Well today was the day to try and attack the wiring harness. It seemed to go pretty well in the end but it took it quite a while and man was it hot today – high 97F. If you’ve never done this before, I had not, it actually is not too bad and it’s reasonably logical.
The main things I learned are the bullet connectors aren’t too bad and you want to pull on the harness connector side if you’re removing the main harness. You can get them out with pliers if needed but pull back the insulators and make sure you get hold if the bullet connector.
Also, when getting the harness out from behind the dash the lights for the gauges and turn signals etc. look like they’re permanently attached. Obviously they’re not but the trick is to twist and basically the bulb and the fitting slides out of the inside of the barrel housing that holds the bulb into/on the gauge. If that doesn’t work a twist with a flat head screwdriver between the edge of the barrel and the end of the connector should get things started.
The tach is also quite difficult and there are two connectors that seemed to use a bullet style connector. These are really tough to get out and I suggest you simply remove the gauge to get to them. The removal of the knurled nuts and spacers will take care of this.
Lastly dragging the main harness out seemed to work best for me by pulling it through the firewall from the engine bay back into the passenger area. You may also want to push through some of the branch wiring fist to manage the quantity trying to get through the firewall at the same time.
Side Covers, Aside
So that was about it for today. I did also remove the carbs and manifolds again to fix the engine side cover. The cover came off OK once I got the cork gasket separated a little bit. However, when trying to bolt it up again it seems the bolt is too long. Probably because it’s a front bolt that was used with the cover that was a front cover upside down – maybe Sears will be able to hook me up tomorrow.
Should be getting the new harness on Monday so more fun begins then I guess!
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