WIRING THE VETTE?

[74vetterestoman]

hey tim,what is your game plan on rewiring your vette,if i may ask? as when you get to that,it will be very interesting to see how that comes along.i have been looking at wiring harnesses and companies that produce them as i think iam going to rewire the whole car with new harnesses, any thoughts,over the years all the vette shows i have attended,most people i have talked to about rewiring a vette have suggested using lectric limited at http://www.GMwiring.com,i have been told over the years this company manufactures quality aftermarket wiring harnesses to GM specs with all the correct connectors and correct color coded wirers and it makes for a easy install from what i have been told,maybe you have heared of other companies with just as good of products, any thoughts?
as i have been told over the years rewiring a vette is a major project in itself. i guess i will not know till i get there. richard

[MaineVette]

My plan to is revamp the existing wiring, check for integrity, clean it up, re-wrap the wires and re-install. I didn't notice any major electrical faults before I started the project so I'm hard pressed to justify spending another $1000+ on new wiring all around.

I've actually started the process already and it's very tedious. I've been through about 3 rolls of electrical tape and I'm not even close to done with the first wiring harness.

[rbryce1]

I will be re-wiring my entire car soon during my restoration. Yes, Lectric Limited is a very good source. Be careful. Most everyone, including Lectric Limited sells new harnesses and NOS harnesses. NOS, standing for New Old Stock, is a new harness which has sat on the shelf for 35 years. It will have the same insulation cracking problems that your existing harness may have. LL sells all the harnesses year specific.

Since my car is so far custom, very little of the original harness for the front and rear applies, so I am making my own. Different (halogen) headlights in a different location, LED front turn signals in a differnt location, C4 backup lights, no clearance lights, sequential rear turn signals, Cougar tail lights, electric fuel pump, etc. The engine harness is also totally different, alternator with internal voltage regualtor is different (yes, the '68 actually came with a BS external voltage regulator that constantly failed, overcharged and burnt up the battery), HEI distributor, electronic fuel injection, electric radiator fans (you get the message). I will be using all Ancor marine tinned wire. Costs more, but it has never corroded on my boat, so I believe it will be fine on my car. I did purchase from LL the interior harness for about $425.00, if I remember. I bought the 1972 harness, as I am installing a 1972 steering column and this harness will have all the correct plugs. I needed the fuse box as well. The fuse box cannot be purchased anywhere I could find unless you buy the whole interior harness, not even thru LL. Since I know they have new fuse boxes for their harnesses, I asked them to sell me the fuse box and they said no. In fact, they won't sell practically any plugs either. I tried to purchase the '68 specific plug for the brake light switch, as '68 Vettes have a different brake light switch than any other C3 Vette. They said no. So instead of splicing my old switch into the new harness, I converted my brake light switch on the pedal bracket to the newer type.

Tim: My original harness was a disaster. I know now why '68 Vettes had so many electrical problems. Not only did I have corrosion under the insulation, I actually found unclamped, unsoldered twisted wire connections under the tape, and they were corroded to death. Check all of your wires for insulation cracking or brittleness. My wires were so stiff in some locations, if I cycle bent the wires a number of times, the insulation cracked. If you are going to replace any of the spade connections that go into the firewall (engine side) plug, I have a few dozen that meet OEM specs and can show you where to get them.

[MaineVette]

Yeah, I've found a few issues as I've been going along and have been fixing them as I found them. I'm suprised at some of the stuff they did at the factory but hey, it was 30+ years ago. Times have changed I suppose.

If I need any spade connectors I'll let you know. Thankfully my harness looks to be in good shape overall (with the exception of the fiber optics). I tried to find a source for bulk fiber optic cable but didn't have any luck.

[rbryce1]

Thankfully my harness looks to be in good shape overall (with the exception of the fiber optics). I tried to find a source for bulk fiber optic cable but didn't have any luck.

I have a possible source here in Florida. The company is called Daktronics, and the person I met at work (customer) is Jim Crum. They are in Yalaha, Fl, and his contact is 352-874-1168 (cell) and 888-325-7446 (phone). His e-mail is jim.crum@daktronics.com (also their web site). I will be incorporating the Corvettes console fiber optics displays with my custom headlights and Cougar tail lights. Have not contacted him yet regarding the specifics of my project, but when I originally told him about it, he indicated he could put together the things needed for a complete custom fiber optics system for my Vette. Don't know if this is what you are looking for. Also, e-bay has a lot of Corvette fiber optics, just do a search on Corvette Fiber Optics.