When it comes to vintage specialty vehicles, there never seems to be an end to ideas and designs. From a '30s street rod to the rebuild of a '70s muscle car, an enthusiast will go out of their way to have something like no other. The same goes for Dick Coup of Ft. Worth, Texas. Dick has been a fan of road track racing all his life and has participated on the ISCA show circuit with his '64 Corvette. Dick, a master of fiberglass, decided to build another Corvette which would be a modified replica of the '63 Grand Sport (only five were produced and all have been restored).
The first thing John did was...
The first thing John did was to lay out all the wiring on a bench and get familiar with the overall design. The fuse block is pre-wired with all the circuits that are fused, and the wires that go to devices-such as headlights-from the switches are in marked bags for easy identification.
As with any complete build or restoration, several things need to be accomplished. Wiring is one of those necessary items for proper vehicle operation and dependability. Dick contacted the folks at Painless Performance (also in Ft. Worth) for advice on his wiring needs. John Roberts, one of the guys seen in the Painless booth at many shows, went to look at the Corvette and suggested the use of one of Painless' new Micro Remote mount harnesses. This harness will allow the fuse block to be mounted anywhere in the car. This filled the bill because Dick wanted the fuse block in the center console along with all the other special electrical switches.
Great pains were taken to make the car a one of a kind-even down to the small lights that illuminate the numbers on the doors. The micro harness has enough circuits for all the options-even for the air conditioning Dick is adding. Being the car show guy he is, Dick even made special tubes and troughs to hold and conceal the wiring.
Wiring is usually something that is done by someone other than the enthusiast car owner because of how intimidating it can be. Dick is no different. "I'll do almost anything with fiberglass but the wiring, I leave that to someone else" In the following segments, John will show how easy the Painless harness was to install.
With the base installed, the...
With the base installed, the fuse block snaps on and the wires are routed to their destination.
The fuse-block mounting base...
The fuse-block mounting base was installed on a special bracket Dick had designed. When finished, the bracket will swing out for easy access to the fuse block and wiring.
All the wires are labeled...
All the wires are labeled their entire length and here John is double-checking some of them to ensure they are routed correctly.
John mounts the maxi fuse...
John mounts the maxi fuse which will protect the entire electrical system from a major electrical short or incident. The key to placement of the maxi fuse is ease of servicing.
Shown is an example of the...
Shown is an example of the wires and the destination printing on them. The wire is all high-temperature TXL, which resists not only heat but chemicals also.
With each group of lay-in...
With each group of lay-in wires individually packaged, a few circuits can be installed, and, when completed, the next group can be installed.