vette-kid Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 Hello me figure out what I'm up against. Needs complete rewiring, the 80yo stuff is just dangerous. I would be devastated if Grandpa's old car burnt down. I've decided on this island wire for the harnesses. Had anyone done this job? How late intensive is this going to be? How much of the car will I have to take apart? Ideally I'd leave add much together as possible, the car runs and drives now and I'd rather not have it in pieces for the next year. That said, it needs to happen before the worst happens. So how bad is this job? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keiser31 Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 I did the wiring with the Rhode Island Wiring and is VERY straightforward to do. They will give you a diagram and there should not be too much, if anything to actually remove in order to get the new wiring in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpage Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 I have a Rhode Island harness for my '36. Really nice, not cheap but worth it. It did not come with the horn wire and I had to lengthen the choke wire which I don't think your car has. They do not come with some of the original connectors but that can be overcome with some modern types if your's are missing, or you may be able to find some originals. I would suggest buying a maintenance manual for your car which has all the detailed diagrams in it. These books are worth their weight in gold! R I does give you diagrams. There may be more than one harness that you will have to purchase to do a complete job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vette-kid Posted October 25, 2019 Author Share Posted October 25, 2019 Thanks everyone! I do have the manuals and a laminated wire diagram. Great for trouble shooting, but it doesn't really help figure out how the wires are ran. @jpage, what did you use for the horn wire? I have one I'm trying to salvage the terminal from. A guy on eBay is selling NOS wires for $50! To much in my opinion. But then, no one seems to sell those terminals, I've checked a handful of places. I also think I'm going to have them add provisions for turn signals and radio. Not really sure what wires I'll need there since I don't have either yet. I assume constantly, switched and ground, plus signal wires, so 5 for the turn signals and the for a radio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpage Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 The main harness routes along the left inner frame to the rear. It should exit from the dash through a hole in the upper left firewall . There should be a round steel cover and rubber grommet for that hole.The tailight harness crosses over along the rear frame member.There is nothing, that I know of, that shows how the wires were routed on the frame, you just have to look for the best avenue. You do have to make sure that you have the other hardware like the horn relay and gen. cutout too. The harness can be ordered with the dual or single tailamp and dual or single horns. I made new horn leads from an old Hoover sweeper cord. Looked just like the originals! The made up harnesses are almost self explanatory as only the leads are exposed and the diagrams show which color wires go to corresponding terminals. The horn wire can be made from a new wire but you'll have to use the original button contact and a new end terminal. You can order the correct color and gauge from RI in length if you so chose. Turn signal wires can be made into a separate harness and incorporated into the stop lights or add on signals. If you are going stock, which I assume you are, or at least hope that you are, I would nix a radio. I was going to put an original radio in my car but decided against it , not only because of the extra work but old radios don't pick up many stations anymore, at least in our area. These cars can be a bit noisy when driving, so i figured that I may not be able to hear it well anyway. If you are thinking about going 12 vt, check before you order a harness to make sure that it will handle the load. If you're keeping it stock, then I would not suggest changing anything. If you have want an original type radio,refurbished or so I was told, Motorola 60 with the mounting bracket, control cables, new round period speaker cover and speaker assy., although the speaker needs rebuilt, available. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vette-kid Posted October 26, 2019 Author Share Posted October 26, 2019 (edited) Great info, thank you! I do want the radio, but at the very least it will be a period radio. MY understanding is that a Philco CT11 was the correct dealer installed option. Although there were other aftermarket radios available . I have seen a Motorola with the correct control head for a P2. I have a line on a CT11 right now, no control though. Am I understanding that you have the Motorola for sale? PM me if so. I plan on Keeping everything stock or period correct. It already has dual tail lamps, but just the single horn. We do drive it, so I want turn signals. One of the add on integrated units would look cool, but using the tail lamps is probably cheaper, easier and more accurate for the period. I'm trying to work on the horn wire now. I have the correct wire, just trying to salvage an old terminal for it. Kinds hard to do though. I hope to find something else that will work. Such as a 48-52 first f series or an early power wagon. Edited October 26, 2019 by vette-kid (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TTR Posted October 26, 2019 Share Posted October 26, 2019 (edited) Replacing a wiring harness in a a low cost pre-war production car shouldn't be difficult or very time consuming. Depending on persons experience and general skill level, I'd imagine +/- couple of days. As for turn signals, I've driven my PB Roadster* for tens of thousands of miles in past nearly 30 years without any, other than my left arm. Never felt a need or interest having a radio in it either. Cars own and all surrounding sounds keep me "entertained". My wife, OTOH, occasionally uses her iPhone with earbuds to listen a book or music during long distance trips. * Made my own (6V) harness from scratch about 30 years ago, using Y'n'Zs cloth braided wires and period correct terminals, etc., since the car is/was somewhat modified (read hot rodded) and using OEM replacement harness would've required a lot of mods & splicing. IIRC, it took me couple of days, maybe a weekend or so, after spending a day or so designing/drawing and measuring required lengths. Creating a proper harness' + drawing a color coded schematics from scratch to an early '30s 3-row Chris Craft and a 1915 30ft. (or so ?) wooden Cabin Cruiser while vacationing/visiting friends in Europe 20 years ago took a bit longer, but at least latter was dry-docked. 😉 Edited October 26, 2019 by TTR (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpage Posted October 27, 2019 Share Posted October 27, 2019 I'd sell the radio but I can't guarantee that it works and I don't think that the control covers are the same. this unit has 2 knobs and a vertical read dial. The Motorola "60" , I believe, came out in 1936 and was adopted for police work. Here's a couple of shots of the radio itself. Someone, I guess the person who was to rebuild it, marked all the connections. I also have the antenna lead wire. Don't know about the Plymouth, but the '36 Dodge used the roof insert as the antenna. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vette-kid Posted October 27, 2019 Author Share Posted October 27, 2019 That is cool! The Plymouth also uses the roof, so I'm told. Control head goes in the left side ash tray door and it's vertically oriented. Here is the correct Motorola control. Thehttps://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F283649383377 Philco looks a little different. This didn't say Plymouth, but I believe it's correct. Just missing the face plate. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F283649367490 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jpage Posted October 29, 2019 Share Posted October 29, 2019 The Plymouth control blank is different than the '36 as the '36 had curved ashtrays. The Motorola was an aftermarket unit sold in '36. They had a regular car radio and a special police radio. The police radios have a special nameplate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vette-kid Posted October 29, 2019 Author Share Posted October 29, 2019 Any idea if that Motorola control head would work with a Philco box? There is a nice Motorola control head on eBay for a good price right now. I've got a Philco box on the way. No idea of either work at all. There is a Philco control head to, but it's missing the face plate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vette-kid Posted October 29, 2019 Author Share Posted October 29, 2019 https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F283649383377 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vette-kid Posted October 29, 2019 Author Share Posted October 29, 2019 And the Philco, sans faceplate https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F283649367490 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vette-kid Posted October 29, 2019 Author Share Posted October 29, 2019 This shows the control heads better https://sites.google.com/site/identifyingcarradios/home/radios-2/plymouth-1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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