I recently bought a wiring harness because the 50 yr. old wiring is in bad shape. How hard is this gonna be? I have alot of electrical experience on newer cars, but I know nothing about wiring a generator, coil, and points-type distributor. Anyone ever done this before?
I don't know how 'original' you want to stay or if your car runs 12v. I recently bought a harness kit for my 50' Chevy pick-up from E-Z wiring and it's a 'no brainer'. Every wire is tagged every 5 to tell you where it goes.It also comes with good instructions. I've limited wiring knowledge and even I managed it! Good luck and nice car!!
I recently did a 69 bronco with a ron francis kit and was pretty much electriclly challenged. Not sure how much your wanting to keep the original theme going, but you may want to look into going to a one wire alternator setup. Replace the externally regulated unit and maybe a pertronix ignitor to replace the points. Would make the install easier plus at the same time make your ride a little more reliable. Not sure what kit you went with Although the ron francis kit i used had good hardware and a nice panel I wouldn't recommend them due to the fact that there customer service was pitiful. They just dont answer the phone and want to call you back half hour later. My advice would be to get some factory wiring diagrams for when you go to hook up your instruments switches,also keep your old harness intact with a minimal amount of cutting when it comes to removing it. It will come in handy later and if possible take a few photos of key connections for reference if you have to, make some notes on paper what wire went where. and make sure to ground everything i used a central grounding block behind the dash for all my grounds. My install went pretty smooth most of my time went to the turn signal harness and the wiper switch. Just take your time with it what I did is if I caught a snag I just left it alone for a week and would come back to it later.
The wiring should be pretty simple compared to the systems in a newer car. The old school stuff doesn't have anywhere near the number of connections or wires modern stuff has. Just study the layout of the existing harnesses and even take some pictures what you have before you start. Good luck.
If you've had previous wiring experience, it should be a snap. I'm sure instructions came with the harness. Take extra time when wiring the external voltage regulator. There are plenty of illustrations on generator/regulator setups on the internet. And now would be the time to pop open the regulator box and clean the relay contacts. The toughest will probably be lifting the trunk mat to replace the rear wiring as rust is usually a factor.
