Applying tape properly.

[TomoHawk]

Is there a proper way to wrap the wiring on aZ, so it will stay on, look nice and not unravel after a year? It seems that no matter how your wrap it, it still looks kinda crude, but the platic split loom stuff seems out of place on a classic car.

I have just been re-wrapping the unravelled stuff, and applying a little E-6000 (or sho-Goo) to keep the ends attached.

thxZ

[AZ-240z]

Tomo,

Here is what Wick Humble says on page 118 of his book "How To Restore Your DATSUN Z-CAR". If the harness is salvageable, but the tape is loose, peel it off and rewrap it in manageable sections. Duplicate the "factory" look when retaping a bundle of wires by starting from the extreme branch end by the terminal and taping toward the thicker baundle. By using a blind-end technique--taking a wrap of two toward the terminal end and then over-lapping back toward the trunk of the bundle-a very slick appearance can be obtained. This also helps prevent the bundle from unwrapping later when age and heat have taken their toll.

This book is a must-have, in my opinion, for doing quality work on any Z.

Dan

[=Enigma=]

Another tip is using loom tape rather than regular electrical tape.

http://www.wiringharness.com/harnesstape.htm

Here's some cool self-fusing tape I'm considering as well:

http://www.intengineering.com/Self-Fusing-Wiring-Harness-p6470996.html

Edited October 6, 2009 by =Enigma=

[FastWoman]

I've never seen that non-adhesive loom tape for sale. Cool find!

What I've done in much of my work over the years is to start as Dan describes, and then finish up with a tiny zip tie to keep the end from unraveling. Sometimes you can place the tape end under a harness attachment point (where it's secured to the body).

A method I haven't tried but have thought about is to reverse the direction, starting from the fatter trunk (overlapping the start point and doubling back), and finishing on a fine branch. I would then secure the end with a short length of heat shrink. I haven't tried it, but it might work in some cases, where there are only 1 or two wires sticking out. If you think about it, you can wrap all of your branches back into the trunk, overwrap the loose ends, and finish off the wrapping out on some tiny branch with a piece of heat shrink -- or a cable tie. True confessions, though -- I've never been that compulsive about it.