'41 Roadmaster (Matilda) New Wiring?

[Guest rramer]

My plan is to make Matilda a reliable driver. My question, if you were to take on the chore of wiring the whole car would you go with modern wiring? I have noticed bare spots with silicone dobs here and there to cover the bare spots. My concern is that I do not have an enclosed garage. She gets the car port blocked from the North by the house, save from the hail.

What do you think? Where would you go? Just order correct gauged wire and start? I understand the period correct look, What about the exposed areas in period?

My fog lamps are not working at the moment, I will be checking bulbs this week. Break lights need checked as well.

All thoughts on the subject are welcome, I like opinions.

Thanks again!

rr

[Guest Grant Magrath]

People have their favorite suppliers, but I found Rhode Island Wiring's loom was perfect to install with the right connectors in the right place. Great diagrams and instructions too. Just because it LOOKS old, doesn't mean it's the same as the old cloth and lacquer coated stuff! Where we used the modern wiring was for the rear harness. It couldn't be seen in the roof and trunk. But it was a cost saving measure more than anything.

For your fog lamps, check the grounds, and your brake lights could be the hydraulic switch

Cheers

Grant

[Buicknutty]

I rewired my '41 Roadmaster with a harness from "Harnesses Unlimited", and it went in very well. Not quickly though. Also, it had the correct connectors, correct look, etc, but all modern type insulation. Something like this also gives you the correct colour coding, which is a bonus down the road (so to speak), as it will help when doing repairs in the future.

Keith

[Bob Engle]

There are several manufacturers that use modern teflon coated wires and then weave the period correct cloth over the modern wire. I'm too cheap to buy completed harnesses. I Purchase the correct material from John Brillman and build my own harnesses. It's time consuming, but fairly easy to do if you have the old harnesses. I also customize the harnesses for a heavier gauge wire for the headlights so I can use higher candlepower bulbs. I also add a wire to be used for a possible electric fuel pump at the tank. You can also add wires for turn signals if desired. I do have a chart of all wiring details for 32 50 series cars if anyone is interested. I can build the wiring harnesses for about 1/4 the cost of the assembled replacement harnesses.

Bob