Rewiring a Classic Mustang

Blue Oval Man said:

Is there room to mount the fuse block on the other side of the steering column? I have the same kit and was thinking of mounting it there, unfortunately I don't have anything mounted under my dash at the time to check for clearance. I think it would be easier to access in the future also.
David.

Sorry, just found your other thread.

Click to expand...

I don't know if there would be room on the other side or not. There are certainly more things on the left side that might cause problems. (Fresh air vent, dimmer switch, clutch if you have a manual, windshield wiper foot pedal). Like I said before it doesn't look like access is going to be a problem unless you aren't very limber. I'd say it's more accessible than the old one. Unless you have the in-dash A/C like me, I'd just leave it where AAW says to.

I haven't yet updated this yet because I'm still trying to finalize the rough locations on all this stuff. A fellow 67 owner on VMF has me reconsidering my current layout. He posted some pictures to help me out. You guys might find it even more helpful because he doesn't have a ton of stuff in the way like I do. (And his car is much nicer than mine)

AAW Classic Update Installation Lots of Pics - Vintage Mustang Forums

Should have some more stuff this weekend!

Yes I'm putting this in with my engine still in the car. It shouldn't make it any harder with the engine in. Not much harder anyway. There is one hole that needs to be drilled in the center of the firewall that is a little tricky with a standard drill. It would be easier with either the engine out or with a right angle attachment like I showed above.

Routing the Harness - Part I

One of the shortcomings of the AAW instructions is the rather poor harness routing diagram. It leaves much to interpretation. After trying to do what I saw indicated in the instructions for about 2 weekends I had pretty much given up on it and decided to do it my own way. I'm speaking primarily about the under dash part of the harness by the way. This is what I came up with.



I basically brought everything that went under the dash between the wiper motor bracket and my heater box.

- Circuit branch 3, which includes the ignition switch wiring, steering column wiring and miscellaneous stuff like radio leads comes out to the right of the steering columns saddle.

- The instrument cluster wires come through the middle of the saddle

- All other wiring including the head light switch connector, rear body and accessory connections, etc route behind the saddle and emerge to the left of it.

I had made peace with this and was going to proceed like this.

BUT over the week I had a look at the install of this same harness on VMF and I got inspired. So I decided to give it one last go and see if I could get this harness to go where I wanted it to. Additionally I decided to wrap the wires under the dash. I mentioned earlier that I hadn't decided what to do as far as wire wrap goes. Well after examining what's on the market I decided to go with this stuff:




Its split braided looming. This kind is called F6 Techflex, you can buy it at numerous places including McMaster and Ebay.

I bought:
-1"
-1/2"
-1/4"
-1/8"

I'll let you know if the lengths I got were enough or not once I finish the job .

Some people prefer the regular braided looming over this stuff. I like it too, I've used it for a few other things. It looks really sharp. Unfortunately you have to slide the ENTIRE wire through it. Plus you have to take the pre-assembled connectors off on alot of the wires just to slip it over. Not to mention that branching off from the main harness is alot more difficult than it is with the split version.

So what do you need do this job? Well I'll tell you what I used:

- Weller 8200PK 100W/140W Soldering Gun with cutting tip
- Heat Gun
- Heat Shrink
- Friction Tape
- Various tools like scissors and cutters and zip ties come in handy too

I used the Soldering Gun to cut the loom that way I didn't have to deal with fraid ends. Of course you can do whatever you want to cut it. I used the heat shrink over the ends of the loom where I could to close the ends. If it was impossible to use heat shrink I used friction tape, which I bought from Lowe's. Here is a picture of my supplies:




Also pictured is a nifty label make I just happened to have. You don't really need it but it comes it handy. Since I was wrapping alot of the wires up to the point where I could not read their labels, I decided to label the ones that weren't particularly distinct, at least until they are hooked up.

So at what point should you do this? Good question Since I'm doing a sort of trial and error approach the way I've done it probably isn't the most efficient. I'll go through my steps though and you can decide if you want to do it differently.

Well before I even started thinking about wrapping these wires today I thought I should first see if I can get them where I want to go. Thats what I'll cover first.

In order to clear room in the footwell I elected to route the engine harness and front wiring harness first (Circuits Branches 1 and 2). Another vague part of the AAW instructions is the location of the engine harness. In the routing schematic the only information given is a non-descript "New Engine Hole" notation placed in what kind of looks like the middle of the firewall. I had to give AAW a call and talk with some others on here to find out that yes you have to in fact drill a hole in the center of your firewall, 1" in diameter. If you are following AAWs guidelines that is.

Here is where I put mine.





Yeah I scratched up the paint :-\

They apply the grommet for the hole too. It would probably be wise to wrap this branch now in the wire loom. I haven't done it yet because I already routed it before I had the idea for going all out on the wrapping job.

Next you'll want to route the Circuit Branch 2, the front lighting harness. This goes though the existing hole in the firewall just below the brake master cylinder. How you route this branch from fusebox to hole is pretty much up to you. I don't think I have a good picture but essentially what I did was to route it over the steering column and then through the firewall hole. Once again it would probably be a good idea to wrap this branch as you route it, unlike me

Spoiler! I have some wire loom on this branch!




Hmm this is getting long and I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to have to split this into two parts. I'll stop here and continue tomorrow. Oh and here is a picture of my car

Routing the Harness - Part II

After routing Circuits 1 and 2 (Engine and Front Lighting) I was left with this, which is how I originally was planning on routing the under dash stuff.



This would actually be a good time to wrap the wires if you started with the wires like this, otherwise it would be easiest to wrap them before installing it.

I'll do my best in the following to describe where these must go and support that with as many pictures as I have.

Circuit 3
- Contains ignition switch connections, steering column wires, power radio leads and a few other wires
- This routes from the fusebox between the pedal support and the wiper motor bracket and above the pin that holds the brake pedal to the pedal support

Circuits 4-9
- Contains the remainder of the wires for the harness
- This routes from the fusebox over the pedal support all the way against the firewall. It looks very tight and I was skeptical about getting a 1" bundle in that space. However, if you are able maneuver around under the dash you'll see that there is a nice gap up against the firewall that allows the bundle to sit in there nicely. The easiest way I found to get the wires into this position was to route them sort of like how they are in the first picture and just slide up between the wiper motor bracket and pedal support and then drape them over the pedal support. Lastly push them along the pedal support back toward the firewall. It will get tight but if you just work it a little bit they should fall nicely into that gap.
- This then routes from over the pedal support, continuing along the firewall up near the cowl, around the fresh air vent and headed back towards the opening of the instrument cluster on the left side. To do this I found it easiest to remove the fresh air vent.

Ok here are some pictures. Some will be naked wire others will have wrap.

This gives a decent idea on how to route Circuit 3. Except they'll exit to the right of the steering column saddle.



I wasn't able to get my camera on the fusebox side of the pedal support to get a decent picture of how Circuits 4-9 route over the pedal support but I got a few from the other side.







What do you guys think of my cowl? If you would like any clarification on my pictures or explanations please ask.

So that is where all the wires are supposed to go now I'll share some pictures on my wire wrapping.

Before I put the wires in their final, rough locations, I decided to wrap them with the split braided wire loom. I worked from the fusebox out, wrapping each branch at a time.



Here are Circuits 4-9 draped over the pedal support like I suggested before shoving them back against the firewall.



Getting started on Circuit 3



These are fires for the fog lamps which must go to a switch. I am not using these and will have to cap them. I used the label maker to remind me of this and to also identify the wires since the braiding covers up the markings.









I think that will just about do it for this installment. If you're fuzzy on something just ask I'll do my best to clarify.

Next we'll start making connections.

Just letting everyone know I'm still alive, haven't electrocuted myself yet.

Anyway, up until this weekend I haven't made much progress because of other things that got in the way of working on the car. Right now I'm try to battle through some very vague and ambiguous instructions by AAW. Once I get that sorted and am on to smooth sailing I'll start the tech updates again.

As it sits, I've gotten most of the engine bay wiring finished. It's mostly all wrapped and routed and terminated in some spots. Biggest problems I'm having is deciphering what terminals I am supposed to use for each wire. The instructions do not include a hardware list with quantities and types of terminals and connector bodies, which would be very handy on a job like this, nor do they include and markings that are linked to the drawings on the instructions. This makes selecting the right thing a long trial and error procedure.

I'm also having a hard time finding connectors that should be in the kit, so I'm told. I just sent AAW an e-mail for clarification of what should be included in the kit.

I think one of the biggest improvement that could be made to this kit is an inventory or BOM (bill of materials) sheet. Otherwise the components are excellent.

Stay tuned.

Actually yes, however I have been insanely busy and haven't had the time to put the thought into a good post. I do have a good bit of pictures though. Once I finish I'm going to do a thorough write up. One thing I've found with this kit is that while it is an excellent product, it requires some of your own ingenuity and thought. I've gotten most of it figured out and I'll share my solutions/approaches once I get to that point.

Hopefully only a few more weeks, I only have had a chance to work on it sparingly.

Jim Closson said:

Pyroman; I'm in a dilema. I took tons of photos of the rear of my instrument cluster on my '67 coupe before removing it to install a new American Autowire kit. I am now ready to install the Haneline Instrument cluster back in (originally installed by previous owner). Now for the problem. You show a photo of the back of your speedometer where there is a device attached to it. The Haneline has the same thing (see attached photo). Problem is I don't have a clue what it is used for and the Haneline instructions are lame. I did find that the gauges are made by Veethree, but I didn't have much luck there. Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

Hi Jim,

That part is the constant voltage regulator for your instrument cluster. Basically what it does is reduce the 12V input to around 6V, which is what all the stock gauges run off of. Your feed line will attach on one end and the other end will split between the fuel gauge, oil pressure and temperature. See if any of these pictures help.

Emile