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Hey everyone, I am a new member here and new to the ford community. Just picked up a 1965 f-100 with a 352 and three speed on the floor, 9in read end with 389 gears. She's a beater but hopefully one day she will be looking good. Just looking for some new ford owner advice, the wiring in the truck is a rats nest so that's the first info I'm looking for. Any advice/diagrams on that. And any other helps/tips are much appreciated. Looking to work on this truck over a long period of time and on a budget. Thanks!
The best place to start is to obtain and study a set of wiring diagrams on CD/DVD available at E-Bay.
If you must change or replace switches, don't waste a lot of time or money on trying to obtain NOS parts, which are original 1960s parts that didn't sell somewhere yet. Much of what you will need it reproduced.
The next place to go is to get free and online parts catalogs to study as well, they can get you a lot of good information.
Also, give very strong consideration before ripping it all all "to do it all over from scratch." The temptation to buy a universal harness and replace it all is very strong, but can cause a lot of frustration. Some here have done this well, but for others it adds confusion.
My personal opinion is to keep the original wiring harnesses as original as possible to make trouble shooting much easier.
Also, to keep the wiring original for original equipment such as Ford turn signals and gauges, but to add in a secondary fuse block for heavy duty modern additions like stereo systems - but that's a ways down the road I think!
Thanks everyone! Unfortunately the truck doesn't have the original wiring harness already. It has a newer fuse box with the mini fuses in it. And everything seems to be wired up so far other than the head lights. I have the running lights and taillights but no headlights. So that's the big thing now to figure out ha but here's a picture of how she is now
The paint was poorly done so eventually id like to strip it down and bring it back to the original seafoam color it was.
Having just pulled and re-wrapped all my 66's wiring - like I do any car I get - the truck has some very basic wiring. It would be hard to do anything "good" while it is installed, so it is best to pull it and lay it all out on the ground. Don't trust a PO's ability to wire it. You might have any wire at "light bulb effect" potential. Meaning: when it grounds, the entire wire wants to glow like a light bulb.
Adding the fuse block is, I think, a no-brainer. So much of these early cars and trucks had very poor fuse protection and the aforementioned light bulb effect can make a mess of things real quick.
I have wired in a larger fuse block on a pretty recent project (my '63 Ranchero) and took lots of pictures along the way. Call me crazy - Ranchero's (again) - Rainier Falcons > The FalconForum It's around page 15 on that thread, but posted the pics here too. I made my own harness to accommodate the [then] future plans. It's not that hard to do, but it certainly causes some people fits. I use the original schematic and add to it the things I want to add (radio, back-up lights, e-flashers, 2-speed intermittnet wipers, etc, etc) and then draw up my own schematic. Then I start laying it out.
I benefit from the scavenged wiring harnesses I have collected over the years - so I have most connector ends with the correct colors. I butt-splice, solder, heat-shrink everything. That's not something most people have or do, but it makes life easier.
Hopefully you only want the basics and can use the original connectors if they are still there. I bought the wiring schematic for my 66 and though it helped some, there was a lot missing regarding the Custom Cab dash options. I managed though by tracing a lot of wires.
Here's some wiring hell pics to either scare the wits out of you - or inspire you .
Start with a pile
and add to it another pile
Think it through. Consider distances to have things reach where they need to go.
Use HARNESS TAPE not electrical tape as some people use. Electrical tape will bleed adhesive sooner rather than later and your harness will be an icky mess.
And any other helps/tips are much appreciated. Looking to work on this truck over a long period of time and on a budget. Thanks!
Welcome to the FTE!
One thing this era of truck have a problem with, the hood is prone to popping up randomly, at highway speeds. Bad deal. Make sure the latch, safety catch, and hood is aligned and lubed periodically and everything works correctly. Some people install a padlock to provide both a little security and safety.
Thanks everyone! Unfortunately the truck doesn't have the original wiring harness already. It has a newer fuse box with the mini fuses in it. And everything seems to be wired up so far other than the head lights. I have the running lights and taillights but no headlights. So that's the big thing now to figure out ha but here's a picture of how she is now
The paint was poorly done so eventually id like to strip it down and bring it back to the original seafoam color it was.
That's a decent truck to start with. Definately better than a beater!
Having just pulled and re-wrapped all my 66's wiring - like I do any car I get - the truck has some very basic wiring. It would be hard to do anything "good" while it is installed, so it is best to pull it and lay it all out on the ground. Don't trust a PO's ability to wire it. You might have any wire at "light bulb effect" potential. Meaning: when it grounds, the entire wire wants to glow like a light bulb.
Adding the fuse block is, I think, a no-brainer. So much of these early cars and trucks had very poor fuse protection and the aforementioned light bulb effect can make a mess of things real quick.
I have wired in a larger fuse block on a pretty recent project (my '63 Ranchero) and took lots of pictures along the way. Call me crazy - Ranchero's (again) - Rainier Falcons > The FalconForum It's around page 15 on that thread, but posted the pics here too. I made my own harness to accommodate the [then] future plans. It's not that hard to do, but it certainly causes some people fits. I use the original schematic and add to it the things I want to add (radio, back-up lights, e-flashers, 2-speed intermittnet wipers, etc, etc) and then draw up my own schematic. Then I start laying it out.
I benefit from the scavenged wiring harnesses I have collected over the years - so I have most connector ends with the correct colors. I butt-splice, solder, heat-shrink everything. That's not something most people have or do, but it makes life easier.
Hopefully you only want the basics and can use the original connectors if they are still there. I bought the wiring schematic for my 66 and though it helped some, there was a lot missing regarding the Custom Cab dash options. I managed though by tracing a lot of wires.
Here's some wiring hell pics to either scare the wits out of you - or inspire you .
Start with a pile
and add to it another pile
Think it through. Consider distances to have things reach where they need to go.
Use HARNESS TAPE not electrical tape as some people use. Electrical tape will bleed adhesive sooner rather than later and your harness will be an icky mess.
Install and be happy!
007, nice thorough work. As you say, the only way to know what is going on with old wiring is to eye ball it. Testing for continuity and ground just dosen't reveal everything.
Welcome to the club, I am a new guy as well just in the process of disassembly of my truck, best of luck to you. The saving grace is mechanically these trucks are dirt simple. so once you get past the electrical you can breathe a sigh of relief. I didn't say it wouldn't be time consuming, its just not rocket science
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- or inspire you 
. 
