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MikeStang

Time for a new Wiring Harness..WHICH ONE

By MikeStang, in 1969-70 Technical Forum

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MikeStang    247

MikeStang
Posted

i have been in debate on wiring harness for some time.....i am capable of following the Factory ford wiring diagrams, but would like something SIMPLE and FAST so i dont have to do a shit load of splicing Etc....

I have looked at PAinless, EZ Wire and a few others, but i found this one

http://www.americanautowire.com/69mustang.html

it seems they just redesigned and added a bunch of new stuff to this 69 harness, and they are cheeper than Painless which is close to a Grand for the one that has it ALL American Auto wire is 700.00 and appears to have much more stuff with it....Need some opinions or suggestions, as this is what santa is bringing me this year :)

Mike

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chillininnh    21

chillininnh
Posted

I used the Painless 69/70 harness with great results, I didn't add any extras however. That American Autowire harness is a new product and seems to cover ALL the bases for typical restomod add-ons and is very complete. A no-brainer, it would be my choice.

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1BAD351    21

1BAD351
Posted

I personally stayed factory direct replacement. I got it from PA Pony parts (deals with CJ but discounts the products) and it was worth every penny. I think it was 3-400 more then the "painful" kit but I don't regret it one bit.

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MikeStang    247

MikeStang
Posted

Yeah i saw an Ad in one of the mustangs monthly a while back where they did an install of the Auto Wire kit, but they didnt have this new kit, it was one of the previous ones :P

I think this is the one im going to go with...it seems to be the most complete and the price is better than Painless.

Mike

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MikeStang    247

MikeStang
Posted

Spoke to the tech guy at American wuto wire.....he said this kit is more designed around some one wanting to do a restomod....there are alot of preterminated wires, meaning alot of them are just plug and play...the ignition, brake light switch, head light switch along with tail light sockets Etc... the steering plug is set up for a flaming river or IDIdIT Colum, but comes with a conversion plug for a stock colum.

He said they do not include a lead for the volt guage because the kit is set up around an upgraded 90 amp alternator or a one wire alt, and its not really safe to jump up to a newer alternator and still use the same ammeture guage, so they just eliminated that feature, since it was kind of a fire hazard, and elected to put drops for a JME cluster or other aftermarket cluster that is just plug and play, but with little work you can use the stock cluster but have to do some kinda new guage for the volts.

It also has previsions for electric fans, power windows, electric fuel pumps etc....it lists for 700 on their website...the guy actually encouraged me to buy from a local vendor since they get pretty deep discounts, and could probably shoot me a better price...Well i happen to have a local dealer, so i caled him and he said they listed for around 700 on the website, but he could do better than that so he is going to call me tomorrow with a price....I also enquired about the harness through this guy too....he said he has 5 cars right now in his shop with these harnesses installed and in the works, and he would be glad to have me come by and take a look at them and explain any questions i had.....he also told me he usually charges 1800 bucks to put a harness in if the car is all put together, but if it were dissasembled he would do it for MUCH less......I may sub this job out LOL.

So i will be passing through his shop this week, and i can put my hands on one of these harnesses and maybe get a few pictures, and give a first hand account of the quality or lack there of.

If some one wants to go in on a group deal i will ask him what kinda price he could do on 2 or more harnesses....Im probably going to go this route for sure....gotta give santa my list LOL/

The fellow also mentioned that he has installed just about all of the other harness brands on many different cars, not just fords, and he is a dealer for painless and a few of the others, and American is by far the most heavy duty with the most options and least amount of work....said about the only way you could go better was to get a STOCK refurbished or reproduced harness, but it wont have any of the extras we like.

Mike

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MikeStang    247

MikeStang
Posted

Cool Thanks Cobra Man, i have considered doing the Easy Wire thing, but would rather cut and splice as little as possible....If the local guy cannott match the CJ parts price, i will go with them :)

Wonder if they will do a group deal LOL.

Thanks again Guys, when i get it ill take some pics and let yall know how it looks.

Mike

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danno    128

danno
Posted

It sounds like you do not need a lot of the restomod features like electric fans, power windows, fancy sound system, etc. YOu are also staying with the standard steering column. With all this considered, getting one of these kits to work can be very challenging. You really should consider a new or rebuilt original harness. Just unplug your old one and plug in the new one.

 

There are two major harnesses in the factory system. One under the hood and one under the dsah. they connect in back of the fuse box. You can buy one or both, as well as some of the other smaller harnesses as well, if you need them. Just buy what you need, and you might get by for less $$$.

 

I stayed original, and have never regretted it. So much for my 2 cents worth.

Dan

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StephenC    10

StephenC
Posted
Spoke to the tech guy at American wuto wire.....he said this kit is more designed around some one wanting to do a restomod....there are alot of preterminated wires, meaning alot of them are just plug and play...the ignition, brake light switch, head light switch along with tail light sockets Etc... the steering plug is set up for a flaming river or IDIdIT Colum, but comes with a conversion plug for a stock colum.

He said they do not include a lead for the volt guage because the kit is set up around an upgraded 90 amp alternator or a one wire alt, and its not really safe to jump up to a newer alternator and still use the same ammeture guage, so they just eliminated that feature, since it was kind of a fire hazard, and elected to put drops for a JME cluster or other aftermarket cluster that is just plug and play, but with little work you can use the stock cluster but have to do some kinda new guage for the volts.

It also has previsions for electric fans, power windows, electric fuel pumps etc....it lists for 700 on their website...the guy actually encouraged me to buy from a local vendor since they get pretty deep discounts, and could probably shoot me a better price...Well i happen to have a local dealer, so i caled him and he said they listed for around 700 on the website, but he could do better than that so he is going to call me tomorrow with a price....I also enquired about the harness through this guy too....he said he has 5 cars right now in his shop with these harnesses installed and in the works, and he would be glad to have me come by and take a look at them and explain any questions i had.....he also told me he usually charges 1800 bucks to put a harness in if the car is all put together, but if it were dissasembled he would do it for MUCH less......I may sub this job out LOL.

So i will be passing through his shop this week, and i can put my hands on one of these harnesses and maybe get a few pictures, and give a first hand account of the quality or lack there of.

If some one wants to go in on a group deal i will ask him what kinda price he could do on 2 or more harnesses....Im probably going to go this route for sure....gotta give santa my list LOL/

The fellow also mentioned that he has installed just about all of the other harness brands on many different cars, not just fords, and he is a dealer for painless and a few of the others, and American is by far the most heavy duty with the most options and least amount of work....said about the only way you could go better was to get a STOCK refurbished or reproduced harness, but it wont have any of the extras we like.

Mike

I'm definitely interested in a group buy if you could talk to him about that. As long as its not going down immediately I have some body work to do so I could do a group buy around the first of the year or whenever everyone else is ready.

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Angel    24

Angel
Posted

I would also be interested in a group buy. For those of you who want to replace your harness, is it because there is a problem? I have no problems with mine. No shorts of any kind and everything works. I want to replace it simply because since its 40+ yrs old, I think it would be good insurance. Or would this just be a waste of money for me?

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StephenC    10

StephenC
Posted
I would also be interested in a group buy. For those of you who want to replace your harness, is it because there is a problem? I have no problems with mine. No shorts of any kind and everything works. I want to replace it simply because since its 40+ yrs old, I think it would be good insurance. Or would this just be a waste of money for me?

Theres nothing wrong with mine either everything works fine but I just want a upgraded one so I don't have to keep splicing into ignition and power wires and because it is like you said 40+ yrs old something could go out at anytime and why not just prevent the whole PITA

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MikeStang    247

MikeStang
Posted

Well i have not heard anything from the local guy, he never called me back like he said LOL...I think CJ pony parts may be the way to go.

The guy from american auto told me that they could do a group buy, but we would have to provide them with some business info, and one person would have to make the purchase buy in, which is in incriments of 600 1200 and 1800 i think, basically guarantee you were going to buy at least 2-5 harnesses. then they could provide you with a discount :P and the amount of buy in dictates the discount you get....the fellow also told me that my local guy gets almost the highest discount they give lol the only person i could see cheeper than that is CJ pony parts at this point

Mike

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MikeStang    247

MikeStang
Posted

$575.96 is what the harness from CJ Just cost me...that is tax, title license and shipping :)

So i just ordered it from them....they seem to be the cheepest....Oh that little 30 percent off coupon they sent us in them mail is already applied to the prices you see on the internet :) so dont ask to apply it again...I tried HAHA

Mike

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MikeStang    247

MikeStang
Posted

Well i have not begun the install, im still doing body work and such...but i have opened the kit and looked at it....teh instructions are GREAT it comes on 11x17 paper and its in COLOR, the wire is nice and heavy guage, it appears to be of very good quality for sure, im HAPPY with this purchase

Mike

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stangme428    33

stangme428
Posted
$575.96 is what the harness from CJ Just cost me...that is tax, title license and shipping :)

So i just ordered it from them....they seem to be the cheepest....Oh that little 30 percent off coupon they sent us in them mail is already applied to the prices you see on the internet :) so dont ask to apply it again...I tried HAHA

Mike

 

MikeStang -so you purchased the American Autowire kit? how do you like it? did you use any sheathing kits?

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