Cant be of any physical help to you......but....Are you using an aftermarket wiring kit|?.. They are supposed to make things pretty simple.

What I did with my 51 (this was before wiring kits were widely available) was carefully take the whole wiring harness out of my donor vehicle (76 Nova) and labeling everything. Then starting at the fuse box, transplanted it into the truck. Worked out well. I did find a Nova wiring diagram for a few little problems.

There are some very good kits on the market that are simple to install-and not a lot of money compared to the investment you could loose to an electrical fire . They are well engineered for even a novice to install and the better ones usually come with a 1-800 help line...just a thought. I have used a couple different brands and all well worth every penny.

you could try Ron Francis
i have a kit but have not installed it yet so i can comment on that part

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/FH_images/FH_electrical-pics/Flathead_Electrical_wiring1946-47truck.jpg

http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/flathead_drawings_electrical.htm

Roger I avoided posting earlier. I would love to help with your wiring as I'm an electronics tech so it's right down my alley. Problem is I'm looking after an ailing wife currently so I have no time to spare. ( that's why I'm on the 'puter a lot as I'm not able to play "cars" for real!)

I hope these diagrams might help as a start point as I'm sure your truck will be far from stock.

Despite being able to do most of this stuff myself I think a basic kit may be the way to go. It's nice to have colour coded wires etc. Wire is not terrible cheap and if you have to buy a bunch of different colours it gets spendy fast + connectors etc... One pitfall I see a lot with kits is many assume you have a GM column and thus are wired based on that so just be careful on your selections. A few fellows here obviously have had luck with some kits so their opinions are worth listening to.

-- Edited by poncho62 on Sunday 26th of February 2012 06:24:18 PM

Hey Stu, i know you weren't knocking the GM column, they are just popular & available!!! Most of these wiring kits come either way as stated before, & I think or "thunk" Beachcat should be looking into a "basic" kit. A friend & neighbour has a 57 Chevy Sedan Delivery that needs a re-wire in the worst way, harness is cut,spliced & butchered in a 100 places & I've suggested he change it before it goes up in "smoke" but NOPE "it worked when he took it off the road 20yrs ago & it will work just fine" when it goes back on the road!!!! My 2nd "suggestion" was to "buy a good fire extinguisher"!!!! For a couple of hundred bucks it just "ain't" worth the risk!

-- Edited by dualquadpete on Sunday 26th of February 2012 09:03:00 PM

dualquadpete wrote:

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You can order these "wiring kits for non GM column. I just "happen" to have a GM col. & it's much easier to order that kit,"just plug it in" My E-Z kit came with detailed instructions, lots of diagrams for diff. brands, for alt.,dist. hook up etc. Lots of "extra" circuits for future use, ie. pwr.windows, elect. fan, AC etc. It's really the only way to go for a "re-wire" & not worry about having a fire!!!!!!

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 Yep if your starting out with nada and if electrical is not your forte I totally agree. I wasn't knocking GM columns BTW I was just pointing out possible pitfalls going in. Forewarned is forearmed.

do they make a generic wiring harness for your truck. reason i ask i'm not an electrician by any means but i've made plenty of harnesses for projects over the years i just followed the schematics with colour codes and size of wire. as long as there is no computer involved i'm good. that being said i picked up a generic wiring harness for a 55 chev truck from bills trucks in courtice (i just check internet, prices sure have gone up) it went in slick as snot in less then a day. especially a truck because the rear wiring is down the frame.

I put a kit from American Autowire in my 50 Plymouth recently. Came with everthing including the ignition switch, headlight switch, terminlas, conncectors, etc. Only extras I had to buy were sockets for tail/signal lights and a hazard switch. It was prewired for a GM column but it did include the female end of the Gm connector so you could attach that to the wiring from your old column if desired. Took a weekend to install and everything worked first try. The included wiring diagrams and instructions were easy enough that a simpleton like me could follow along. Not the cheapest out there but quality is top notch, in my opinion. I saved a couple of bucks by shipping to a friend in the sates and he brought it up for me.

I have wired several cars - a few from scratch, a few with modified harnesses from other vehicles, and a few with new universal harnesses.

Get a universal harness and wire it that way. It saves a ton of heaches, you get a better finished product, and there are no worries after its done.

I use Rebel wiring because its good quality and the least expensive one I have found. I have a complete muscle car kit that will be going into my 57' Plymouth as soon as I get the brakes completed.

raff wrote:

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Dualquad, I see you are up in Blackstock. Not far from me. We've probably been shaken down by the same UPS guy a time or two.

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 "Likely" but I avoid them like the "PLAGUE"!!!! The last 3 or 4 orders from the 'stateside" I've gone down to get them, even with the gas & hotel [or staying at friends house if longer away] it still "beats the crap" outta paying UPS!!!!!  & it's a "get a way" for me for a couple of days.  Got stung "big Time" on some inner door trim panels I had sent for the 51 Mercury P/Up I had at the time, it doubled the price of the panels by the time it got here "thanks to UPS's brokerage fees"

YEP, a "fuse Link" is a special wire that will "BLOW" just like a fuse!!! Only thing is it's hard to find when it does blow. You keep 'prodding" the wire w/test light till you find where its DEAD!! Then replace the whole link!!!

Sacotu wrote:

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most old car have a fusible link in the harness. easier to replace a link then a whole harness.

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 Fusible links started in the late 60s in cars......

The link is a wire 1 or so gauges smaller than the one you want to protect, ie a 10ga wire would have a 12/ 14ga wire in it so it melts before the 10ga wire.

Beachcat wrote:

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Just an update on this.

I did buy a Rebel universal kit with 8 circuits. I'm very impressed so far. They break the install down into sections such as engine, front, rear, interior etc. So far I've done the engine (started right up!), front and rear. When I had a question, I phoned the company ( must be a mom & pop organization cause his wife answered and he called me back) and they were very knowlegable and helpful. There was a "fuseable link" that is placed between the main power and the battery. It doesn't look anything like a fuse but looks like a short length of wire with a standard connector. This was confusing me. If you don't use it, it voids the warranty.

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 Glad to hear your making "headway" SEE, It's not that hard to do, & so far everything is working out & you'll be able to say "I DID THAT" I felt "really'good when I did the wiring on the the 52 & opened the door & the interior light came on!!!  Then the signals & B/lights all checked out TOO!! Everything worked the way it should, engine fired up, Chrg. system A-OK & no worry now of a fire. Keep us up todate on how it goes

Beachcat: I know of a fellow here in Barrie that does wiring and other jobs
on the side. Would you like me to call him and see if he'd consider
going to Schomberg? primer