Wire harness and/or replacement wire

Posted by Charles On 2009/9/14 20:00:28

I'm torn...I'm more of a purist, but when it comes to wiring, I'm not so sure. The wiring in my '51 200 is terrible. When I first got the car, I was able to get most of the electrical items to work (radio, heater fan, tail lights, etc). Now a lot of things are no longer working. I have a feeling it is the wiring. Under the hood, I have been replacing wires with thick gauge modern wire, but I don't like the look of it. I saw recommendations for Rhode Island wiring and others, but reproduction harnesses are very expensive.

I do not want to convert to 12v.

Any suggestions where I can find cheap wire harnesses, reproduction wire only (replace on my existing harness where needed) or other suggestions? I may have to just stick with the thick modern if there are no cheaper alternatives. Problem is my hardware store only has so many colors so it might get confusing as to where the wires go.

Any suggestions?