The Corvette Kid

I am building a 61 with a LS-2 and I was wondering what everyone is using for after market wiring harness. Ron Francis is the only company that has a complete modernized harness specificallyfor C-1 Corvettes. Is anyone using this harness or would a universal harness from Painless or American Autowire work just as well. I would appreciate any feedback on this subject. Thanks, Bob

david srour

You can use the factory C1 harness from firewall back. You will need an LS2 harness for the engine and computer. The c1 harness will need a few mods like eliminate ammeter. You don't need the engine side of C1 harness.

The Corvette Kid

The original harness is not worth saving,so I would like to replace it with something more up to date. Thanks, Bob

AZDoug

You don't need to eliminate the ammeter on a C1, you can simply install relays to power the fuel pump and ECU directly from the alternator once the iigntion is on.

It tooka bit of thought, but i was able to move all the FI related load and headlight load from going through the ammeter or its feed wiring, yet everything else does go thru the ammeter, including battery charging, so my under dash wiring is stock,and the ammeter works as normal

Doug

david srour

I just had my ammeter converted to voltmeter and no high current wires under dash. The ignition switch is wired to trigger a relay which in turn powers up facory fuse panel as well as auxillary panel. Most systems are are relay controlled. Headlights, HVAC, Fans, power windows, amp, etc.

John McGraw

Bob,

I use aftermarket wiring harnesses on my resto-mods. Trying to use a stock harness with all the additional circuits makes for a lot of work, and it is just easier to make your own harness. I have used Ron Francis wiring harnesses on my last two cars, and they make a nice product. The big problem with using their setup is that the fuse panel is pretty good size, and you really have to plan you installation well. On my 65, I ended up having to mount the panel horizontally under the headlight switch, behind the instrument panel, as there just was not enough room on the firewall for it between the steering collumn and the kick panel. American Autowire also makes a nice setup and their fuse panels stack the circuits on top of each other, so their panel take up less space. Painless wiring also makes a nice panel.

The original C1 fuse blocks did not have enough circuits for the original installation, much less than a modern drivetrain and accessories. The original ignition circuit was not even fused for crying out loud! This ommission alone has sent countless C1 cars up in flames when someone shorted the ignition shielding to the ignition coil! Once you start adding electric windows, stereo equipment, power antenna, new gauges, and a host of other items, you will appreciate the additional circuits. Several of the circuits in the Ron Francis panel can supply power in the key-on or key-off position, depending on how you insert the fuse!

That being said, the new panel will still probably not have enough circuits to supply the LS2 harness, and you will probably have to install an auxilliary fuse block under the dash or hood. I like to fuse each side of the injectors and each side of the igntion coils on their own fuse. It sure makes trouble shooting easy in the future.

Regards, John McGraw

misfit1

There is Jim France, he has a web site called jimsperformance.com or give him a call, 410-465-9569 and he will make up a wiring harness to your measurements. Let’s say you want to mount the ECU in the trunk (not a great idea) but, take a measurement and he will make up the harness to wherever you want to place things. I wanted to hide my relays in the voltage regulator. He was able to put my fan and fuel pump relays in the stock voltage regulator case and it’s mounted where the regular should go. I didn’t want a lot of excess wire so he made it nice and clean. He will make a complete stand alone system.

Dave

Gman58

I don't know that much about Resto but I enjoyed reading the question and answers about the wiring and what it entails. Just my comments. Greg

Russ T Gate

I used a Ron Francis unit in my 67 with injection and found it to be easy to work with, good quality, good instructions and best of all they give you enough wire to make location of your unit more flexible.
With that being said I thought that a former employee bought the rights to the injection setups and opened his own shop under the Detail Zone.
Russ

kwkenuf

You don't need to use a Corvette specific harness and there are scads of vendors that offer LSx swap harnesses for the engine side. Since you're doing wiring anyway and you know that the stock wiring on these cars is a large weak point and a potential safety issue, it's best to upgrade the rest of the electrical system at the same time with a universal replacement harness available anywhere. On my last two projects I used 21 circuit harnesses off Ebay with a very small fuse box giving me lots of mounting options. Plenty of circuits for all the modern conveniences....

The Corvette Kid

Thank You to everyone for all of helpful information. Now I just have to decide which one to use. Bob

david srour

I used the fuse relay center from these guys.
http://www.currentperformance.com/eng_mgt.html
Scroll down they sell just the panel. Since I already had a new C1harness, I used it for dash lights, turn signals, tail lights, dash swithes etc. High current stuff like head lights, I used factory wiring to trigger relays. The factory ignition switch triggers a relay for starter and also a relay for switched 12 volts.
Just seemed easier to use factory harness for the things mentioned since has all the right plugs and sockets for stock C1 components. Certainly lots of ways to skin a cat.

aworks

I used a Painless harness in my 60. And a stand alone harness with it's own fuse box and relays for the eng. That was the first time I used a Painless harness. It was very easy to wire the car.

The Corvette Kid

HI aworks, Can you tell me which harnesses you bought from Painless. Thanks, Bob

53 Blue Flame Brett

I put an LS-1/4L80E in a 54 corvette rod and used a local guy who was a fuel systems engineer with Delco Remy for years. His name is John Spears. Owns Speartech, 765-378-4908, Anderson, IN. He elimintaed everything I didn't need and made it a turn-key system. Cost about $700 for everything. I put a Painless harness in the car.

Good luck!
Brett

aworks

It was a few years ago but I think it was the 18 circuit. I just looked it up in Summit. It was part number prf-10201. Thats for a GM column. I used an Ididit column for a C1.

kenmo

Maybe someone could post the mods that should be made to a stock C1 wiring harness to remedy some of the fire hazards with it...

david srour

Forgot to mention that I used a Speartech LS1 harness which is great. Using the C1 harness as I did would not be a fire hazard. I eliminated the ammeter(replaced w voltmeter) The ignition switch only handles the tiny mount of current for the main power relay. The factory headlight wires also go to relays. everything is protected by fuses or circuit breakers. DrRebuilds laminated enlarged wiring diagrams were very helpful.

kenmo

David...that's an wesome looking 62... Anymore pics?

The Corvette Kid

Has anyone looked in to the new kit GMPP has come out with for LS engine swaps. It is supposed to include all of the wiring plus the fly by wire gas pedal and the ECM. I have seen it advertised in a lot of car magazines but no price. Bob