OK, So I talk to Lectric Limited about their harnesses and inquire as to whether or not they have a setup for a 63" coupe, but with the following mods.

53,000 HEI ingnition and a new single wire alternator, which is not my first choice but that's what the engine came with. They only do stock harnesses and do not make any wiring changes to accomodate updated systems!

I figure, that's OK, I'm not a complete moron I can do some of the necessary wiring to make it all work. How about you guys selling me all the connectors/fittings and I'll make my own harness? NO DICE, they won't sell that stuff. They expect me to buy a harness that doesn't work???

Any one know where all the appropriate connectors can be purchased?
R/Mike

 

Might try Eagle Wire Products of Knoxville, Tenn. 800 977 0030 or
donmartin@comcast.net. I hear they will sell the connectors or they might make a custom harness to your specs.

 

I am going thru my wiring on my 61. I just got my vette a couple of weeks ago. There has been a lot of modification over years. I am replacing circuits & harness per system, not all at once. When I get to the instruments, I am pulling dash to replace some gauges as well.

It also has HEI and elect. fuel pump on 350ci. I found MAD to of great help with wire, parts and relays, talk to Mark (559) 539-7128 or check out www.madelectricak.com.
I am adding relays to headlights, fulr pump and HEI distb. So far works good.

 

I tried in great lengths to purchase just a Cannon Plug, for the engine harness a few years ago. The engine side of the harness's plug was shot. I wanted to get just a plug with about 6" of each wire coming out so I could just splice it in, no luck, had to buy the entire engine harness.

The plug, engine bay side, to the back of the fuse block is a problem source on these cars, and you would think that someone would make just the plug for purchase. So, to fix just one small problem, required replacing the entire harness.

I bought my harness from M&H I believe. Very nice quality piece, and an exact fit. Took about an hour to install. Price $160.00

Mark

 

agree with mike above....m&h very good oem quality

 

Just a thought. You might try contacting www.amesperf.com [Ames Performance Engineering], they are Pontiac people. The harnesses they sell can also be ordered converted to HEI and single wire alternator. Perhaps their supplier would be able to accomodate you.

 

$160 for a complete harness? What's missing? Everybody else wants $400 to $900.

Do you have have a contact number or website address?

R/ Mike

 

Here's their website address, along I believe with a phone number.. Don't have any experience with the company, though . . . .

http://www.wiringharness.com/

 

Don at Eagle Wire is great to deal with. He sells individual connector plug pieces as well as complete harnesses. That is a part of his business. You need headlamp connectors? Headlamp motor connectors? Rollover switch connector and harness? HEI power supply wire with connector end installed? Etc? He has a collection of them at Carlisle every summer at the Corvette show.

I had also attempted to deal with Lectric Limited (LL) at Carlisle looking for the connector plug for the ignition switch or a custom harness. The person I spoke with told me that he could sell me a stock replacement harness or custom make me a stock replacement harness. I figured, since you can sell me a harness with the connector plug on it or make me a harness with a connector plug on it you can sell me the connector plug. Brick Wall. If you want that plug you can buy the harness. And, according to the LL representatives I have spoken with at Carlisle, LL doesn't make anything but stock replacement harnesses. I am sure LL makes a quality reproduction harness and I don't wish to make anyone think otherwise. I just wish they were open to adaptation as not all of us are factory pure car builders.

SOOOO, I went the Painless route as I am running options on the car that would require me to adapt in to the stock replacement harnesses (over 1,000 dollars worth for the complete set) to add and overburden a nine fuse set when I spent less than 500 dollars for an 18 circuit harness with everything I need right in place. (And I purchased the needed connector ends from Don at Eagle Wire.)

Rich

 

I have used LL harnesses, and they make a nice product, but they do not make custom products. The changes you are talking about are such a minor issue, that I would not get hung up on having someone make a custom harness for you. The changes necessary for these two items is almost a no-brainer. Most HEI ignitions would feed with the stock coil wire that feeds you stock point setup, you would just delete the balast resistor. The single-wire alternator is just about as simple.

The big problem with having people make you a custom harness, is that they never know exactly what you are using for aftermarket components, or where you are mounting them. Imagine how difficult it is for a harness maker who makes a harness to acommodate a MSD ignition mounted on the firewall, and then the owner decides he wants to mount it on the inner fender, and the wires don't reach! I can assure that 9 out of ten owners would blame the harness maker for this. This is why so many wiring harness makers will not do custom harnesses.
On most of my hot rods, I make my own harnesses using Ron Francis wiring harness kits, but this is not for the guy who does not understand good wiring practices and termination processes, and it is extremely time consuming.

Regards, John McGraw

 

It is the ENGINE harness only.

 

OK, here is the short of the long story

The main plug (I call them Cannon Plugs, that is what they are called on airplanes) is a major problem point on, at least the midyear corvettes. I only know about my 65, so here it goes.

The main cannon plug, plugs into the back of the fuse block. The cannon plug itself has small metal tangs, that interface to reciprocal metal tangs on the back of the fuse block. The major point of interest here is the MAIN POWER WIRE, which is red, and I think 12-14 gauge.

Here is where the problem comes in, in my case anyway. The small metal tangs and dubious contact area got slightly corroded. Then, as corrosion grew, so did resistance, with the increase in resistance, came in increase in heat. The heat damaged the internal cannon plug housing for the metal tang, and thus after a cleaning, the melted tang seat, would not allow the main power tang, to seat on the metal tang on the fuse block. I tried some glues, nothing worked. The car would die here and there, and I would have to get out and jiggle the plug and all was well.

So, instead of damaging the fuse block, I decided to replace the cannon plug, and found out that you cannot buy just the cannon plug, with wire pig tails to splice in. So, an entire new ENGINE harness was ordered from http://www.wiringharness.com/. The new cannon plug seated great, and I stuffed the terminals full of Di-Electric grease, and pushed the plug in. That was 2 years ago, and not one problem.

In my opinion, the design is poor. A poor connection design, and the metal tangs are too small, and can be bent very easily. Large pins would have been better. If you add any electrical load, say fans, stereo, etc, and power them off this circuit, I am not sure it would be long for this world.

As far as the product from the above website, I am totally pleased.

Mark

 

Here is a pic of the cannon plug, for the engine harness.

THE ONE ON THE LEFT