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1970 B Body American Autowire Kit

Acworld34

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10:23 AM
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I finally got the American autowire Kit and took my car it to a shop in Northern VA near DC. i have a 1970 Plymouth Satellite. For labor only they said it would take 40hrs and multiply that times their rates of $120/hour that is about $4,800.. Is anyone else getting there types of quotes? It is a pretty nice shop like one that goes to Sema every year. They had a lot of rebuilds in the shop.

But i am like are you crazy? 40hours... is that realistic.... They charged me 260 just to look over my car and give me an evaluation.

I saw most shops around here charge like $113hr but usually work with you. I just remember years ago getting charged like $65-$75/hour at the most for fixing my range rover which was premium at the time.

Do you think that a person with basic mechanical skill could do this themselves. Also it talks about needing a one-wire alternator.

Anyone know what the first steps would be... Take out the old harness.... map take pics... what about the dash pad.. does and routing the wires underneath the dash.
 

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The hardest part will be the dash but that can be done out of the car (maybe). If this is a stock rebuild or restoration the easy route would be reproduction harnesses. But if its a custom wiring job then you either do it yourself or you're at their mercy.

I have a kit and will be doing my own car. I can tell you this - I would not attempt doing the wiring without having the dash on a bench - even if it meant pulling the windshield solely for that purpose.

I think 40 hours is a little on the high side. I think 3 days would be sufficient.
 
If your not faint of heart you can do it yourself. Get the schematics for your car and take your time, it's literally not rocket science.
 
I have done quite a few complete wiring jobs over the years. Street rods muscle cars and 12v conversions using most of the major brands. The 40 hr time frame is what I start with. I replace all the light bulbs etc and solder everything. It can easily get into more time when you start hiding wires and adapting different components. The hourly rate is pretty steep but big shops have big overhead. You could easily ship the car to another reputable shop with cheaper rates and be in money. You could also do it yourself but risk costing more if you screw it up. It always costs more to do it over. I have had 2 people come to me that had new harnesses put in there cars wanting me to fix it. I told both the same thing, take it home take out the harness and bring it back so I can start over. One guy did. Guess which guy is driving his car now?
 
Do like the factory ... tackle the dash as a separate unit and then connect everything into it with connectors.

You could even make your new harness side by side to the old one and then install it.
 
Bring it to me Ill do it in a week or less for way less. Im in Atlanta Georgia. People are damn nuts with prices these days.. OH WE HAVE A MOPAR HERE LETS JACK UP THE PRICES.... Ridiculous.

This is just like what happened to me today. I call the place where my friend bought a chinese 4 wheeler. Asked about a carb. 69.00 I find the same carb on ebay for 10.61 shipped.

What these guys didnt mention.. Is that you need to pull the windshield to get the dash out. Not throwing daggars but it just needs to be mentioned.
 
Start with these.. Helps a bunch. And here is the downloadable Shop manual. HERE

70BelvedereGTXSatelliteRoad%20RunnerA.jpg

70BelvedereGTXSatelliteRoad%20RunnerB.jpg
 
Bring it to me Ill do it in a week or less for way less. Im in Atlanta Georgia. People are damn nuts with prices these days.. OH WE HAVE A MOPAR HERE LETS JACK UP THE PRICES.... Ridiculous.

This is just like what happened to me today. I call the place where my friend bought a chinese 4 wheeler. Asked about a carb. 69.00 I find the same carb on ebay for 10.61 shipped.

What these guys didnt mention.. Is that you need to pull the windshield to get the dash out. Not throwing daggars but it just needs to be mentioned.

So basically you should pull the dash out to do this correct? Yeah pulling the windshield seems like that would be a pain and then i would want someone to put it back in correctly... less it fall out while i was driving...LOL
 
Well, as mentioned before its doable in the car however pulling the dash out makes it easier on you. Unless you like laying on your back for hours under the dash in crappy light. But pulling the dash and having it on a bench would be ideal for making all the connections and wire routing. But the windshield has to come out to get the top fasteners out to pull the dash. I'm a little guy and I would pull the front seat and do it on my back. I'm cheap though.
 
Start with these.. Helps a bunch. And here is the downloadable Shop manual. HERE

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Thanks i got one of these already laminated and posted in my garage. There was no way i would have paid them that much. They turned me off on that alone. i was always thinking that it would costs $1,000 to $1,500... maybe from old posts here.
 
Times change though and these days people have to keep their companies afloat. Which I understand but I know the price of that american wire harness that would put you at almost 6k on rewiring that car. I assume not all people can just throw 6k at getting a car wired.. Maybe Im just too cheap for my own good.
 
Having installed a AAW 70 B-Body kit in my Charger and installing a 69 Charger harness in a 70 Charger.. I will tell you, 40 hours is good starting point.. The AAW kit is FANTASTIC, but it is not a FACTORY harness.. It takes a lot of work to install.. If you are not willing to do it or pay for it. Return or sell the kit and buy an O.E. harness.. You will love the AAW kit if you go that way..

Now can anyone do it, yes, but it takes time and forethought. I can help you, an explain how it works..

No need to drop the dash, just feed the fuse box from right to left to remove and left to right to install..

Get good crimpers or rent or buy the ones AAW has.. Get Wiring cover as well..

DM me and I will send my cell and E-mail for you..
 
It was insinuated in the first reply !!
Hey i am not a Mechanic so i am glad it was brought up because i didn't get it at first. Also what have you guys done about the one-wire alternator that is required.

Does anyone have a part number or know where i can get one. I would hate one that they say will fit and then it needs modification. I looked at the Car part websites and i am pretty sure they are different. So i wanted to see if anyone knew of any that definitely is just a plug and play.
 
If you’re still stumped on the one wire alternator, power master sells a one wire for you. Replaces in OE fitment. Let me know if you’re interested. I get dealer discount with them.
 
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