Wiring harness

[rqb3083]

I am about ready to do a rewire on my Avanti II. I have looked at the following

aftermarket wire harness brands: EZwiring, EZ2wire, Painless, American Autowire,

Ron Francis, M&H, Kwik Wire. All of them seem to have pros and cons. Of

importance to me is clarity on documentation and support (hopefully talking to a

live person).

Any recommendations out there?

Should I forget the aftermarket stuff and try to find an OEM from Nostalgic,

Stude West, Bob Ziff or ???

I should point out that I have never done anything like this before. With that

said should I instead have someone else do it for me?

I am not in a hurry but do not want to spend a year on this type of project.

Gene

[WayneC]

You piqued my curiosity... why do you need to rewire the car?

I don't have experience with any of the manufacturers, nor have I done a re-wire,

(aside from a rewire of my engine compartment after the right hood latch wore

through my harness and caused a dead short, burning much of the external wiring)

so I can't claim much first-hand expertise.

I am also interested in early Corvettes, and I save some of the threads I read in

Corvette forums. Some comments I've read recommend Lectric Limited, but I've

no idea whether they make a harness for an Avanti (in fact, I'd be surprised

if the manufacturers you mention make one specifically for Avanti).

M&H is another vendor some Corvette owners have recommended highly, though a few

commnents said they found LL more responsive than M&H to assisting them on the phone

in the midst of rewiring projects.

Personally, I'd prefer to find an NOS factory harness before going to an aftermarket harness,

because there's less likely to be any mistakes in the harness; although, the aftermarket harness

may enable some upgrades in terms of amperage if you are adding electrical devices.

A few comments & ideas I've read on Corvette forums:

Take tons of photos with a digital camera of wiring routing & connections before you remove them

(and make an album with photo captions as you go, while you still remember which picture is of what).

Use di-electric grease on all electric contact points, and in bulb sockets, for better contact,

and for corrosion resistance over the years ahead.

Lengthen any hard to access wires... for example, if wiring connectors behind the dash are difficult

to get to, and you have to remove the dash anyway, then make the wires long enough to reach the

removed dash, wire and test the dash before re-installing, and after dash is in, roll up the excess

neatly and tie behind the dash; better yet, get some junction connectors and cut the wires & splice them

to the connector(s), wire ends to be attached to the dash while it's out, then join the easier-to-reach

junctions after the dash is reinstalled (also makes it easier if you later need to remove the dash).

Add a fusible link to the power wire at the starter, if the harness doesn't already have one.

Don't forget to replace the grounding straps.

Label every connector you remove, as you remove it, and pre-label every connector on the new harness.

Edited March 16, 2010 by WayneC

[rqb3083]

Thanks for all of the tips on what to do. I agree with taking a ton of pics.

The reason for the re-wire is corosion and rust everywhere under the dash and on the fuse box and instruments. Additionally a few months ago a big puff of smoke came from under the dash. Nothing that caused a fire but only a few gauges work.

I am with you on an NOS route as my first option. Unfortunately, I can not find a used one out there. As for a new one made specifically for my car the next option is to get one made from Stude West, but there are 6 people ahead of me and the earliest that they may get to making one specifically for my Altman would be the end of the year.

So the next option is the after market stuff. I had not looked at Letric Limited but will now.

Really appreciate you responding,

Gene