The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay Wiring kits vs parting it out - 1952 3100

Hey everyone,

Going through my truck, trying to make a plan of what needs to go and what I can reuse. The original wiring for the most part looks decent, with maybe a few terminals that are rather corroded. My plan is to do the 12 volt conversion w/alternator, and so I've been looking around at wiring kits, and ooof they are spendy!

My question is... Would I be better off dollar wise by buying the pieces separately? These kits seem all ready to go with crimped terminals and all the required components, but it seems that I could piece this out and save cash. I don't have a problem at all running my own wires and whatnot, but if I'm not going to save much cash in the long run, I'd probably just get the kit, so I had it all at once.

Thoughts?

Not sure which harnesses you've seen, but have you checked Classic Parts? They're only $150 and come in several configurations. I used one for a stock '49 6V truck and was pleased with the outcome. My only complaint was the directions aren't super clear, but you can figure it out.

Classic Parts wiring harnesses

Ahhh! Okay that looks a lot more reasonable. I was thinking I'd be needing something like this:

Classic Wiring Update Kit

That kit includes an updated fuse block and appears to be a significant improvement over stock, thus the higher cost. The one I referenced is just new wires. You'll have to use your original fuse block and terminal blocks for the headlights.

Gotcha, that makes sense now. Thanks so much for the help!

I do have suggestions but not sure what you want to do. You say your wiring is basically OK with some bad terminals. Then you say you want to do 12V with alternator.

I always recommend 12V with alternator.

Let mine know if you just want to do 12V with Alt and fix a few wires, or you want to completely rewire. If you rewire, you definitely want a prewired fuse panel type kit. Click.

Fixing the "bad" wires and adding Alternator will be pretty low cost. Don't do the "one wire" type alternator. It would also be nice to get rid of the ammeter and use a volt meter instead.
Don't know your experience level with wiring. But enthusiasm and willingness is as good as experience. Wiring is not hard to do an an old truck. We will help all the way.

Sorry for any confusion. I really do want to do the 12V conversion w/alternator. My plan is to completely rewire the truck, but with the price of the kit being over $500 I was not sure if I was paying for convenience (and could buy the individual pieces cheaper). Then I had the thought that since I don't have a radio, heater, AC, or any accessories like that, I could do alright with just a kit like Greg posted (swapping out the lights, ammeter and whatnot after I got the truck running).

and thank you all for being here to help me on this. I had a bit of the "overwhelmed-ness" last night, and it makes me feel a lot better knowing that there are people here who have done this truck project thing successfully.

I think if you take the time to add up the cost of a bunch of spools of wire and all the bits and pieces it would take, you'll find the harness kits are the way to go both money and time wise.

That makes sense. I think I'll save up for the rewire kit then. Thanks for everyone's help, and I'll be yelling if (when ) I get stuck.

And it is a real pain to get all the proper terminals and fittings on ones own.

Ed