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After 53 years of ownership, a body off restoration that was started in 1973 (three years after I bought the car) and completed in 1991 (life got in the way), and after parking the car from 1994 until May 2022, I need something to do on the 1963 SWC that I bought in 1970 that my dad was 'kicking and screaming' because I was paying $1700 for a seven year old Chevy that only holds two people. True story. I'm looking for feedback from folks that have replaced the fuse panel....the fuse holders are crusty....electrical still works. Basically, the next chance someone out there has the time to give me a blow by blow description on how the wires are attached to the back of the fuse panel would be a huge help. I've looked at posts on the forum that have pictures; however, it would help my confidence level to know exactly how the wires on the back of the fuse panel from the harness connect...is it plug and play?...do some wires need to have new connectors installed before attaching to new panel?...do any wires need to be cut off?...are any wire attaching points riveted or attached in another way?...do the engine compartment harnesses need to be detached before the fuse panel is loosened?...and if so, are there any tricks and / or tips that will help avoid any 'gotchas' along the way? 1991 pic.
I think you get the picture. Getting me up to speed on all the crazy little details or tips will give me a lot of peace of mind as I prepare for this
If the fuse panel is that bad the rest of the wiring can't be much better. Just replace the whole harness with a plug and play repro unit from Lectric limited or M&H
If the fuse panel is that bad the rest of the wiring can't be much better. Just replace the whole harness with a plug and play repro unit from Lectric limited or M&H
Welcome to the forum.
Are you rewiring the fuse block or tracing out where the wires go? Are you using factory wiring or and aftermarket replacement? Are you just removing the wiring and reinstalling it later?
Beautiful car, I am sure the car and the kids have changed a bit in the last 30+ years.
Ron
As mentioned above, replace the harness. If you are unsure how to proceed, consider buying a wiring diagram from Dr. Rebuild. They have the best showing each connector. Is that a fuel injected engine? In any case, the car is beautiful. Jerry
The fuse box is part of the dash harness and all other main harnesses connect to it. The engine and headlight harnesses plug into the back of the fuse box on the engine side of the firewall and the taillight harness plugs into the dash harness above the driver side kick panel. In order to change the dash harness, you will need to unplug the engine and headlight harnesses. At that point you will discover just how bad your wiring really is. The clips that hold the harnesses in place become brittle and May break off in your hand. The connection points corrode and may be hard to remove. And there is more.
If the car is going to be down for a bit, you may want to consider changing all the harnesses while you are in there. At a minimum, the dash, engine, and headlight harnesses should be considered as changing the dash harness may/will introduce damage into the other two. Good luck!
As mentioned above, replace the harness. If you are unsure how to proceed, consider buying a wiring diagram from Dr. Rebuild. They have the best showing each connector. Is that a fuel injected engine? In any case, the car is beautiful. Jerry
The fuse box is part of the dash harness and all other main harnesses connect to it. The engine and headlight harnesses plug into the back of the fuse box on the engine side of the firewall and the taillight harness plugs into the dash harness above the driver side kick panel. In order to change the dash harness, you will need to unplug the engine and headlight harnesses. At that point you will discover just how bad your wiring really is. The clips that hold the harnesses in place become brittle and May break off in your hand. The connection points corrode and may be hard to remove. And there is more.
If the car is going to be down for a bit, you may want to consider changing all the harnesses while you are in there. At a minimum, the dash, engine, and headlight harnesses should be considered as changing the dash harness may/will introduce damage into the other two. Good luck!
Well, the engine compartment harnesses were replaced when I started the restoration. The dash harness is original; no issues; no changes or add ons. I want to take a stab with just replacing the fuse panel.
It will take some patience and practice to remove them.
First remove the two outside harnesses.
Remove two screws on opposite corners of the box.
Unclip both of these to separate the box.
There is a small metal tang that has to be pushed inward on both sides of the fuse holder:
While pushing in the tang with a thin screw driver and pulling on the wire from behind, disengage both tangs to release it for the box:
Here is the were the clip is installed:
This is what the connector looks like once removed:
Here are my ground down remover tools:
It will take some patience and practice to remove them.
First remove the two outside harnesses.
Remove two screws on opposite corners of the box.
Unclip both of these to separate the box.
There is a small metal tang that has to be pushed inward on both sides of the fuse holder:
While pushing in the tang with a thin screw driver and pulling on the wire from behind, disengage both tangs to release it for the box:
Here is the were the clip is installed:
This is what the connector looks like once removed:
Here are my ground down remover tools:
Thank you for the detail and taking the time to reply!
When you break a bone do you put a cast on before you set the bone. If you do that is what your scout about to do
Do you ever read your posts before you hit reply and think, "maybe I could say this better?" I try to do that on every post, but I don't always say things better. He's already decided to replace the fuse panel without the harness. I would do the same thing give the information he provided.
Rene-Paul..well, you are asking about a Packard wire terminal crimper tool and this is the first that this has been mentioned...thank you. One more thing on the list for the project. I am hoping to get a few more replies, specifically on how the wires from the harness that go to the fuse panel are connected to, like, the fuse connectors and anything else, like the power window feed (the car has power windows). I still have a lot of things to consider before I dig into this project, primarily because right now 'it ain't broke', so why mess? But, as I stated in my initial post, it's something to do that might make sense. On another note, our family sure enjoys visits to the 50th state. I made the mistake of going there for our honeymoon and my wife got hooked, no pun intended for your location. If we have been back there once since our honeymoon we have been back there a dozen times. After I retired in 2020, we headed west in 2021 and stayed for 6 weeks visiting 3 islands; on the last island, Maui, I had to leave my appendix behind at Maui Memorial but (darnit) we had to extend our visit ten days because the darned little thing burst and the docs had to make sure I recovered well. Thats a whole nother story, but we have a friend in Kahului that we ended up staying with for a bit. Hope this is not too much info but I couldn't resist. We really love the Captain Cook area...got a charge out of the post office and made many snorkel trips to Capt Cooks Lagoon....fun. Deb is planning the next trip...just can't decide if we can squeeze it in this year or early next year. Mahalo!
Do you ever read your posts before you hit reply and think, "maybe I could say this better?" I try to do that on every post, but I don't always say things better. He's already decided to replace the fuse panel without the harness. I would do the same thing give the information he provided.
I learned doing half the job on a 40 plus year old car will result in doing the whole job later. This ain't your 500 dollar jalopy trying to make sure you get to work for the week. But in his last post he said it's not broken so how can you fix that? But asking questions with your mind made up on an open forum will get you all kind of answers you don't like.
If the fuse clips are crusty, chances are the Twinlock pins in the bulkhead connectors are too, and the plastic pin housings are aged and brittle, and possibly melted at some points.(Red feed wire)
Changing just the fuse clips will be difficult because you'll be cutting wires from the old clips. Shortened wires will be tough to attach to new clips to reach back into the panel, particularly from the bulkhead wires. I've repaired clips on some panels and it's difficult. Wiring is very tight in there.
It's also possible to introduce new faults inadvertantly, even though you're careful.
Your car is now worth about $248,300 more than what you paid for it. :-) Why skimp. Get a new Main harness to mate with the other new wiring. And while you're in there, add some fuses/fusible links to protect it even more.
I haven't been able to find any 63 fuse blocks already assembled. The 67 is available assembled for the same price as the kit for the 63. The harness and block for the 63 is $700. I haven't compared the two blocks for how much trouble it would be to convert, but if you want a 63 box, you may have to do a lot of crimping and wiring. If you're up for spending $700 for the harness and block, then using what you want out of that, I suppose that would be a possibility. Just the fuse box kit that needs assembly for the 63 is around $170 plus shipping and tax.
It's not going to be easy working under the dash either way you go. If I was doing the 67, I'd definitely get the fuse block, the 63 may not be available as an ***'y without the harness. This is going to require a lot of wiring and possibilities for introducing unwanted events. Pulling and changing all the wires doing to the gauge cluster is a challenge too. Just how "crusty" are your fuse clips?
Last edited by 65GGvert; Jun 29, 2023 at 07:28 AM.
Why skimp. Get a new Main harness to mate with the other new wiring. And while you're in there, add some fuses/fusible links to protect it even more.
"Why skimp" In my humble opinion, this is the best advice one could receive.
It's a 60 year old car, that in all likelihood has the original 60 year old wiring. If you don't do a proper replacement of just the fuse panel and the wiring burns up, where are you then trying to save a few dollars? If the car itself doesn't burn up, you end up buying a main harness anyway.
If the fuse clips are crusty, chances are the Twinlock pins in the bulkhead connectors are too, and the plastic pin housings are aged and brittle, and possibly melted at some points.(Red feed wire)
Changing just the fuse clips will be difficult because you'll be cutting wires from the old clips. Shortened wires will be tough to attach to new clips to reach back into the panel, particularly from the bulkhead wires. I've repaired clips on some panels and it's difficult. Wiring is very tight in there.
It's also possible to introduce new faults inadvertantly, even though you're careful.
Your car is now worth about $248,300 more than what you paid for it. :-) Why skimp. Get a new Main harness to mate with the other new wiring. And while you're in there, add some fuses/fusible links to protect it even more.
Curious, Rich -- do you have specific circuits in which additional fusing would be recommended on a '63?
Curious, Rich -- do you have specific circuits in which additional fusing would be recommended on a '63?
TIA.
Live well,
SJW
One could replicate the 1967 fusible link circuits.(see attached 1967 wiring diagram), and note all of the links at horn relay(Main Red circuit feeds) and Battery gauge(BLK/WT) circuits, and VR circuits, and BLK at the Solenoid BAT+ feed(also for Battery gauge).
But I would at least add a fusible link at the solenoid Bat+ (Red feed terminal) for catastrophic shorts. Then a fuse for the Lighter(15A), which could be added right at the lighter itself. In 1967 it got fused along with the Orange (Brake/Tail Lamp, Courtesy/Clock circuit. All pre 1967 cars didn't fuse the lighter.. All 63-67 fused the clock. Not so on 53-62.
For added safety, never on a Corvette of the era, one could also add a fuse at the Ignition switch IGN terminal for the Ballast/Coil+ circuit. This would protect it from the "infamous" distributor shield short to ground.
We did a "protection" document years ago for C1s, but to get the concept, some of it could also cover 63-66s. Also attached below.
Fuse Panel Replacement
. All 63-67 fused the clock. Not so on 53-62.