BrianM Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 Most of my wire harness on my 70 is wrapped in what looks to be electrical tape but either the adhesive is gone or it never was a goopy mess most electrical tape turns into. I am not worried about being 100% authentic. I just want to rewrap portions that are missing and to be able to hide what I add so it looks somewhat factory. What are you guys using and what do you recommend? Tesa tape? Something else? Thanks, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTX-SLPR Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 I use Harness Tape from CE Electrical (https://ceautoelectricsupply.com/product/tesa-34-pet-exterior-tape/) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XframeFX Posted July 26, 2023 Share Posted July 26, 2023 (edited) 10 hours ago, BrianM said: What are you guys using and what do you recommend? Amazing what quality parts were used during GM assembly. After-market seldom "Meets or Exceeds OE Specifications". So, does harness tape purchased today meet that spec? Why not go one better, a product that wasn't available back in 1970? You'd want "SELF VULANIZING SILICONE TAPE". This was a specialty tape available only at Industrial suppliers and manufactured by 3M and Plysil. Only now, it's sold at Box stores at a fraction of industrial prices. The tape is laced with cellophane and has a high temp rating. You stretch it on and it vulcanizes. You will want 1-mil Black silicone tape. Patch-up is one thing. But, to re-wrap a harness requires skilled craftsmen at GM's Packard Electric. With Silicone Tape, no skill is required and patches-up old wrap perfectly. Conventional wrap is for re-wrapping a whole harness from scratch. While stripping my old 1963 harness, I observed what skill went into it and the quality of the wrap which I still have in a pile. 60 years old! I very much doubt harness tape today has the same quality. Edited July 27, 2023 by XframeFX (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianM Posted July 27, 2023 Author Share Posted July 27, 2023 Thank you. This is what I was looking for. I knew the tesa tape would work well but wouldn't even be close to matching the factory product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbinator Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 John, thanks for the heads up on the self vulcanizing silicone tape. im fixing up a harness output from an alternator. This should do the trick. than you Turbinator Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RivNut Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 Why would you want to “vulcanize” the tape to the wire? You’re going to have a real mess on your hands should you ever need to unwrap your harness. A tape with adhesive wasn’t used by the factory. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmTee Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 The tape bonds to itself; it won't stick permanently to the wire jacket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulldogDriver Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 I’ve not had much luck with silicone tape. Personally I rewrapped my harness with plastic harness wrap and then over that 3M Super 33+ electrical tape. Harness can flex as originally meant to and the tape gives it a better abrasion resistance than the thinner plastic wrap made today. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 Here is what I use. Pay close attention to the technique as you dismantle yours. https://www.yearone.com/Product/chrysler-b-body/hwrap2 https://www.yearone.com/Product/chrysler-b-body/hwrap2# Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CTX-SLPR Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 Is the Super 33+ higher temperature rated? I've had a lot of trouble with Super 33 turning into a gooey mess even inside the passenger compartment, much less the engine bay. The best stuff I've used is made by Plymouth and I was going to say it's expensive but Waytek Wiring has it for much less than what I remember https://www.waytekwire.com/brands/plymouth-rubber/Electrical-Tape Looks like I'll switch back to that stuff for the engine bay and keep the TESA tape for the cabin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 It is quite possible to make a nice wire harness with electrical tape. It doesn't need to be a gooey mess. You would be taping a whole harness that is not mounted in the car. Back in the bad old days before all these fancy restoration supplies were readily available, I made several. Most were "piggyback" harnesses to add some non-original feature, but I have also repaired and re-taped entire harnesses. If anyone wants to try it, post back and I'll have some hints. You need a helper, it's not a one person job. There is probably no good reason to do it this way when you can just buy the correct materials, but it can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BulldogDriver Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 3M 33 or 88 electric tape has been my go to for many years. I’ve never had a problem with either. Could just be my luck. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arnulfo de l.a. Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 On 7/26/2023 at 1:41 PM, XframeFX said: Amazing what quality parts were used during GM assembly. After-market seldom "Meets or Exceeds OE Specifications". So, does harness tape purchased today meet that spec? Why not go one better, a product that wasn't available back in 1970? You'd want "SELF VULANIZING SILICONE TAPE". This was a specialty tape available only at Industrial suppliers and manufactured by 3M and Plysil. Only now, it's sold at Box stores at a fraction of industrial prices. The tape is laced with cellophane and has a high temp rating. You stretch it on and it vulcanizes. You will want 1-mil Black silicone tape. Patch-up is one thing. But, to re-wrap a harness requires skilled craftsmen at GM's Packard Electric. With Silicone Tape, no skill is required and patches-up old wrap perfectly. Conventional wrap is for re-wrapping a whole harness from scratch. While stripping my old 1963 harness, I observed what skill went into it and the quality of the wrap which I still have in a pile. 60 years old! I very much doubt harness tape today has the same quality. When I was working as a IBEW electrician in this beautiful city of LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA,this is what we used for terminating high horsepower 480 volt ac industrial electric motors topped off with scotch 33. This is overkill for cars being a car only puts out 14 volts dc at best. In a low voltage system like a cars system the main concern is protection from heat and chaffing from rubbing on metal edges. For those reasons I have used scotch 33 . It is the industry standard in the commercial electrical construction field and when applied properly and is good up to 600v ac.But now I prefer TESA because its tougher than scotch 33 and looks better than scotch 33 in our cars and sticks as good as scotch 33. It is important that the wire harness be cleaned prior to installing tape. No dirt or oil on the surface. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
60FlatTop Posted August 20, 2023 Share Posted August 20, 2023 I was faithful to the original wrapping method when I did mine. I duplicated the underlying tape runner trough out the branches and wrapped as original so the tie loop terminations were the same. The non-adhesive original style tape was hard to do. Adhesive tape of any kind would have been a real problem and I would have had the wash the adhesive off to get my ends right. The Year One product is exactly like the original. Start unwrapping your harness. You may say "Counterintuitive will be my word of the day..... for at least a week." 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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