I want to (finally) rewire my '54 F100, but I need a good source for wire. I want to do it all individually (thanks Julie!) and want to use multiple colors and sizes for the different circuits. I am doing a custom instrument panel so the 12V upgrade will be no problem. It has the original 239 that someone added a Holley 600cfm and 12V hacked upgrade. It is still points, but I may do the Pertronix points eliminator kit.

Anyway, sources (online preferably) for automotive grade wire in multiple sizes and colors?

Thanks all!

 

I was just in Pep boys they had at least a dozen different colors and sizes.

 

you going with the stock fabric coated or vinyl. i've done hot rods with 2-4 fuses, but the trucks have a little more stuff it might be easier to buy an 6-8 circuit kit (if stock isn't what your after). i'm doing my '54 panel and bought an 8 circuit kit from rebel wire ($149), everything is marked, correct gauge and i now have a fuse panel......just a thought.

 

We've had some great discussions on purchasing wire and supplies so I'll post what I have saved.

On mine, I went to NAPA. They seemed to have the best selection of different colors of vinyl covered wires in all the necessary sizes. I also bought their solderless "crimp" connectors in bullet and flat push in types. They were of a nice enough quality but a little pricy I thought - you get what you pay for I guess.

Also, for those of you who look at my drawings you will notice reference to "Hot Bus" and "Switched Bus" throughout. These are simply the distribution busses or fuse blocks used to distribute power - "Hot" is for things that are powered all the time (ignition switch off) like headlights, brake lights, horn, door lights etc; and "switched" are the accessories you turn on and off with the ignition like the heater, wipers, radio, etc.

The distribution busses/fuse blocks I used I also got from NAPA and are very good quality. They are NAPA part no. BK7823208. They are 10 place total, but actually 2 separate busses of 3 and 7 places. You can bridge the input posts to make it 10 place with one input, or use the two seperately (one for 12 volt and one for 6 volt) if you like. They use AGC tube fuses that are easily available anywhere.

Here is a link to a place to buy good quality supplies if you are interested:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...-supplies.html

That should be enough to get you started!

 

Check out this place! Besides wire, there is A LOT of great stuff for what we do.

Automotive Wire Terminals - Battery Cable & Electrical Supplies

 

@1oldtimer

I am doing PVC type insulation automotive wire. I want to run it so that most if not all wiring is hidden. It will also be in wire loom for protection. I have to figure out exactly how many circuits I am going to need... Time to start the schematic...

 

I think I am gonna go with the ATC style fuse block here:

Fuse Blocks and Fuse Panels

Have to start on that schematic so I can really know what I need.

Yayy! 25th post!

 

Look in my #4 album.

Those are Jpegs of a Power Point fine I have and will be glad to send you. You could simply modify mine as to flow or color and it will save you quite a bit of work in your planning and schematic drawing.

Send me an e-mail at babbiebiddie@***.net and I'll send them to you.

Here is an example - lights:

 

I just go out to my shop and pull some off the spools but it's easy for me, I wire industrial control systems for a living and literally have 1000s of feet of wire of different colors and gages.

 

Thanks Julie. I tried to send an email to the address you put above, but got a bounce message. Here is the text of it:
Your message did not reach some or all of the intended recipients.

Subject: Hey! rfpowerdude here
Sent: 12/29/2009 4:46 PM

The following recipient(s) cannot be reached:

babbiebiddie@***.net on 12/29/2009 4:46 PM
The e-mail system was unable to deliver the message, but did not report a specific reason. Check the address and try again. If it still fails, contact your system administrator.
< smtp2out.l-3com.com #5.0.0 smtp; 5.1.0 - Unknown address error 550-'5.1.1 <babbiebiddie@***.net> recipient rejected - Refer to Error Codes section at http://postmaster.***.net for more information.' (delivery attempts: 0)>

Nice jpeg! The powerpoints will be nice so i can modify for wipers and other stuff...

 

I'm such an idiot. I misspelled it.

It's babbiebuddie@***.net

babbie BIDDIE...that's funny!

Please try again

 

powerdude,


When I started planning my wiring for Earl back before the turn of the century , I wanted to go with period-correct cloth-covered wire. There is a place in Rhode Island that will make PVC insulated automotive copper wire with a special cloth overbraid, but the cost is astronomical for all the different color combinations. When I found I couldn't afford cloth-covered wire in the original colors, I dropped back to PVC or XLP insulated wiring in the correct colors.

One word of caution - standard hookup wire (that is the industry term) is probably not a good idea on a vehicle, even though some vendors will sell it as automotive wire. Hookup wire is stranded, but the stranding style is not flexible enough for automotive use. That's why hookup wire should only be used where there is little or no vibration and no repetitive flexing of the wire is expected.


The stranding in automotive primary wire is usually a relatively large number of thinner wires to accommodate vibration and flexing without breaking strands. The overall current capacity of the wire is the same as a similar diameter copper hookup wire, but the automotive wire is considerably more flexible. A typical automotive stranding would be 19/30 - that is 19 bare copper strands of 30 gage each. Note that automotive wiring size is almost universally specified using the SAE specifications, NOT the American Wire Gage (AWG) you might find in hookup or premises wiring. AWG wire of a given gage is 6 to 10% larger than the same SAE gage wire.

The actual copper strands used in automotive wire are pretty much the same regardless of which wire type you specify. The different wire grades are all about the insulation.

Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) insulation types rated at 85C maximum use temperature. This is the low-end wire carried by virtually all local suppliers.

TWP - Thin insulation to be used only where there is little chance of chafing or cutting of the insulation. This wire has a low temperature rating and is not very abrasion resistant. I'd be wary of using it at all unless you absolutely have to get the maximum number of wires in a small space and you can't afford the 20% premium cost for the cross-linked insulation (see below).

GPT - Medium thickness insulation suitable for general use. This is the wire that is available at virtually all local suppliers - at least here in Dayton, OH. Dayton has (or had prior to 2009 ) over 200 major suppliers of parts including wiring harnesses to the automotive industry. Of the 13 different auto supply houses I contacted, none had anything other than GPT. About 30% didn't know what kind of wire they were selling.

HDT - Heavy duty thick insulation used on low-end battery and starter cables or high current wires connected directly to the electrical system supply. The heavy insulation is warranted by the severe consequences of one of these wires coming into contact with a ground.

Cross-linked Polyethyene (XLP) insulation types rated at 125C maximum use temperature. This is the stuff you really want and is what the auto makers use when they build a car today. Not only does it tolerate much higher temperatures, but it is far tougher than PVC. You can easily tell XLP insulated wire from GPT insulated wire by the amount of cussing you do when stripping the insulation off for a connection.

TXL - Thin insulation to be used only where there is little chance of chafing or cutting of the insulation and a small overall wire diameter is critical.

GXL - Medium thickness insulation suitable for general use.

SXL - Thick insulation used in areas where chafing or repeated flexing requires maximum insulation toughness. This wire is more difficult to work with in certain applications due to the stiffness of the thick insulation.

SGX - This is a specialty insulation used on battery and starter cables. This cable is NOT the same as welding cable, although there were 3 out of 13 local auto parts suppliers in my area selling welding cable as heavy gage automotive cable. SGX if far tougher, has a higher temperature rating, is more resistant to oils and fuels, is resistant to battery acid, and is lighter than welding cable.


There are also several marine grades that can be used on vehicles, but I won't go into that here.

I found this on-line table (and the company that has it on their web site) to be most helpful.

Automotive WireTables

I also recommend Waytek wire (www.waytekwire.com) and www.wireconnections.com for high-quality automotive wiring supplies.

I suspect that is more info than you wanted, but I had a little time to dig up my old reference material and posting it here makes it available for reference by any of the members. I hope you don’t mind that I stuck all this on your thread. Maybe we could think of it as a late Christmas present? <O</O

 

yea fabric covered wire can get pricey, but it's not too bad with a small simple system. my '36 coupe is going to get fabric because you can see it under the hood (no side panels). if your going to do it yourself make a schematic (which it looks like you are doing) first so you get an idea of what you need. i think it would depend on shipping cost to either order it over the net or go to your local napa. you might save some money by going to a real electronics store the one here had a room for just wire. i've use some building wire, oil/heat resistant and thick stranded but it was too hard to bend around stuff (but it was free ). i suck at soldering so i use crimp connectors and heat shrink.

i'll take some pics of the '54 as i go, i just put the gauges back together (i used the 12v replacement gauges from mid fifty). went to the hobby store, bought fluorescent orange and white paint....started mixing to get the right shade to repaint the speedo needle.

 

That's a good call from George on Waytek. I've used them several times. Great product selection, prices, and service.

 

I'm not at this point yet on my rebuild but will refer back to this post when I get there. Good stuff.