'40 Cabriolet Rewire

[Ron K.]

Having delt with Henry's original, deteriorating and brittle wiring all of this time, I finally broke down and purchased the complete wiring set from Rhode Island Wiring and boy is it pretty.   Now I know that a number of you folks have already done yours and I am looking for your words of wisdom.  I thought that I might start with the under dash wiring because I have to install my new firewall insulation before replacing the carpet and reinstalling the front seat.  The fly in the ointment here is that I am still feeding gas to my '53 Lincoln Y Block and not the nifty, rebuilt V-12 that I talked John Murphy out of, so I am thinking that it will take some minor modifications to make the original reproduction harness work.  Then I thought that I would do the remainder of the car  incrementally rather than tackling the whole project at one time.  Thoughts?

 

Ron  

[19tom40]

The dash harness includes wires to the engine compartment that might not reach the components on the 1953 Lincoln engine. You will have to make a harness that will accommodate the 53 engine components and not destroy your pretty, new harness.

 

If it were my car, I would put the V-12 back in first, do the firewall insulation, the wiring, carpet and then the front seat. That way you will only have to do the work once and not modify anything to accommodate an incorrect engine. It has been my experience that " mañana  " never comes around and a driving restoration is never completed.

[Tom_Overfield]

If that harness is similar to my 41, you will take the main harness and feed one part of that harness thru the grommet for the firewall, those will be your under dash wiring.   There will be a two other parts of that harness one going to the left, and a shorter one going to the right inside the engine bay. Those will feed your lights, voltage regulator, generator etc.  it took my son and I well over a week to totally fit this harness and if you find something that doesn't seem to be long enough to fit, go back and recheck, you have done something wrong with the routing..  it sure will be nice when you are finished.     Here is another hint from Tom Akins, take an old pair of side cutters , or buy a cheap pair, right in the center of both jaws,  use a dremil with a cut off wheel and grind a small V in the middle of each jaw.  It makes fastening those bullet connectors much much easier . Wait till you get that dash harness in. Once everything is in the dash, instruments, clock, radio, glove box etc. if everything works, the you can install the front seat.  And I totally agree with Tom on this, you need to put the V-12 in first, save your self some time and aggravation.

 

Tom

 

Edited July 18, 2017 by Tom_Overfield (see edit history)

[Ron K.]

Thank you gentlemen, I appreciate your recommendations and words of wisdom.  I guess that I can't put it off any longer.

 

Ron

[DSpringer]

Ron,

 

The attached diagram might help. When I installed new Narragansett wiring I did a lot of head scratching when it came to the circuit breaker. I recently expanded on this drawing to figure out why my generators were failing. The numbers correspond to the numbering on the Narragansett wiring diagrams, but they date to the 80's and may have changed. The color codes should be right.

 

The hardest part for me was threading the big yellow wire through the ammeter. I have to pull my instrument cluster to lube my speedometer (which is loudly squealing), so I get to enjoy that trip again.

 

Dave

Breaker Panel Wiring.pdf

[38ShortopConv.]

Dave
, removing cluster panel is easier  I find on my 38  if you remove a glove box , right one,  use a light and mirror and socket to locate the cluster nuts.
Enjoy the trip.
  Roy. 

[Mssr. Bwatoe]

I found the console side panels worth removing to gain access to all things electrical on that 38..fun not fun...

[DSpringer]

When I have to go there on the '41 I find pulling the front seat (just four bolts) to gain leg room and putting a big pillow on the pedals makes it a little less uncomfortable.

[Ron K.]

Thank you very much Dave, the diagram will be a big help.

 

Ron

[Tom_Overfield]

[Tom_Overfield]

This may help.