I think the first step in the right direction would be to remove all that fancy tape that the previous owner so diligently wrapped the wires with.
When I got my 59 the P.O. wrapped all the wires with about 18 rolls of electrical tape, at first I thought the person must have known what they were doing because they took the time to wrap the wires in such a craftsman ship like way, and I was excited to think my electrical was fine.
Well after a few smoke sessions (not me, the truck) I decided to cut off all that wonderful electrical tape. What I found was: lots of butt splices, lots of wire that the insulation was burned off down to the wire, speaker wire in the electrical system, 12 gage connectors crimped onto 20 gauge wire, some connectors that are for home electrical, and even some solid core 10 gauge wire for homes.
My advise, Get some adhesive remover for your hands and get a box cutter (utility knife) and carefully remove all that magic black tape. Be sure not to cut your wires or to disconnect any of them.
Personally I hate wrapping up auto wires with black tape unless its only a small area just to protect the wires from rubbing metal edges.
When you wrap the whole electrical system with tape: you cant see when the wires go bad and it makes them hard to trace and replace. The tape will hide your shorts and burned wirers.
