9 hours ago, S30Driver said:

The manufacturers web page seems to indicate the switch kill's the coil circuit.

my bad. i was thinking another type of kill switch. the one pictured does only kill power to the coil.

2 hours ago, rossiz said:

looks nice and clean - i like it. 

on my 78 the majority of problems were at connections - all the various plugs that allow the loom to be split up into sections for install. since you're replacing everything, did you just forego all these connections, or did you use new/refurbished plugs? 

i am eliminating as many as possible, although, i think that i will use new ones between the harness and dash so the dash can be unplugged and removed easily if needed.

 

Edited May 17, 20168 yr by sweatybetty

Fantastic job with the wiring. Definitely an improvement over the old one.

I would love for you to provide some more details on what it a takes to go this route. If I were doing a car as a driver only I would be interested simply to upgrade the wiring, but since these cars many times switched the ground or had some other oddities I would like to know how hard it is to integrate a new harness to the chassis

10 hours ago, rossiz said:

looks nice and clean - i like it. 

on my 78 the majority of problems were at connections - all the various plugs that allow the loom to be split up into sections for install. since you're replacing everything, did you just forego all these connections, or did you use new/refurbished plugs? 

That's been my experience, too.  I have both the Engine and Dash harnesses out of my 70 Z as I work (slowly) through my refresh project.  I bought a couple of special terminal removal tools from Vintage Electric last year for about $10 and I've been using them with great success to pull both the male and female terminals from the plastic connector shells so that I can  do a proper job of removing the tarnish ('oxidation' doesn't really cover it).  Nothing else I tried (including dental picks and an assortment of small screwdrivers) would do the job.  However, the VC terminal extractors only work for the white-shell, multi-pin connectors.  They're of no use for the two big single-conductor, blade connectors in the Dash harness (heavy-gauge White and White-Red primary wires, IIRC).  The brass terminals and the plastic covers for those connections were nicely toasted and the wire strands were oxidized for about 1/4".  Bad grounds are always a worry, too.

Excepting that in the headlamp pigtails (replaced), my harness wiring (copper and sheathing) seems to be in pretty good shape. 

6 hours ago, Patcon said:

I would love for you to provide some more details on what it a takes to go this route. If I were doing a car as a driver only I would be interested simply to upgrade the wiring, but since these cars many times switched the ground or had some other oddities I would like to know how hard it is to integrate a new harness to the chassis

i will try to remember to document as much as i can. my problem is i get so deep into it i forget to take pics as i go 

ok, here goes. first, i was able to get a new ignition switch and lock cylinder from my local carquest. the key is like the originals, whereas the the others i have seen were not

replacing the lock is fairly simple. remove the outer trim ring by tapping it from the back with a screwdriver and small hammer. the inner ring takes some prying with a screwdriver and was a little harder, but it needs to come off, it covers the pin that holds

the cylinder in place. pry the pin out, and the cylinder pulls right out. put the new cylinder in, push the pin back in and re-install the trim rings. i havent done that yet because im going to powder coat them.

here is the wiring plug that attaches to the ignition switch. i moved  some of the wires to different terminals to try to match the new wire colors. you will notice the purple is to the starter solenoid, i have since removed it to avoid drawing too many amps through the switch, and added a relay.

here is a new fuse block that is going to be used for some accessories such as the power antenna. i could have bought a harness with more circuits, but that was an extra $75. i think this block was $15+/-. this gets fed from the ignition switch "accessory" wire.

   

sorting out the different ignition wires and brake light power. i changed from the original so now the brake lights are not connected with the turn signals. all connections are crimped and have 2 layers of heat shrink tubing over them.

here are the new antennae wire, power antennae feed and the control wire from the radio. the black and white wires go to the dome light. what a pita fishing those wires up there was!!

 

 

Edited May 21, 20168 yr by sweatybetty

these pics are of the fuse holders that will hold auto-reset circuit breakers. one holds a 50 amp fuse that is the main power from the battery. the other feeds the head and tail lights

well, i now have the major part of the wiring done, and everything works integrating the old and new was the biggest challenge. wipers, turn signals, heater and headlights all work as they should. some more pics

here are a couple of pics of what is left over of the original harness. look at all those connectors!

heater, radio,back up lights, e-flasher and neutral switch wiring close

 

 

the back up and neutral switch wiring go through this rubber plug in the trans tunnel. the ground wires are for the wipers. i am going to install a ground stud there so i have

room for those radio ground wires also

under the column. still need to tidy this up. just making sure everything works first. the new harness does not have a fuse for the tail lights, so i had to add an in-line fuse. i cant recall what the other one is for.

steering column wiring all hooked up and working.

main power supply and headlight circuit breakers installed. these are auto reset. the main is a 50amp and the headlights 30amp. about $12 each

 

 

 

i really like the look of those auto-reset fuses - how do they work? do you push a button to reset them after they blow, or do they just cool down and reset themselves - if so, will they keep blowing/resetting if you have a short?

On 5/16/2016 at 8:08 PM, sweatybetty said:

that is plain old electrical tape. easy enough to remove or replace if i need to

The some types of black electrical tape adhesive will turn to a nasty sticky goo when exposed to some types  of wire insulation, oils and heat.  It may not be a problem here but I have had to repair and clean up that sticky mess before, not fun.  Quality tape is worth the cost.

Edited May 28, 20168 yr by jwtaylor