Don Coatney Posted July 24, 2014 Report Posted July 24, 2014 Sure wish I had done this 12 years ago when the engine was out of my car and I was a bit more nimble. But the time has come to re-wire my car. A bought the Rebel harness a couple weeks ago and I am happy with what I got. So today with a sudden and unexplained lack of procrastination I started the project. First step was to remove the harness under the hood. I did not think my wiring was as bad as it is. Some of this wire disintegrated in my hand when I touched it. This was a fire waiting to happen. Time to go procrastinate again. 2 Quote
busycoupe Posted July 24, 2014 Report Posted July 24, 2014 A few more pictures like that and you are going to scare me into re-wiring my car. I did replace some of the really bad bits in the engine compartment a couple of years ago with pieces I spliced in from a harness scavenged out of a parts car. Still, I'm sure that the 65+ yr old wiring in all of our old cars is well past it's expiration date. .... Why did you get a rebel harness as opposed to one from a place like R.I. Wire? Quote
Don Coatney Posted July 24, 2014 Author Report Posted July 24, 2014 Google Rebel wire. 8 circuit kit was about $170.00 delivered. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted July 24, 2014 Report Posted July 24, 2014 (edited) these old wires are brittle when you start handling them they flake their insulation....they were of a rubber coating that did not age as well as some of our local Hollywood females did..(you never hear of rubber surgery, only plastic)..I know it is a big big cost to those remaining with stock cloth wiring to have the harness replaced but as Don did mention , possibility of a fire waiting to happen...when I bought this ole Georgia farm house I ventured into the attic and found electrical circuits in same deteriorated state of repair..yes the wiring then was of the same hardened rubber falling of in great strip leaving exposed copper..needless to say the house I rewired immediately.. the later wiring kits like Don posted are great for those folks doing upgrades, changing to 12 volt and adding creature comforts/accessories....they are not meant to duplicate the original in lay out or cosmetically recreate the covering and colors of factory of the period..thus a better cost but not something a person wanting to replicate stock would choose..that is where RI wiring has you in their grip...I have a NIB Rhode Island wiring kit here at the house for the D24...came with the car...else..I would not own it...man paid dearly for this item... Edited July 24, 2014 by Plymouthy Adams Quote
Conroe Powdercoating Posted July 24, 2014 Report Posted July 24, 2014 Don, I have wired a 53 dodge using 11 circuit rebel kit and was totally happy with the ease of install. I always tell people when it comes time to apply power to the car, hook up a 12v charger on the 2 amp setting and use it to check circuits etc instead of a big amp wire burning battery. With the rebel kit, you should have zero issues, pretty easy even with the crude directions they provide. no worries. 2 Quote
Don Coatney Posted July 24, 2014 Author Report Posted July 24, 2014 I always tell people when it comes time to apply power to the car, hook up a 12v charger on the 2 amp setting and use it to check circuits etc instead of a big amp wire burning battery. Great idea! 1 Quote
Oldguy48 Posted July 24, 2014 Report Posted July 24, 2014 Don, Dig out your heating pad and a couple of Tylenols. Maybe even make an appointment with your chiropractor. After a couple of hours with your head under the dash, and your legs hanging over the front seat rewiring your dashboard, you'll probably need it. Perhaps a pillow placed over the brake & clutch pedals will help. But good luck...I hope it goes well for you. (The aforementioned comments were based on my real-life experience with the same task.) Wayne 2 Quote
Young Ed Posted July 24, 2014 Report Posted July 24, 2014 I pulled my entire dash to rewire my car. Of course I also swapped to a repainted dash at the same time. I would suggest at least pulling the gauge cluster. Oh and make sure those connections are tight! You know why Quote
Don Coatney Posted July 24, 2014 Author Report Posted July 24, 2014 I believe I will pull the dash. And most likely I will paint it. The line in the sand is moving again. Quote
Andydodge Posted July 24, 2014 Report Posted July 24, 2014 Don, don't worry about the sand lines.......just make plenty of them and be sure to look at them from both sides............lol...........have fun......I rewired my car about 4 times until I finally got it right......but was also young and stupid then too.....lol.......andyd. Quote
littlemo Posted July 24, 2014 Report Posted July 24, 2014 Don, you are doing exactly what I'm doing right now; bet I can take longer with my wiring install then you can !!! lol... Good luck !!! Cass, alias littlemo.. . Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted July 24, 2014 Report Posted July 24, 2014 littlemo, on 24 Jul 2014 - 5:58 PM, said:Don, you are doing exactly what I'm doing right now; bet I can take longer with my wiring install then you can !!! lol... Good luck !!! Cass, alias littlemo.. . ah come on..lets get a real challenge out there...only motorcycles have SLOW races...and trikes don't count... Quote
Don Coatney Posted July 24, 2014 Author Report Posted July 24, 2014 Just what we need. A geriatric race to the wire 2 Quote
Mark Haymond Posted July 24, 2014 Report Posted July 24, 2014 Don, I rewired my P15 Plymouth after taking out the dash. I wanted to avoid the upside down discomfort of doing it in the car. Wasn't too difficult and it let me get all the connections dressed nicely. I used a couple of scrap pieces of wood as a jig to hold it for me while I worked on it. I like the fuse and relay block on that Rebel kit of yours. It is something my home built wiring job lacks. http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-BtgMz/i-Q8frM2h Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted July 25, 2014 Report Posted July 25, 2014 as a kid Don had a shocking introduction to basic electricity...... 1 Quote
Don Coatney Posted July 25, 2014 Author Report Posted July 25, 2014 When I was young there was no such thing as a grounded receptacle. 2 prong only. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted July 25, 2014 Report Posted July 25, 2014 Don Coatney, on 24 Jul 2014 - 9:09 PM, said:When I was young there was no such thing as a grounded receptacle. 2 prong only. tell the truth Don..when you were young there was no electricity 1 Quote
Barabbas Posted July 25, 2014 Report Posted July 25, 2014 I just rewired my '52---the condition of all of the circuits was very scarey. I used individual wires that I got from RI wiring because I like the look of old cloth covered wires, but that Rebel kit looks very good. The fuse box and flasher board is very neat and tidy. If I had it to do over I would remove the steering wheel and front seat. Quote
james curl Posted July 25, 2014 Report Posted July 25, 2014 When I moved into my old house most of it was in knob and tube. For those who do not know the knob is an insulator with a nail through it and the wire is tied to it. the wires are bare and the tube is a porcelain tube that goes through the cap plate on the wall and the wire goes through it. I removed all of the knobs and tubes in the attic but did not open the walls to remove the knobs and wire inside of the wall. They had spliced romax to the bare wires by wrapping the bare end of the romax around the bare wires,this was a fire waiting to happen. Many an old house burned down when a rodent got on to both wires and shorted them out. Quote
steveplym Posted July 25, 2014 Report Posted July 25, 2014 I removed the dash in my car and the front seat when rewiring my Plymouth. Still had a bit of a headache at times. Not sure if so much from laying upside down, or the job itself. You shouldn't have any troubles with your wiring kit Don. Just run the wires to the right accessories, lamps, and gauges. In my opinion much easier than trying to recreate the harness circuit by circuit. Plus you get the added bonus of a fuse panel. Quote
kented Posted July 25, 2014 Report Posted July 25, 2014 Looking forward to updates as im in the same boat. 1 wire at a time Quote
Oldguy48 Posted July 25, 2014 Report Posted July 25, 2014 I believe I will pull the dash. And most likely I will paint it. The line in the sand is moving again. Don, I'm not sure where I saw this suggestion (perhaps it was on this forum)...but it seems to be a good one. Paint the back side of the dash a light color, as it will make future troubleshooting/repairs a lot easier to accomplish. It's tough to see what you're doing under there under the best of conditions, and if you're anything like me, my eyesight isn't that great anymore. Anything that may possibly help out in that department is worth consideration. (Just this morning I made an appointment with the eye doctor) Aggravating, but very necessary. "Golden years, my a$$". 1 Quote
DonaldSmith Posted July 25, 2014 Report Posted July 25, 2014 One "draws a line in the sand" beyond which he (or an opponent) will not go. Definitely, absolutely. Then one crosses the line for some really, really good, compelling reason. What to do now? Draw a new line in the sand. 1 Quote
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