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Were can i find the correct guage wire for my truck 55...I have looked at auto zone checker ect...I even looked in ....somebody shoot me WALMART....mIKE g

"correct"? the wiring diagrams in the shop manuals show the ga used for a particular place, - these trucks used 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 ga depending on the exact location and expected current flow - any auto supply should have spools of all of those sizes, but none will know anything about "correct"

Bill

well...thanks Bill, I guess they (checker,auto zone) are always out of what I need when i go there, all these auto stores usually only have those little pakets of wire,and i can never find 12 G. I will go back and ask Questions next time. Mike g

Mike G.

My local ACE hardware store has spools-o-plenty of wire that is sold by the foot. Other than insulation type, wire is wire. The wire found at the hardware store will probably be THHN or THWN which is the Cadillac of wire insulation.

Below is a link to a site with good basic wire info. Good luck.

http://www.crowbarelectricalparts.com/Specifications.htm

Stuart

Thanks Stuart, I forgot about ace Hard.

Not to cross swords with Atomarc but I use a SAE approved (SAE-J1128) wire that called cross-linked polyethylene. Buy it online at a place called "Del City" in 100' rolls. Keep it on hand to help my rod buddies when they need wiring help. Del City also sells high temperature wire loom material which I also purchased after melting some cheesie stuff I picked up at a local car show.

beltfed,

I agree with your choice. The wires I have used for my rewire jobs were 'procured' from my job. Although these are quality wires, they are not the soft, flexible wires commonly associated with automotive use and don't carry any SAE approval. I will check Del City out...thanks.

Stuart

By the way Mike, to find out what the correct ga. is on any given circuit go to "Old Online Chevy Manuals", under Tech Tips in this forum. There's a wiring diagram for '55 trucks there.

Hey Guys thanks..I started this project a year ago...and to be honest it took me a while to not substitude if I do not have the correct product. I did some regrouping this winter,I acually walked away from my resto for the winter..It was that bad, now i am starting something and acually finishing what i started before moving on. I was lucky..the 1955 shop manual came with my truck,Gudda blow up the pictures though..Is It possable..and feesable to rewire my truck 1 wire at a time...I know you guys are laughing at me right now,finish laughing and give me an answer.M/G

I,ve done all my wireing one wire at a time but I think next time I do a large wireing job I will look into one of the universal harness kits. Time you by a lot of spools of wire plus a fuse block & materials it will be cheaper & save a lot of time.

Well that answers my Question.I know I am headed in that direction, I removed my iner fenders and started inspecting the wires...they are pretty brittle. Oh well...another job to do.I also removed my rear fenders today...and i dont want to talk about it.........

By and by...those wiring harnesses are neat. They lable every few inches where the wire goes which makes it easier. I purchased one for the day I explode my car to do other work. No butt splices and the same color from one end to the other...it don't get any better than that.

Labled every few inches..Now Thats for me..Electricle work for idiots..Let me ask a question. I have looked at all the wireing involved in my 55..there is nothing fancy,no air ect...there really is not a hell of a lot of wires.I do not have any fuses..or fuse box,that I see some of bolters talk about,every # matches on this truck,nothing is updated, It is exactly the same as it came off the esmbly line,it still has those dam split rims. Will that make my wiring job easier? Or will I be adding anything with a new Harness.

Mike - the standard minimal wiring on these trucks is very simple, and a good repro harness will already be physically shaped exactly how it fits in place, along with the correct color coded wires to match the shop manual wiring diagram - piece of cake, only "choice" is if you get the harness for original generator setup or one for switching to an alternator - doing it one wire at a time yourself is the way to end up with a rats nest of stuff under the dash that nobody can figure out later

Bill

I'm rewiring mine one wire at a time right now, except I'm replacing less than half the wires, only the bad ones. I think that as long as you approach it in a methodical manner, you can end up with a correctly wired and neat installation. I've got the mini rats nest that was under the dash all sorted out and labeled and plan to start actually installing wire tonight.

I'm dreading the rat's nest that I need to go through in my wife's project car.

Hi,
Not wanting to hijack the thread but just ask a question.
I have my 53 apart, and now is the time to do the rewiring, I know I want to do just the reproduction type harness, not really an upgrade, based on a lot of reading here I decided to leave the truck 6V nice and simple. There was a harness in Chevy Duty, and I was looking at RI Wire Services. Any suggestions or recommendations are appreciated.
Mike

I think I will do the Harness..someone was under my dash at one time...seems some of the wires start with the correct color and Guage and then...you know..the color changes and so do some of the Guage...it still starts and runs great,but I want it to be correct,so i can work on it.I really took an long look at all the wiring..they are extremly brittle,most of them coming out of the fire wall were covered in grease, and the wiring hooked to the fram under,are wraped in electrical tape...who knows what shape they are in,I still Have the genorator..should I switch it over..

I did a search on the forum and it seems if you want to go the upgrade route there are numerous choices and lots of opinions. I want to stay pretty stock, and the choice is big bucks for the cloth braided wire which is as original, or the consensus was the wire harness from Chevy Duty - mine priced at $149 for the 53-54. Here is the link for the 1955 - http://www.classicparts.com/prodinfo.asp?number=52-027

Thanks alot for the help...M/G