wiring harness

[Brock]

I did a search but all i saw was build threads...Can someone point me in the right direction. My truck had been in a field/barn/yard/who knows for quite some time. I am wanting to redo the wiring to make sure a fire extinguisher is not needed. I've seen universal harnesses (13 circuit and 20 circuit) and some specific for our trucks. Obviously the specific harness is gonna be better but its twice the price. My truck is pretty basic so I'm thinking the 13 circuit. My question is...Does this do everything from front to back or do I have to buy additional harnesses??? And where should I get it?

[72chevyk10]

i got the painless harness, i think its a 18 circuit. the only somewhat important thing it didnt come with is the taillight harness. but mine was still pretty intact and was reuseable. just to clarify though the painless did send all new wires to the back of the truck. just not the plug to plug it into the lights. overall im really happy with it

[MARKDTN]

I would pony up for an exact fit harness. If you buy the generic Painless the headlight and turn signals plug in, but everything else is up to you. To do it right with those you should solder Type 56 terminals on and re-use the plastic plugs. Then wrap it nice. By the time you do it right, you could just buy it already done. If you just crimp on generic terminals, it won't last. My .02

[cdowns]

many many good original harness are thrown out for the simple reason that they were not really looked over and the proper attention paid to them to make sure that they could b repaired refurbished to work again as they did when new

[Brock]

So where is the best place to get a harness?

[ChevLoRay]

I have new harnesses for my '69, but the old one is "bundled up" on a peg in my garage. Couldn't bear the idea of tossing it. It worked fine until I tore the truck apart. Since I did radio/radar repair in the USAF, I respect electrical wiring.....

[Rochlow]

I bought a AAW kit that is specific to our trucks. Took me about two days to wire the whole truck by myself.

The kit was about $400 and included every thing from crips/connectors to new switches
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[Brock]

ChevLoRay...Thats the exact same job my nephew had in the Navy. Now he's working for paper mills working on thier electronic monitoring equipment.

Rochlow, That sound Elike EXACTLY what I'm looking for, Whats AAW and where did you get it?

[leddzepp]

AAW = American Autowire. A lot of vendors sell them. I think the price is pretty much the same everywhere. It is the BEST harness money can buy. Made in USA, plug and play, identical to NOS.

[Rochlow]

Brock, pretty much what Leddzepp said. It was pretty easy to install, just time consuming. The instruction were easy to read and broke down into different sections of the truck

[Lippyp]

I've just redone my engine wiring loom with an M&H as sold by Wes at Classic Heartbeat, it would have been plug and play had my truck not had a differetnt distributor (mallory with a pertronix ignitor) and a hi torque starter making one wire redundant. Ity was a very good quality piece though, all wires tinned before being crimped and then heatshrink over the butt end of the connectors and all the original brackets etc. My aim is to gradually redo the whole truck as and when I can afford it.

[Roadmarks]

Take into account that NO after market harness offers the "relay set-up" for headlights and the HEI wiring may be extra. These are 2 necessary changes no matter what truck you have. Add a stereo? More changes! Add a trailer plug? More changes! Etc! The harnesses you can buy are "ORIGINAL STOCK," no modifications.

My point is that if you are like most of us, you will have to modify whatever you buy anyway!

American Autowire is the BEST out there, period.

If you HAVE to make changes to your harness, ALWAYS solder and heat shrink every connection you make. Yeah, I know, it's fussy and a hassle but is oh-so-worth-it in terms of years of trouble free driving!

best wishes,

Les

[dcasalena]

Rock Auto has the best prices on the AAW harness I think

[Daddy Brim]

I bought a 18 circuit Painless Harness. It comes with a modern fuse box in witch you will have to cut the hole in the firewall to fit, it does have a horn and light relay. The dash was plug and go but you will have to reuse your plastic connectors on everything else it does come with all of the metal connectors. It also has extra wires for power windows, locks, 3rd brake light,etc. It's not that hard to put in just time consuming, you should solder and shrink tube all connections. Good Luck.