If you put in connectors it will be a place for possible intermittency. Loss of signal. Corrosion. You don't need to worry so much about service being required for wires. A straight run is best. Don't know what you think needs serviced but you are wasting time and money. If the components/lights at the ends of the wires fail, you replace the component/lamp/etc. If you have to replace a whole wire, wire is cheap. There are no maintenance issues that require extra connectors on an old non-electronic truck.
If your wires are too short, you should notify the harness supplier and get the correct harness. This is a Red Flag to me that you are using the wrong wires, harnesses are extra long, like 12 feet long from the fuse box..
Otherwise, if you add length, it should be done by intertwining/twisting the strands together, soldering and cover with shrink sleeving and liquid tape over that.
I would like to know where you got a harness that needs extended so I don't buy one from that company. The harness I have used are designed for long bed trucks. Jeggs and others say "extra long" on their harnesses. Speedway says "Taillight leads measure 17' long".I recommend you study up on the method you choose. The internet wiring sites/how-to's are 50% good info and 50% wrong. Just like any other issue you look up, read a whole bunch to get the real feel for what is accurate.
Bartamos - You raised several interesting issues. First, I would like to be able to take everything apart to remove bits later when more work is done. This truck is no restored trail queen. Its being fixed & returned to service. I will haul stuff for my business and when I move. At some point down the line I (or some other owner) may wish to restore it. In that case, the lights & bed parts will need to come off. Why not build the electrical system to make this sort of thing easy? Surely there are good weatherproof long lasting disconnectable connectors available?
I read on Deve's very useful page about rewiring his '53 that the wires were too short. I have the same harness but for the '50.I bought it ten years ago. I assumed mine would also be too short as my project is a 3600 with a longer bed. After reading your post I got my tail light harness out and laid it out along side the truck. It would certainly fit a 3100, it MIGHT fit the 3600 and it certainly would NOT fit a 3800. I will only know for certain when the main harness is installed and I see how far back the connector is.
I'm not a wiring type at all and am trying to sort this all out ahead of time. This project has snailed along for 20 years so far and I would like the truck finally in use this Spring before it gets too hot to work outdoors.
