rewiring tip

I bought a 69 chevy 90 a few months back, It had been sitting in a storage lot for over 5 years. Needless to say the mice took it over. I FILLED my shop vac with turds! After removing and tossing EVERYTHING inside i sprayed it down with bleach twice and finally with lysol. The wiring was trashed, amatuer hacking, brittle and hungry mice. I ripped out every last wire.
I bought a twelve circuit wiring kit from Speedway motors for $150 bucks (a steal!)
This harness has a super small fuse block using the mini ATO fuses and built in horn and fan relays.
The flashers are included and are remote. The wiring is marked as to what its for every 6".
It also included a gm t/s plug, headlight plugs and MOST importantly an AWESOME manual!
This manual includes instructions for wiring GM/Ford and Mopar ignitions, Turn signal switches and charging systems.
One wire alt hook-ups, internal regulated and even external regulated and points ignitions.
Between the excellent diagrams posted here and this manual, Anyone could do it!
I bought a new ignition switch, headlight switch and turn signal switch for Autozone (all in stock)
I ran the lights and engine wires thru a grommet by speedo cable so as no wires run on the floor.
eliminated all the crap in the doghouse by runnig HEI and int reg alt.
I was able to get a clean ignition switch plug and headlight switch plug off an old C60 in the boneyard, although those are available new as well.
I am VERY pleased with the end results. I have been a mechanic for 20+yrs but I would feel anyone with minimal talent could wire this up. Sure beats a cobbled up mess and I have maybe $250 tied up and PRICELESS sense of knowing my junk aint gonna burn up! Anyone thinking about it, I would be more than happy to talk ya thru!

I used a Painless 20 circuit wiring kit which is similar to what you used. The wires are marked every three feet as to what they are for and it used the mini fuses too.

Yup, They got a 20 fuse/23 curcuit one as well for same price, You know the way things are these days, the same jobber most likely makes them for both companies, as well as the one Summit sells too! Pretty slick though huh?

I find making wiring looms quite therapeutic, although it is quite time consuming.

I will be starting on my Econoline in the next few weeks, and that is one of my first jobs. Although i will be making mine from scratch. I can't wait to get started now.

My '69 has some wiring issues,that makes me want to go to therapy afterwards.From what I have learned through the 'experinced hands' here,the 18 or 20 point new harnesses are a great way to go.Even the youngest vans on this site are now 40 years old.Time,weather,splicing & dicing has taken it toll on them.These vans are simple electric as far as operating.A new harness would make mine, less headaches,cleaned up,and I'm sure more safe with less worries about addin more accessories.Just my 2 cents worth.

When i ripped my original wiring out, i was amazed to see just how cracked and perished the sheathing on the cables was. Some of it was so brittle it just crumbled off when i touched it....

Yeah, I am a do it yourself kinda guy as far a wiring, but for the cost and simplicity, not to mention time savings, these aftermarket harnesses just cant be beat, And yeah nightmoves, when I got my van and turned the key I found it had DRL's didnt now they had that option in 69!
It took about 2 minutes of looking over the wiring and melted plugs and 15minutes and a pair of side cutters to remove every last wire!

I have a couple questions for the guys that have used the aftermarket harnesses:

Did they supply enough wire to follow the original paths? These engine runs are longer than most car/trucks. Of course, the short headlights make up for that!

Are there multi-wire plug options, so you could for example, build a harness that unplugs at the doghouse (for later repair from heat) or even a separate engine harness, or a harness that unplugs where it goes up the A-pillar like stock?

Can they provide the stock (or modern upgrades that will fit) connectors for such things as the lights, gauges, turn signals, dimmer switch etc. or do you have to reuse the old stuff or fabricate replacements?

I have 2 complete harnesses that I could make a good one out of with some help in the cooked doghouse areas, but this sounds attractive, IF it is a complete replacement.

yes they are generous with wire lenght, I only came up short on the loom run to the rear, and only by about 24", they use the universal yellow,brownand green. so I just extended with trailer harness.

Plugs are available but not included, you could buy a weatherpack kit or other options from Ron Francis wireworks, painless or about a hundred different vendors

They include some connectors such as turnsignal switch, dimmer and headlight plugs, all others are available seperate. (vehicle specific)
just remember 40 yrs ago a plug for a GM was a plug for a GM. (pretty sure that goes for Ford and Mopar as well) I know first hand they sell every last plug and connector for the chevy thru any Camaro resto catalog.

Keep in mind the harness of 40yrs ago did not have the amp rating of simple things like halogen bulbs, 60+ amp alternators, high torque starters,
wacking banging sound systems , high energy ignitions and on and on.
So even to repair a good original is still flirtin with disaster if you want and modern upgrades.

Thats my two cents, I have rewired many a car, I used to build them myself to take modifications into account, But these new harness kits with all the tech support and manuals, make them really hard to pass up. Not to mention cost and time savings.

Dont know if this helps or hinders, But I tried

Thanks, Motorhead. Chevy stuff and even Ford is easy compared to Mopar.