About To Replace The Wiring Harness . . .

Okay, I'm about to replace the wiring harness on my '65, and it looks like the Painless wiring harness is the best one to go with. If not, what's better?

I've also heard that the Painless harness doesn't have a lot of the plugs (tail lights and head lights). If not, do any of you guys know what I'll need?

Any other suggestions?

Thanks!!!

I looked at Autowire, and the price is good BUT . . . all of the reviews said you had to move to a 1 wire "GM" alternator and you have to change some of the switches inside to "GM style". And there was some talk of a $120 crimping tool that you don't REALLY need . . . but you REALLY need.

I'm probably going to go with the Painless one . . . and see what happens.

I'm going to need the 22 circuit because, short of A/C, I've got everything you can imagine.

I'm going to order it from Dallas Mustang probably tonight. I'll send you guys pictures!

Well, here we go. I'll try and post progress pictures as we go. Wish me luck!

I'm going out to get first round of supplies today. I'm SERIOUSLY thinking about painting all the stuff behind the dash and instruments while I have the chance. One of the worst things about doing your own car is that, lol, you KNOW what's behind all the pretty stuff.

Okay, I've been slowly working on it due to the heat, but I've learned a few VERY SIMPLE things to make wiring your car a lot easier. I'm not done, yet, but I'm going to relate what I've learned so far both from personal experience and through the videos. Here we go.

First thing is make sure you have everything you're supposed to have from Painless. I got everything just fine, but it's important to look. Good job Painless.

Next, make sure you have a GOOD crimp tool that can do "factory crimps". these are little crimps done on the all metal terminals that fold over the tabs right. This is VERY important because you have to use this type of terminal when you reuse the factory connectors.

The videos online are VERY helpful AS LONG AS you do this one, simple thing, okay? And please don't underestimate the importance of this. On a '65 Mustang, most come with little bumper guards in the front and back of the cars under the bumpers. They're the little chrome pieces on opposite sides of the bumper. First remove the front ones. Then remove the back ones. Label the screws and all so you can reinstall them easier. Next, follow the same procedure for ING EVERY OTHER THING ON THE CAR THAT ISN'T WELDED DOWN because most all of the videos and help movies are done on a "project car" which is code for "this car that has been meticulously disassembled by some former members of the Andretti family and two guys from NASA . . . then cleaned and washed in an IBM clean room . . . and everything replaced by brand new items".

Once you have everything removed, labeled, and properly organized, call the guys from Mustangs Unlimited, California Mustang, and anyone else you like, fly them to your car, show them the pile of removed parts, and have them quote complete replacement parts. Buy those because, basically, every bit of "help" you find online is for a BLOODY ING NEW 1965 Mustang because, HEY, as well all know, do-it-yourself guys only work on COMPLETELY REPLACEMENT CARS and not some car they drive. Right guys?

Get yourself a 12 year old boy so you have someone who can properly read the wires. This is somewhat important. Evidently the little wire labels we use at work would make this product completely unaffordable.

Something else you need to learn is more code from the help movies. This phrase "verify the proper wires are connected to the proper terminals in the proper method with the proper tools" actually translates into a 4 hour internet investigation into the usage and the application of the word "proper".

To their credit, Painless uses the REALLY NICE plastic coated terminal on most of the wires. These are great! What would make them greater? Being able to reuse them after you have to cut 90% of them off because, HEY, THEY'RE NOT USED!! You see, you have to cut them off to crimp on the "factory type terminals" which, ironically, use a really special crimp tool that no one EVER NEEDS . . . except for factory crimps . . . THAT NO ONE USES THAT MUCH NORMALLY. They're happy to sell you the tool for about $100, though. To be fair, it's not their fault. That's what Ford uses.

Okay okay, so it's not that bad, and I'm having a frustrating day. On a more serious note, it WOULD probably help if they gave you some routing ideas. That IS "painfully" missing. To me that would have been an easy touch.

Again, on a serious note, one thing you SHOULD get yourself ready for is the discovery of every nasty, dirty, and rusty part of your car. Basically you see all the dirt you never normally see, and you see all the little components that look like crap and probably function just fine . . . but it's depressing sort of, especially after you spend a fortune on nice paint, wheels, and tires. It's like you'll want to spend a few grand on a bunch of parts that typically get zero attention otherwise.

Off to hit it again. It's really not THAT bad, and the kit is pretty nice. I'll probably get it done okay, but it's been frustrating today.