The ratings on their site were numerous and all good. Speedway 20 Circuit Wiring Harness - Speedway Motors, America's Oldest Speed Shop.

For sound/heat control, I am planning to go with Hushmat and maybe Lizard Skin under that.

 

That speedway motors kit looks amazing! I bought a similar one at a swap meet for about the same money but the one from Speedway looks very nice! Mine didnt come with any switches either.

 

Ok guys, after scratching my head for way too long, I finally decided to get a wiring harness. You sold me on the Speedway harness...the one posted above.
$173.18 and it's on the way! I figure they have been in the business since 1952...they must know what they are doing...
I am glad that decision is over! right or wrong, I will know better next time!

 

I went with the Painless, only because they had a rebate going for $100 back...so the net price was $200. That being said, I did have to go to Ron Francis for the alternator connectors/harness....his stuff was way better than the painless. I'm using the painless, but I was not too impressed with the wire size for the main battery to fuse box wire, and they also used the same relatively small 10ga wire on the alternator charging circuit which unnecessarliy runs to the fuse box when all of that could stay under the hood. Everything else about it looks great...laser labeled wires with labels along the entire length of the wire is a real plus.

I'm sure the Speedway harness is going to be fine....also note that there is no way you could buy that much wire & a 20 circuit fuse block for under $200 if you took a DIY approach.

 

Scratch wiring my '56. (will be postin up pics soon) Never wired a rig end to end and the old man has. He's been doin it before Ron Francis even existed, so I'm gettin taught the ins and outs. I know it may not be the cheapest or quickest, but it's been fun so far.... learnin alot! Dad admits that pieceing together a harnes these days is just not cost effective anymore. All the parts and wire, especially when you start adding ALOT more power accessories, start adding up really fast. He admits kits are the way to go these days. Its been hard trying to find all the small parts, ends, clips and pieces that were easily available 15-20 years ago. But we're figuring it out.

I have been looking around for harness kits for outer projects of mine. I've used Ron Francis, and they are the cat's meow, but not cheap by any means. I'm the type that likes the option of 'backwiring' which alot of these kits, such as Painless, do not allow. There is one other kit that i found that allows you to backwire and it's made by American Autowire. Story is with them, they are basically a copy-cat of Ron Francis kits, only a bit cheaper. The AA rep told me a that a few of RF's engineers left and now work for AA, and that's why there is a striking resemblence. i looked their kits over, and very nice indeed. Would probably be the one I would order.

I'd like to get a closer look at the Speedway kits. Gotta be cautious with all the trash that hits the shores from China. I've seen EZ-Wire's kit, not bad but could use a little better jacketing on the wire itself. Looked kinda thin to me.

 

I was hoping that, because it is sold by Speedway, it would be a good product.
I saw a couple good thing said about it here, so I jumped in. I know what you mean about going thru the process, the hard way.
i built my 5X8 utility trailer...I could have bought one cheaper and easier, but I wanted to do it! She still rolls down the highway!

 

I've been to enough wire factories to know that just about every piece of wire available in the US today comes from a factory in China....they might build up the harness here, but I think there is only one US wire jacketing facility left.

On top of that, the Restricted and Hazardous Substances act (RoHS) in Europe required that the lead and bromine be removed from the PVC wire jacketing (insulation). The US manufacturers have gone along with it just in case they want to export a product to Europe. The lead was a plasticizer and UV inhibitor, and the bromine helped as a fire retardant. The new PVC is total crap. Maybe some of you might have noticed if you've bought any computers or TV's in the last few years...the power cords are not nearly as flexible as they once were.

Personally, I wonder how many people will be killed when handling an aging extension cord over the next few years...or how many houses will burn down when a power cord that is exposed to sunlight finally shorts out. I guess I'm resistant to change, but I'm sure glad that we're keep the lead of of Europe!!

 

Wow, I've been looking at different harnesses as well, this one looks like the way to go for me as well. Thanks for posting this link.

 

Well doesn't that just figure. I doubt there was enough lead or bromine in there to do any damage at all. I mean if you were stupid enough to eat wire, then I guess you had it comming. I have definately noticed how much stiffer powercords have become. makes it harder to bundle them up neater around your appliances. Noticed this in automotive wire aswell.

 

I bought a Rebel Wire kit. Very nice wire and clear concise instructions.

 

American Autowire on my truck. Good kit and the instructions were first rate. They guide you step by step and their tech support actually answered my emails.

 

Woo Hoo! got my harness today! Something more to collect dust for awhile, but nonetheless...I have it!
I have a steering column from a Bronco II so I will have to do something about that, cause they all are wired for a GM column. Anybody else had to deal with this? GM to Ford? The Ford column has the "multifunction switch"...turn signals and dimmer all in one. I like this because there won't be a foot dimmer on the floor, more room for my big feet!