Custom Hot Rod Wiring.

If you take an older vehicle with wiring that is old, maybe 30 plus years old. The wiring will have deteriorated and people may have cut into it many times.

Some of the things you may want to look for when deciding if you want to rewire it, are things like wiring that has been cut into and joined numerous numbers of times, it is very likely to fail in the future.

You are putting a lot of effort into your Hot Rod project, and a lot of expense into your project, you don't want to be broken down on the side of the road because of broken wires.

When you are about to start rewiring any part of your car, is to draw up a list on what you want to do. You may be doing only one section of the car like the engine bay, or you may be doing everything from the front to the rear bumper.

Determine what it is you want to achieve and wire down all of the parts you are expecting to replace.

If, for example, you are going to rewire the engine bay, the next thing to do, would be to remove all of the wiring from the engine bay.

Unplug everything on the engine and its accessories. Some engine bay harnesses will have a firewall plug, but if yours doesn't, you will need to cut the harness in half. When you do this, don't cut it off flush with the firewall. Allow at least 6 inches of wire to enable you to unwrap and trace the wires back to other areas of the car if you need to.

Depending on the size of the original hole in the firewall, you may need to drill an additional hole to get the extra wiring through.

If you are going to hide your wiring, you should lay it out without hiding it, so you can work out the various lengths, and how it is going to run through the engine bay.

Whether or not you have the battery in the boot, or the battery in the engine bay, make sure you use the correct gauge wire so that it has enough current capacity to ensure correct operation of things like you engines start motor.

Make sure you use a body grommet through any holes in the firewall. The wire is then protected from any damage from the rough edge of the hole. The body grommet also stops water and other liquids from passing from the engine bay to the passenger compartment.

Using correct sheathing, like a nylon braid will stop wires from chafing on any sharp edged items in the engine bay, and keep the wiring in great shape.

Moving on to the interior of the car, we remove the dash panel or instrument cluster. This may take around an hour in most cars, but it will save you hours of frustration trying to work behind it. Plus, it will make your job look even more professional. This allows for easy access behind the dashboard, and you can see all of the original wiring and mounting points.

This also makes it far easier to remove the original wiring, and work on putting the new wiring in place.

TIP1: Place application tape around any areas where you will be cutting, or where wires or sharp objects might be moving around, so that you don't scratch any of the dashboard area.

TIPS2: If you are going to all of this trouble to rewire your engine bay, it's highly recommended that you replace the original fuse box ore boxes. The old fuse holders have been through thousands of heat cycles, and will most probably have lost their tension. This can lead to loss of contact between the fuse and the fuse contacts, which can lead to all sorts of electrical problems.