Here’s a bit of input on my experiences wiring my last two car projects.
Back in the early 80’s I built a 1946 Ford using the entire running gear and wiring harness from a mint condition Chevy Nova I purchased as a donor car. I pulled the entire harness including the fuse panel and swapped it over to the Ford. Over time, I discovered how limited my options were, and started buying spools of wire from the local parts store (all 3 colors) so I could connect more accessories. It soon became apparent the stock “through the firewall” fuse panel was a poor fit in the car, so I bought a very early aftermarket fuse panel from California Rewire. It was a great panel, and the system worked fine, but entire harness looked terrible with splices everywhere, very few colors for all the circuits, and all of the parts store wire was vinyl, not crosslinked like the “good” wire found in kits. Eventually I sat down and added up the receipts and discovered I had spent over $250 on my “free” wiring harness, at a time when a Ron Francis kit sold for just over $200.
In 1992 I started building my 1960 GMC and was determined to do the wiring “right” this time and purchased a Ron Francis kit. It turned out to be one of the best investments I’ve made. It was very easy to install, and over the years there have been countless modifications to the electrical system, and the ability to add or change wires at the fuse panel by simply unscrewing a terminal has proven invaluable.
Recently I’ve been questioning the wisdom of continuing to recommend Ron Francis because of the perceived cost of their kits - $449.95 for their Express kit, which is the current equivalent model to the one I purchased. Memory told me I paid about $250 for the kit, but I recently found the original receipt and the cost was actually $345 for the main kit and $35 for the gauge kit – so almost $400 18 years ago. All the accessory extras can add up quickly, but considering the price for a basic kit, and how much everything else in the economy has gone up, I’m inclined to think the Ron Francis kit still remains a relative bargain. There are many less expensive good quality kits on the market, indicated by the number of satisfied customers. The Ron Francis solution is not for everyone, particularly on a nearly stock vehicle with very limited accessories. But if I were to wire another project, I would still prefer this design if for no other reason than the ability to add and remove wires at the fuse panel. It’s clean and easy. And there are other reasons including the quality of the fuse panel itself.
If I had it to do over, the only change I would make is to have mounted the fuse panel behind (or in) the glove compartment, with a removable cover. The older I get the more miserable it is to access the fuse panel in the conventional location just to the left of the clutch pedal. Sitting in the passenger seat working on a fixed panel would still be the ideal mounting location for my preferences.
