Battery wiring in the 40's

[parb]

Hi all,

What type of battery cables was used in the 40's for GM cars and trucks?
Was it cloth wire or did they have PVC/Plastic in this era?
I assume the ground terminal was the woven wire (all articles i've read seems to suggest that the ground was done as a ground strap and not a traditional wire.

I also read that 6 gauge was typical?

Thanks for any ideas. i'm about to start a restoration and i got most of my effort mapped out -i just need to get the wiring right.

[VWNate1]

The ground strap was indeed a flat woven thing, usually attached to the driveline, not the chassis .

The + cables are 1 gauge, 6 gauge is barely sufficient for a tiny Japanese 12 volt 4 cylinder engine .

The + cable had a lacquered woven insulation, you can still get woven sheathing to put over modern 1 or 0 gauge cables .

Even 12 volt rigs benefit from 0 or 1 gauge cables .

[parb]

Thanks!

Any good source for authentic locking woven sheathing?
What color did they use for the positive cable sheathing? Red as we do today or was it black?

I l think I need to go with a 1/0 gauge wire.

[VWNate1]

The wire covering was black and it's still sold as " loom " . you'll have to hunt around for it .

NAPA (Echlin brand) and a few other places still make and sell good quality 0 & 1 gauge cables or you can buy welding cable and lead, solder on ends and make your own ~

[olcarguy]

As stated by VWNate1 Welding cable makes awesome battery cables, quality cable tends to make better cable then battery cable and if you buy the crimp on terminals they will last a very long time. they are also available in sizes up to 5/0 …..