Engine Harness rebuild

[olredalert]

BillD,

-----All attempts to keep everything original are not the same.I have seen an electrical fire and its not a pretty thing.Internal problems in wire harnesses are extremely hard to discover.I equate original electrical harnesses similarly to original fuel lines.Personally I wouldnt take the chance.But,thats just me!........Bill S

[Unreal]

Bill,
I, too, was planning to replace my underhood harnesses, and reuse the rest. I especially had trouble spending the $350 for the dash harness.
Then I stopped to look at a GTO for sale along side the road, and saw what a short in the dash harness can do to to an interior!!
That was enough to make me purchase all new harnesses, including the dome light harness, which was in great shape.
I have spent the last two years dedicated to the elimination of repop parts on my car using NOS or excellent original parts. I did not even consider reusing the electrical, brake or fuel system parts. I did not think the reward was worth the risk.

[Zedder]

Bill, If you plan on driving the car then I would replace the harnesses, if it's going in a museum and won't be powered, I'd repair the original. Case in point, about 10 years ago my wife and I were watching a fellow load his NCRS topflight '67 BB onto his tailer. All of a suden, smoke started pouring out from under the hood. Man, you should have seen this guy run for the fire extinguisher! Luckily, he got the fire out with minimal damage. He later told us that he completely restored the car but insisted on maintaining the original harnesses because of the wire "colors". He was going to put repro harnesses on just as soon as he got the car home. Also, don't get too hung up on the whole "survivor" thing. Most people using the term don't have any idea what constitutes a "survivor". The car must be at least 50% unrestored in at least 3 of the following areas - exterior, interior, chassis and underhood. Most guys call thier original paint cars survivors despite them being completely detailed underneath and underhood - they wouldn't qualify like that.

[BillD]

Actually, very good advice from you guys on the electrical fire warnings. The repro harness stays on the car. And Mark, I covered myself on the survivor thing, I qualified it with an "almost". I wish it was a true survivor, but, this is as close as I am going to get to that. Thanks for the help

[Zedder]

Bill, I know you said "almost" and took note of that. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggthumpup.gif[/img] The "surivor" thing is a pet peeve of mine because I think it diminishes the rarity of the truly unrestored cars. I was involved in judging in the "Bow Tie" class in the NCRS and it is really amazing to see an unrestored car that has been maintained as close to its original state as possible. These guys go to great lengths to preserve what is left of original finishes and components so we can learn what these cars were originally like when new. My comments are not meant to detract from cars like yours that have one or more areas unrestored, I love those cars too. I found an original paint/original interior 7,000 mile '67 Z-28 last year and never referred to it as a "survivor" because it had been detailed underhood. I just think the term "survivor" should be reserved for those which have been spared the "fluffing". Since you used the term "almost" I assume you argee with me [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif[/img]

[BillD]

Hi Mark:

No argument here. Like I said, I am happy with what I have, and realize that it is as good as it is going to get for me. Not a survivor, but too good to take apart and do the whole car, I guess sums it up from my point of view.

[Zedder]

Hi Bill,

I know exactly what you mean. I'm negotiating on a '67 Z-28 currently with 39,000 original miles and all matching numbers with docs. The car was repainted and "fluffed" underhood, but is otherwise pretty much original. The interior while absolutely mint for 36 years old, does show its age somewhat compared to the paint. Underneath wasn't detailed either, so it looks kinda sorry compared to that nice slick Gold paint. The car needed paint, but the owner wanted to maintain as many of the original components and finsihes as possibe. So it has become a "tweener". I'm really torn as to whether I should make a move on the car or not because of this - and the fact that the price is closer to a fully restored car. [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beers.gif[/img]