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Thread: 1957 chev. replacement wiring harness

  1. #11
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    the AAW just seemed cheaper.
    In what way?

    I am just looking for the best Quality
    What makes a wire harness "quality" for you?

    closest to OEM original
    AAW is that, there really is no competition.

  2. #12
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    Rick-

    Heres what I observed:

    The AAW wire casing wasnt as nice as the Kwik Wire harness. Felt cheaper. First thing I noticed. Had one of each to compare.
    The writing on the AAW wiring was not as legible as the Kwik wire printing.
    The Kwik wire fuse block has a fitted cover
    The Kwik Wire harness has an integrated kill switch
    The Kwik Wire harness instruction manual is a spiral bound book, the AAW was a series of random pages.
    The ancillary stuff provided with the Kwik Wire harness was comprehensive and thorough. Everything needed +

    Rick I sense you have installed the AAW, have you installed the Kwik Wire or the Painless Harness? I have talked to these guys a bunch of times at Carlisle and I like how they do things.

    I put the Painless Harness in a 1966 Nova, The AAW in a 48 Chevy Pick-up, a Lectric Limited in a 65 Corvette, a Kwik Wire in a 46 Chevy Coupe, a Kwik wire in a 68 Chevy C10, and the Kwik wire in the 55 Handyman.

    Not an expert but have done some wiring. I refuse to restore cars anymore. I went through that with the Corvette; its really not fun for me.

    Its ok that you like the AAW stuff. I don't, and won't install one again. Interestingly, my friend with a fried harness in his 55 Chevy Sedan saw the Kwik wire on my work bench and he liked it enough that he plans to use one. So I guess its not always about plug and play and pre-terminated ends.

    I kinda feel like its whatever the builder likes. The poster asked and I shared my opinion.

    Scorp
    Last edited by scorpion1110; 03-23-2019 at 07:26 PM. Reason: Spelling.

  3. #13
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    Actually I haven't used an AAW harness but wouldn't hesitate if the situation was right. My current project is getting a Painless harness for its own reasons.

    The marking on the wires doesn't concern me. On a modified car some are repurposed anyway.

    Do you know what insulation AAW uses (GXL/TXL/pvc/other)? And what Kwik Wire uses? Is one thicker/thinner/harder/softer? Why do you prefer the one you like?

    Did the Kwik Wire have all the connectors for the ignition switch, headlight/taillight harness etc?

  4. #14
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    Its a good question-

    I actually sourced the AAW harness and did the install for a good friend. Its what he wanted. The wiring felt lighter and the casing had a cheap feel. Its hard to explain. I also was having trouble reading the writing on the casing. I will ask the KW guys if I see them at Carlisle. The KW wiring has a really good feel, feels a bit heavier. And they install nice.

    But its always a matter of preference. And as you and CN said, it will work well for his resto.

    Scorp

  5. #15
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Most good wiring harnesses are made with GXL wire, not a cheap PVC insulated wire. The difference is that GXL insulation is a thermoset, and will not burn. It chars but will not support a flame. PVC will burn. I bought a harness from Hot Rod Wires and they advertised it as GXL.....it wasn't. So I got them to send me all replacement GXL wire, but I ditched the whole mess and started from scratch. Also, I believe most of the circuits would use 18 gauge wires so if one "felt" smaller it could be the insulation thickness or type of insulation. I'd much rather have a thinner GXL wire than a thick PVC-insulated wire of the same gauge. It looks like Kwik Wire uses GXL wire as I'm sure AAW does.

    I had looked at Kwik Wire and noticed they only make "generic" harnesses. None of what they offered really met my needs with all my electrical stuff in the center console and lots of extra wires needed for switches, modules, etc. I also noticed they use "stackable" fuse blocks and their largest one is 20 fuses. I used the same fuse blocks and made mine 24 fuses (6 blocks). There's no way any off-the-shelf harness would have worked for my car and wouldn't even make a good starting point. I would have still had to do a lot of expansion and modifications so it made more sense to build my own.

    This is what the modular stackable fuse blocks that Kwik Wire uses look like and I used 6 of them.



    It's definitely a lot more work (and probably more expensive) starting from scratch, but you get exactly what you want with a custom build. I wouldn't want to try to duplicate an original harness from scratch since there's so many special connectors and sockets to deal with. Also, I HATE pigtails and would rather crimp my own connectors.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  6. #16
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    I wouldn't care if I had an original harness, but if the OP wanted something truly original I would think it would be possible to find a nice restorable OE harness. I have one still in my 55 that if I wanted to it could be cleaned up and reused, but I won't.

  7. #17
    Registered Member chevynut's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by 55 Rescue Dog View Post
    I wouldn't care if I had an original harness, but if the OP wanted something truly original I would think it would be possible to find a nice restorable OE harness. I have one still in my 55 that if I wanted to it could be cleaned up and reused, but I won't.
    Even if I found an NOS one, I wouldn't use it. After 60+ years the crappy OEM plastic insulation is going to be brittle and so would the connectors. If the car was going to sit in a museum for the rest of its life, and the owner wanted every nut, bolt, and screw to be original, it might make sense. The AAW Factory Fit harness is probably the best duplicate of the original harness out there. One thing I've noticed though, is nobody has an OEM-type glove box light switch that looks like the original. I "restored" an original one.
    56 Nomad, Ramjet 502, Viper 6-speed T56, C4 Corvette front and rear suspension


    Other vehicles:

    56 Chevy 2-door BelAir sedan
    56 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    57 Chevy 210 4-door sedan
    1962 327/340HP Corvette
    1961 Willys CJ3B Jeep
    2001 Porsche Boxster S
    2003 Chevy Silverado 2500 HD Duramax
    2019 GMC Sierra Denali Duramax

  8. #18
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    Check out this description of different wire insulation thicknesses, with cross-linked polyethylene wire. Also a note about pvc insulation.

    https://www.kayjayco.com/catPWireSelect.htm

    Using txl insulation, the thinnest, saves OEMs a lot of weight these days because there's so many wires in a vehicle.

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by chevynut View Post
    Even if I found an NOS one, I wouldn't use it. After 60+ years the crappy OEM plastic insulation is going to be brittle and so would the connectors. If the car was going to sit in a museum for the rest of its life, and the owner wanted every nut, bolt, and screw to be original, it might make sense. The AAW Factory Fit harness is probably the best duplicate of the original harness out there. One thing I've noticed though, is nobody has an OEM-type glove box light switch that looks like the original. I "restored" an original one.
    I didn't say I would use a OE harness either, but there are plenty of 100 year old cars that work great with original wiring. Of course you wouldn't want to use broken insulation and corroded connectors, but electricity has no moving parts. I wouldn't attempt to wire up an old car to be like a new one either. They are even worse. A troubleshooting nightmare, and much more complicated than an old car. Simpler the better. The AAW harness is not ORIGINAL.
    Last edited by 55 Rescue Dog; 03-24-2019 at 03:42 PM.

  10. #20
    Registered Member Troy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick_L View Post
    Check out this description of different wire insulation thicknesses, with cross-linked polyethylene wire. Also a note about pvc insulation.

    https://www.kayjayco.com/catPWireSelect.htm

    Using txl insulation, the thinnest, saves OEMs a lot of weight these days because there's so many wires in a vehicle.
    Thanks for the link Rick_L I've been looking for a good wiring supplier!!

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