• When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.

Restoring wiring harness

pro-streeter

Well-Known Member
Local time
8:58 AM
Joined
Jul 26, 2010
Messages
444
Reaction score
396
Location
Spokane wa
Has anybody done their own restoration on their wiring harness ?
Looking for a source to get cloth wire wrap tape wrap and new terminals and socket ends etc.
Also any suggestions or tips would be appreciated would like to simulate as original as possible
 
You could try contacting Bill & Rose Evans, in PA. They do a Great job on Their Repro Harnesses, and I believe They sell some of the Harness hardware. They may be away on Their Winter Retreat now, so ? You could also try Richard, alias "69bfan" here on the Website. He is a Vendor that stocks a lot of Misc Hardware for our builds...
 
You could try contacting Bill & Rose Evans, in PA. They do a Great job on Their Repro Harnesses, and I believe They sell some of the Harness hardware. They may be away on Their Winter Retreat now, so ? You could also try Richard, alias "69bfan" here on the Website. He is a Vendor that stocks a lot of Misc Hardware for our builds...

Good info I will give them both a try
 
I believe the sockets are available online. When I restored my steering column for the 69 super bee the socket for the wiring harness was broken. I was able to order a new socket. I just pushed the terminals out, cleaned them and then put them back into the new socket. I’ve tried baking soda and water as well as white vinegar to clean the terminal ends. I’ve also Carefully media blasted the terminals with the socket removed.
 
I believe the sockets are available online. When I restored my steering column for the 69 super bee the socket for the wiring harness was broken. I was able to order a new socket. I just pushed the terminals out, cleaned them and then put them back into the new socket. I’ve tried baking soda and water as well as white vinegar to clean the terminal ends. I’ve also Carefully media blasted the terminals with the socket removed.


Thanks
I will see if I can find a source online.
I also thought about media blasting the terminal ends sounds like that could work well
 
I have bought just one harness new for my car, and it was the NSS harness. Got the harness instead get it fixed because the price of the conectors was allmost the same than get the harness already made. Rest of wiring of my car has being made with donor harnesses, new terminals, new tape...

to clean/restore terminals, you can degrease them with a brush then sink them on a vinegar with a bit of salt for 3 or 4 hours. Then clean them with baking soda solution to neutralize the acids.

depending on the sockets you can get them from regular electrical supliers on most of cases, but some of them are available just via Mopar resto shop supliers, like dual ballast plugs and bulkhead plugs.

Terminals also via regular electrical suppliers ( don't get these from resto shops if you don't want to pay 500% more of the real price ). 85% of our cars installation got packards 58 terminals, but they are hard to find. Packard 56 are more available and works nicelly on the sockets. Other terminals used are Molex standards
 
Last edited:
Forgive me if I am telling you things you already know.

You can usually reuse the majority of the plastic connectors, then you need some Packard 56 connectors which are readily available however there are generally 2 versions of the connectors; GM and Mopar. This pertains specifically to the female ends as the male ends are the same. Crimping these connectors can sometimes be a challenge and a true Packard 56 crimping tool is pretty expensive (like $300). I use a couple of different crimpers to get it done but I also solder my connectors (yes I know some people don't agree or like solder).

On the wire side, there are a number of different wire types on the market, do your research but you don't need the most expensive stuff out there. Look at the factory wiring diagram and look at the wire sizes you will need; Mopar used a lot of 18 gauge with some 16, 14, 12, and 10 in certain areas. On the diagram you will see something like "B2-18V" which translates to

B2= ID of the wire
18 = 18 gauge
V = violet

If the wire as an asterisk at the end such as X3618P* it means that there is a tracer or a colored stripe.

While you can find the solid colors, I haven't found any with the tracers, but in some cases I use a paint pen to mark a wire with the tracer color (white, yellow, black, etc.) if there is a need to be able to ID it.

Couple of different ways to connect new wires to old wires; one method is to strip off about 1/2" of each wire, wrap them starting in the center (like the first step in tying your shoes but over and over until the wire ends are wrapped), then solder and heat shrink it. The other method is to use barrel connector, crimp each end (after inserting the wires) and solder (or not) then heat shrink it.

Tools - as mentioned, you needs some crimpers, wire strippers and I would recommend getting a wire disassembly tool kit. A cheap continuity tester is very useful as well.

Hope this is helpful.
 
Last edited:
What I meant was I haven't found the specific wires with correct tracer color but then again I never really looked either because I just use the solid colored wires.
 
yeah well... I gues you could request to those sellers if some specific wiring combo could be made to match your needs ? dunno.
 
yeah well... I gues you could request to those sellers if some specific wiring combo could be made to match your needs ? dunno.

Probably could but I doubt it would be worth the trouble and expense unless you were doing a lot of it.
 
If you’re needing the lock in spade terminals, Napa has them. Part # male - 725147, female - 725145. About any hardware store would have cloth tape, but the non adhesive type can be bought through Ron Francis or Painless.
 
On the harnesses that were not offered, for my '63, I used Orangewipes, to remove some of the aging on the wires. All the metal connectors, sockets, junctions, even the bulkhead connector, I soaked in Evaporust, till it cleaned up, rinsed in water, then Isopropal Alcohol, to remove the moisture. Where it was needed, I touched the bare spots with paint, or RPM, to keep it looking decent.
 
Your initial post is pretty vague, at least to me, as restoration could mean one terminal all the way to complete replacement. Also which harness. Engine, dash, light, all? I have handmade my own engine and battery harnesses. I have acquired many terminals, plugs, tape and wire over the years at various estate and flea market sales. It is because of this stock of stuff I have on the shelf that I was even able to attempt making these harnesses. I would never to claim they are 100% the same as OEM, but I would bet 99 out of 100 people seeing them on a car would have no idea I made them.
The above replies seem to cover most possible problems, but I think the specifics of what you intend to restore would be helpful.

221.jpg 222.jpg
 
Man you guys have a LOT of patience. I just upped and had M&H replacement harnesses for my car. Clean, new wires and connectors...priceless compared to a burnt down Mopar...
New wires= cheap insurance in my opinion
 
but the non adhesive type can be bought through Ron Francis or Painless.
not just them... several sources.


Man you guys have a LOT of patience. I just upped and had M&H replacement harnesses for my car. Clean, new wires and connectors...priceless compared to a burnt down Mopar...
New wires= cheap insurance in my opinion

If you know what are doing, make your own harness is really cost effective against get the full harness already built. With some exceptions like I said previouslly, about the NSS harness LOL. I got the full harness on $30 or so new at Carlisle, while just the NSS plug/pigtail is on $15-20 rate... add the bulkhead plug if needed and allmost reachs the price.

Anyway, most of the time ( I'd say maybe 80% of times ) the underdash harness just need some easy fixes here and there. Engine harness is tipically the most damaged or hacked up harness which could need to be build from ground. NSS harness is tipically damaged due the heat. Headlights harness uses to be hacked for headlight upgrades but not really heavily damaged for other reasons. You'll barelly find body rear harness really damaged ( except for bulb sockets if they are part of it ) so a refreshing is tipically enough
 
Last edited:
Man you guys have a LOT of patience. I just upped and had M&H replacement harnesses for my car. Clean, new wires and connectors...priceless compared to a burnt down Mopar...
New wires= cheap insurance in my opinion
I hope we’re not hijacking this thread, but wouldn’t that thinking also apply to brakes,fuel Lines,gas tank, and many other things? All the work we do on our cars depends on our individual knowledge, supplies, confidence, finances, tools, experience, etc. It wouldn’t be a hobby if you just took your car to Graveyard Carz for restoration.
 
I hope we’re not hijacking this thread, but wouldn’t that thinking also apply to brakes,fuel Lines,gas tank, and many other things? All the work we do on our cars depends on our individual knowledge, supplies, confidence, finances, tools, experience, etc. It wouldn’t be a hobby if you just took your car to Graveyard Carz for restoration.
My thinking is if your gonna do a job might as well do it right.
Wires, fuel and brake lines are things you wont need to worry about when your thrashing on your MoPar restoration or just getting the beast road worthy again, take care of the basics you'll be less stressed in the long run knowing your got your **** squared away. Then you can concentrate on the the fun stuff... Some will disagree with this approach but hey man it's your car, do what you think is best for you.
 
Last edited:
Auto Transport Service
Back
Top