FORUMS! / Articles / SAFETY / TOOL STORE!! / Store TOS / Keep BAT Alive! / Help / About Us
Navigation Home Disclaimer Links & Technical Our Links Scanner & Program info Technical Index Timing Belt Interval Manufacturer's List Small Block Chevy Info Misc. Technical info Auto A/C Tools Trouble Codes Acura Alfa Romeo Audi BMW Cadillac Chrysler Daihatsu Eagle Ford GM GM Import Honda Hyundai Infiniti Isuzu Kia Land Rover Lexus Mazda Mercedes Mitsubishi Neon Nissan OBD2 Peugeot Porsche Saab Saturn Subaru Suzuki Toyota Volvo Volkswagen Yugo
Get an AlldataDIY Repair Info Subscription Special Thanks To: AC Kits.com/AutoACforum.com

1932 Ford Roadster
Building and installing the wiring

By Bruce Bonebrake, Managing Editor at BAT AUTO

When the shop phone rings, and Gary Stock from Bethalto, Illinois is on the other end, I know that a street rod is about to be born. Gary has built countless street rods throughout the years. He owned and operated a body shop for several years, and he was well known for the excellent workmanship that went into every repair that would leave his body shop. Although this has been almost 15 years ago, it would be hard to find anyone in this area that doesn't know Gary, or has not heard of him.
   Gary has always had a love for the older vehicles. Gary is what I consider a "Professional Car Builder". With Gary's serious and careful attention to detail, the cars that Gary has built throughout the years have been in many different magazines, and placed in several calenders. The car's that Gary built and sold, are scattered throughout the United States.
   I want to concentrate on what this "phone call" was about. Gary, for the past six months, has been building a 1932 Ford Roadster. I am the one that Gary calls to "wire" the street rods for him, and this is truely an honor for me, and a job I take very seriously. Every part of the car that is being built, Gary has "pre-planned", as to how the car will turn out, when it is finished, down to the very last detail. The wiring is no exception. The location of the harnesses and the type of equipment the car will be equipped with, Gary will already have planned when he is designing the car. So, here we go....

	When the time comes for the wiring to be performed, Gary will have the car to the point to be started. The body, paint, frame, brakes,engine,transmission, basically everything but the wiring, and then after the car is wired, the last step will be the upholstery shop.
	Gary has the battery mounted in the trunk area, battery cables installed, and a "kill switch" mounted under the car on the passengers side.
	Because of my work load at my shop, the car will be wired during several "night trips" to Gary's garage. After talking with Gary, I am ready to begin and as you can see by the clock, it is already 9:00PM. Time to get started..
	I always start at the engine. On the left side, the alternator harness and temp and oil sensors. On the passenger side the starter, coil and the distributor harness have been made. I have placed two fusible links in the 10Gauge battery wires that will supply power to the various circuits. Depending on the equipment (power windows, power door latches and locks for example) determines the amount of main battery feeds that will be required.
	Gary is using a custom made bulkhead "through hole" connector on both the right and left sides of the firewall. With the bulkhead connectors, this will give a nice, clean, and safe entryway for the wiring to pass from the engine compartment, to the interior of the car, where the wires will be connected.
	All of the connections on the car will be soldered and then shrink tube is applied over the soldered connection. The wiring harnesses, I am custom manufacturing as I go on this car. I carefully decide what gauge wire will be used for the various circuits, and wire by wire, the harnesses will start to take shape.
	The wiring at the front of the car, consisting of the headlights, turnsignals, park lights, horn and electric cooling fan, is routed, and ready to be connected. This will be one of the last steps in wiring the car. As you can tell, several different gauge sizes and colors of wires are being used. The front harness is routed along the inside of the left front frame rail, away from the headers and the hood, once it is installed. Totally hiding the harness is not important with this car, as it will actually add to the look that Gary has built into the design of the finished car.
	Now with the wiring inside the car from the engine and front harnesses, it is time to make the underdash harness. This car will be equipped with eight ATC type fuses in a universal style fusepanel. The fusepanel consists of (two) four fuse panels that slide together making one panel with eight fuses. There will be 4 battery fuses and 4 ignition fuses on this car.
	The plate that Gary made to mount the fusepanel on will also house the turn signal flasher, the horn relay, cooling fan relay, and, although this is a GM 454 engine that will have the starter solenoid mounted on the starter, I am also installing a Ford style solenoid that will also be mounted to the plate. The reason for this is the shifter for the automatic transmission, has a "ball" style neutral safety switch, so the car can not be accidently started when in gear. A GM starter mounted solenoid, the "pull in winding", can peak to 35-40 AMPs, and the ball style neutral safety switch may suffer, and eventually fail from that high of an AMP load, so, with the Ford type external starter solenoid installed, the AMP load on the neutral switch will be a mere 1/2 AMP.
	After SEVERAL hours, the underdash harness is complete. The gauges in the car (Tach, Volts, Oil Pressure, Water Temperature, and Fuel) are electric style gauges. Since the car body is fiberglass, the circuit grounds are VERY important. Each gauge will need to have two grounds supplied to it. One, to operate the gauge, and the second, for the gauge light to illuminate the gauges at night. I have a centrally located ground tap, which is also located on the plate that the fusepanel is attached to. The grounds for the interior, rear of the car, and even the fuel tank, are all located at this connection
	Once the interior is in the car, the last thing you would want to do would be to remove the interior panels to locate a loose or broken ground connection.
	This is a GREAT picture. This is where you tell the customer.."Well, I'm done for now, I'll call you"..HA, HA.. Gary knows better than that, so, on we go. What you are looking at in this picture, is what will turn out to be the rear wiring harness. The rear lights, fuel tank sender, trunk lights and also, this car will be equipped with 2 connectors to plug in a "heated suit" for the driver and one for the passenger. The Harley Davidson heated jacket and pant suit can be worn when the weather is cool. There is an On/Off switch located on each suit. On those cool Spring and Fall days/nights, this will be a this will be a great feature. This car will be open, no top, so it can get very chilly driving around on a cool day. The car is also equipped with a heater assembly, and the bottom of the heater box, can be seen in this picture (the black box directly below the dash panel)
	I finished the rear harness and did not have the camera with me. I was really busy at the shop, and it was a couple of nights before I could return to the wiring. In this amount of time, Gary had already insulated the floor and trunk area, so my wiring harness was covered..HA, HA.. Gary did leave the section of insulation at the tailights loose, so I was able to get a picture of the taillight harness. When I asked if he wouldn't mind taking the insulation back up so I could get a picture of my "handiwork" he just looked at me kinda funny..ha, ha..
	Well, the wiring to the front of the car is wired and connected, including a "disconnect" for the electric cooling fan. The only thing left now is to start the car, and inspect and double check everything. ALMOST done..
	Well, everything checked out fine!! Gary will install the hood, seat and the steering wheel, this car is ready for the upholstery shop. Then Gary will be ready to have some serious fun with this car!! There is an orange powder coated rolling chassis that is next in line. Within a few months, Gary will be seriously tackling the next project. It will be a 1932 Ford "closed car", but the body style has not been decided on yet. One thing for sure, like all of Gary Stock's cars, it will be VERY NICE!! Bruce Bonebrake Bonebrake Auto Electric

Your feedback is GREATLY appreciated!! Please email your comments to:

batauto.com©June 2001