I know there have been a slew of wiring posts which I’ve read but every situation is unique so I wanted everyone’s thoughts.



I’m doing a frame off restomod of my 1970 and down to planning the wiring. I’ll be changing many of the electrical components such as:



Edelbrock ProFlo and electric fuel pump

Electric fans

Relocated battery to passenger side

Upgraded and relocated alternator to passenger side

Electric headlight actuators

Electric wiper door actuator

Aftermarket gauges

Tremec TKO (back up light harness)

Aftermarket stereo

Removed air conditioning and installing aftermarket heater



Basically keeping only the keyed ignition, power windows, wipers and lighting circuits.



Given this, what direction would you go regarding a wire harness? I absolutely want to upgrade to blade type fuses. Ideally I’d keep the factory wire connectors for the circuits that will remain as well.

 

I pit a ron francis 24/7 in my 78 restomod. I love it especially since I was able to put the fise box in the glove box. I am too old to be laying upside down looking for a bad fuse! It had pleany pf circuits including 4 that you can switch from ign hot to hot all the time by just moving a fuse over to the right. Came with 3 built in relays. I have an L 98 engine and I was able to connect that harness and computer with no issues. I also added Dakota Digital gauges and dual elec fans with one wire 100 amp alt. Directions were clear and I took the color schematic that comes with it and had it laminated. If I was to ever do another project like this again that is the only set up I would use. If you go that route I would be glad to share whatever questions you might have. Of you were retro fitting things there might be better solutions but starting with an empty car and lots of ideas, RonFrancis has my vote.

 

While you have access to the frame I would suggest to weld some ground lugs to the frame that will allow you to bolt grounding blocks to. I thought of this to late in my build. I would put one in the front and one in the rear and also one where you are going to attach the bat ground.
Dale

 

On my LS swap projects I've used the Painless 21 universal kit. All wires labelled the entire length. Blade fuses. Worked great.
As said above good grounds are key.

 

Great! Thanks for the suggestion. I’ll most likely be reaching out along the way.


Very, very, very glad you suggested this! I’m at the end of the frame prep work and about ready to powdercoat. Impeccable timing!

 

I used the American Autowire restomod kit. I used on my 1970 and also updated to dual electric fans, electric headlights and wiper cover, Dakota digital dash, electric fuel pump and tremec tkx. I would recommend this kit to anyone

 

More things I discovered in my wiring project. If you can get your hands on a printed Ron Francis catalog, there are pages and pages of information on everything from why you should use a relay to good grounds. They have a kit ( I got one) for fiberglass cars. Basically it is a ground wiring harness. The main ground goes to the battery. There is a heavy woven strap to the block at the starter and the rest of the wires go about the car. They are labeled ( as are all the other ones) and different gauges for different loads. In my car I put some redundant grounds JUST IN CASE but everything is tied to the main ground set up. I don't have to worry about bad connections to the frame ( I hope!). But as I mentioned, this is one of my favorite parts...no more feet in the air.

 

I love the idea of running a main ground into the cabin. I'll take that idea and consider running a ground into the cab from the firewall then another main ground in the back near the battery. Should give flexibility and ensure all circuits have a proper ground relatively close!

 

Lots of good ideas-

I ran my 1/0 ground directly from the battery to the starter- then a to my alternator then to my electric fans.
And then ran a 4GA for the electronics - center of the dash/trans tunnel.

Also relocated the fuse boxes in the kick panels and used lit when blown LEDs- I highly recommend those!!!!

Oh- I have a dyno labeler- great for keeping track of your wires- even has heat shrink labels.

 

I don't want to take over your thread here, but since I recently did, this I only want to share a few things I learned. First, per Richard, get one of those label makers. It is a must, especially if you have to add to a wire that is already labeled and you don't have the same color insulation. Also, I thought i had things planned out, only to discover when I went to make it final that things didn't work out the way I thought. I made a separate panel for some relays and the Dakota Digital parts, for example. I had planned on putting it under the passenger seat so it would be easy to access. BY the time I got done with the carpet, the Dynamat and actually mounting the seats, I wasn't happy with the clearance so I had to move the panel. I ended up putting it in the compartment behind the passenger seat, where the jack used to be. I also put a 2 channel amp back in the same compartment. THe point is I had already cut the wires for under the seat, then needed to splice into them to get further back in the car. NO big deal, just something to think about while you are planning all this. I have a power distribution block up near the headlight motors running thru a breaker to the battery. And I found this book to be a big help getting started. I discovered planning a wiring harness in an empty car is not as easy as you might think.

 

Excellent suggestions there! I will absolutely be getting a label maker.

 

Love this thread and the info being shared here!

 

Beware of using MSD’s solid state relay blocks. Had one in my build that would randomly drop power across all the channels. After a lot of time & money troubleshooting just went back to mechanical relays & solved the issue.

 

I have used thousands of Bosch relays- never had one fail!
The Chinese stuff is a few dollars less -but look at the quality difference-and they will crap out

 

One thing I have finally learned in life is you get what you pay for!

 

I'm with Richard on this one for certain, gen. BOSCH relays for me, actually hard to find over here in Australia. I order them from the states, (I know, there German) half dozen at a time and they are actually cheaper than the Chinese garbage they sell over here!