I've been consisering using Dolphin gauges and EZ wiring kit in my 1950 mercury m47 project as these seem to be less expensive than most other products. Has anyone had any experience with these two products? Is it a case of "YA GETS WHAT yA PAY FOR" Thanks Alan

 

You haven't been around for a while. Won't it be expensive to bring up the EZ-wire kit rom the states? You could try the CANADIAN company WireForce in Ontario. Pros pick sells them and The Old Car Centre in BC carries wiring kits also. Sorry I couldn't help with the gauges. Also read my new caption under my name!

 

Thanks Nathan, I like your "emmie" I guess I have one too! I,ve been around but just not to much to say, but definitly suckin" up the wisdom on the forum! I've actually found a supplier in Ont. for EZ wiring that's why I was wondering about the kit.

Alan

 

Sorry I can't help with the gauge question - the Dolphin's look real nice but I've no personal experience with them. My trucks a daily driver wannabe and I went with Actron "SunPro" mechanical gauges from the local AutoZone guy due to cost considerations. They seem accurate enough (at least they repeat and don't drift) and they're okay for me for now.

I can tell you about the EZ Wiring harness from personal experience. The harness quality and makeup is fine and an excellent value any way you look at it. The wires are very well marked (we used the colored wire kit) and easy to trace. The fuse block itself is a little larger than some but we had plenty of places to put it and that didn't present a problem (its tucked up under the dash on the drivers side)

The only negatives I'd offer have to do with the instructions / diagrams that come with the kit. In my mind they leave a bit to be desired. I'm not real bright but a complete "typical" (if there is such a thing with a rod) wiring diagram which included the whole fuse block would have been very helpful. Instead you get pieces of the wiring diagram showing the various systems but no "gozinta" / "gozouta" drawing to show the fuse block at all.

If I buy one of these kits for my own truck (and I'm thinking seriously of doing that) the first thing I will do is to make a diagram of the fuse block itself so that I can trace wires in and out easily. That may not be important to some who are more familiar with automotive wiring than myself but that one little thing would have helped me make sense of things and made me feel more secure with the process.

So...save some money and figure on a little more head scratching or spend bigger dollars and go with an easier to install harness. After it's said and done it took my buddy and I about 3 mornings, a Saturday (all day) and another few hours to install it and get it sorted. that includes the time to strip out the old wiring and install new tail lights and dash switches. We are both happy with the results and it all works great. Sorry for the long note and I Hope that helps with your decision!

OilLeaks

 

Oileaks,

Thanks for the info and your first hand expierence, that's the kind of feedback I was after, Mine may not be so time consuming as I'm starting with a bare cab and chassis. will definitly take your input into consideration when making my decision.

thanks Alan

 

Alan, another harness you might take a look at is from It's a Snap Wire and Cable (www.itsasnapwireand cable.com). It's even less expensive than the EZ Wire and the fuse block is smaller. I may try one of these when I do my truck - the small size would make it easy to hide up under the dash. I've just started to notice them in the magazines - maybe I've been sleeping or maybe it's relatively new on the market.

 

Oileaks, Thanks for the info, The company here in the frozen North (-44 degees last week) that I am dealing with on the EZwiring kit has just informed me that they also deal in its-a-snap wiring, I do like the look of the small fuse box, and I,m also considering this package, although he is quoting me the same price for either, thanks for the heads up.

Alan

 

Alan..."-44 degrees last week" Yipes! I'm a Florida weather weenie and I think it's cold when it gets close to freezing! You are a mountain man to deal with that kind of weather - I hope you have a heated shop!

Anyway you got me thinking about wiring again and I've been looking at my 51 and it is REAL bad so I've decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and get started. Winter is a good time to be working inside a garage in Florida - in summer (unless you are among the elite and have AC in your garage - hey I got a fan!) the garage can get a little stuffy and I much prefer being outside under the big shade tree.

At any rate I like the looks of the "Its A Snap" harness and I think I'll give it a whirl. I'll call them tomorrow and verify a couple of things but I'm pretty sure that I'll buy it and get started. At the asking price ($150) it's a good value and even my cheap tight wallet can afford it. I expect the instructions to be very similar to the EZ Wiring kit (not so good) but if the wire and component quality is the same I'll be happy. I don't mind a little head scratching to save a couple bills. I'll post a note and let you know what I think about it when I get it.

OilLeaks

 

In 1996 when I was in florida. It was like plus 5-10'C and you guys were in winter parkas while us canadians were in T-shirts and shorts. Well that week it was -57'C with windchill where I was.

 

I put a EZ Wire in my F100, was fine, although the Ron Francis I used in another project, was easier to be "real" neat with. I am knee deep in my 40 Ford coupe project now and have purchased an Its A Snap kit for it because of the small fuse panel. Quality is on a parr with EZ, and others. Joe

 

Alan,
I have the EZ Wire kit and it was simple to install. Dolphin gauges work fine, too--- based on what members in the hot rod club I'm in have said. I considered Dolphin and VDO when I was shopping gauges. I went with the VDO based on prior knowledge of their product (and I wasn't crazy about having little dolphin's on each gauge in my dash!).

My $.02....

 

Thanks to Joe and Daryl for their replies on the EZwiring kit , I am going with this kit, I think Oileaks is going with Its-a-snap kit so will compare notes down the road!- thanks to everyone for the responses!

Alan

 

Saskatchewan must be Ford, oh I'm sorry, Merc country. It's not getting any warmer. 50 Merc I've a nice hood off a 49 Merc,chrone grill with a couple of stone dings and a door if you need. just give me a call and pick them up. But wait til it warms up. I might have a few more give aways once I get going on the other parts trucks.

 

I talked with the Its A Snap people yesterday afternoon on the phone and they answered all my questions. I bought the 20 fuse mini panel model. I have to admit to being surprised to find it sitting on my doorstep when I got home this evening. They told me they'd ship it right out and they were as good as their word - true I only live about 2 hours away from their base but still I find that "We'll ship it right out" usually means sometime in the next few days. Total cost was $167 and change including Florida sales tax and shipping.

Overall quality of the unit and materials is very much on par with the EZ Wire panel (jsut put one in a friends Ch__y). The label system on the fuse panel itself is better (at least it's clearer to me) but the documentation and "instruction" booklet is very much the same. I do like the fuse cover very much (looks cleaner when you don't have a good hiding place) and the fact that there are no exposed wires on the back of the panel. If it works as well as the EZ Wire unit I'll be very happy.

 

Oileaks, Glad to hear you got your kit, hope it works out for you.
Man! $167.00 sometimes I wished I lived furthur South! Ordered my kit tonight $335.00 Canadian!! anyhow good luck with the install! Mine won't be installed for a while as I still working on my cab.

51Mombo, Glad to hear another Sask. voice! Thanks for the offer on the hood etc. I think the wife already figures i've lost it as I'm always dragging home something. I actually have 4 extra doors, and two extra cabs, and many stock parts, complete power train etc. if you need anything email me . Where in Sask are you located?

Alan