New harness or rebuild old one?

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player1up

player1up

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I've been putting off redoing the harness on my car for a while because I hate electrical work, not that I can't do it, but just tedious work.
Short of buying a harness that I'll have to modify/build to suite, should I just rebuild the spare harness that I have? ( yes should I, I know that I could but sometimes the question is should I)

The wires on the spare harness aren't hard and crumbly, just the connectors are old and corroded/rusty.
The theory is that if I replace all of the connectors ( with factory style packard 56 connectors crimped and soldered ) the harness would be as good as new, right? or does wire "get old". I understand that the corrosion can work it's way up the wire, but on one of the test wires, it looks nice and shiny just up inside the sheathing.
I plan on doing the modifications to the harness as I rebuild it, like provisions for ammeter bypass and voltmeter addition and such.
Does this sound like a good plan or am I just crazy?
 
i say new. get the M&H built year one harness though. i ran into a ton of problems with the evans one. bad crimps all over the damn thing..
 
I suppose I should have been more specific. I can't afford a new harness and was wondering if it's possible to "freshen up" the spare harness I have? It looks like it's been in a box for years ( wire and loom are in good shape and it's not been modified )
I think I'm at the point of not being comfortable with driving the car too much longer with the current issues..... like I can't use the a/c blower motor on high because after a while, the the fuse holder gets hot..

My guess is that if the wire inside the coating is nice and shiny and the coating isn't damaged/compromised, then it should be ok
 
I think yearone sells theirs for $119ish, not sure how much new connections cost. but if the wires aren't bent at extreme angles and the insulation is in good shape then I don't see a problem in doing it. good luck.
 
$119 for an engine harness.... I'm talking about the Dash harness...Yearone lists it for $599, probably not a bad deal but with all of the other repairs I've been doing on the daily driver it's just not possible any time in the near future. I think outside the box sometimes and was just trying to get an idea of how far out I was with this thought :)

I have two reasons for considering this option:
1. "universal" harnesses are almost as expensive as plug in replacements, AND either way I'd have to modify the new harness ( new replacement, or universal ) to include the mods to my car. (HEI, cooling fans, stereo, 90A alt, volt gauge... )
2. Lack of money

I figure that I can get the connectors and spruce it up and modify it for about $40 based on the number of terminals I need and the prices here
 
I haven't had any problems re-using the old harness.The interior harness is not exposed to the environment of the underhood harness. If the insulation is flexible and the wire is still shiny and hasn't turned green, it is good to go. Unwrap the harness and place a ty-rap at every branch so you can keep the wires together and in order. Add or change whatever wires you need to, replace any bad connectors, then re-wrap with harness wrap tape from Year One (it is the correct type and not the sticky black electrical tape). You can lie and tell everyone you have a new harness, no one will know.
 
You can limp by with the old Harnesses but I tell ya.....
I just put all new Harnesses front to rear in a guys car and man let me tell you!!
A world of difference in everything.
It is on my Bucket List someday.....

Best of luck with this!
Later,
Bruce B.
 
I usually choose to fix or cleanup the old harness. It involves un-taping the entire thing, cleaning it up, replacing bad wires and replacing bad wire connector ends. I also solder and crimp terminal ends as well as use shrink wrap tubing. It may not be NOS but it works well and it's cheap. (I sometimes find "cheap" is a good brand name to a point).
 
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