Looking for some input on new wiring for a 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T

[CoronetRTrestor]

I am new here, my apologies if this has been covered in another thread. I searched but did not see any that matched what I am looking for. If someone wants to share a link to another post that covers this, I will gladly read through it. Anyways, I am looking for some input on putting in a new wiring harness for my 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T and was hoping someone on here has some insight. It technically still has all the old wires in place, I am not sure if they work or not though. The car is stripped down to the bare metal, so I have access to everything currently. I have read a few different places about the old wiring harnesses liking to catch fire once you start sending a current through them after having sat for a while. I would hate to not update the wiring and have my car be a fireball in a year or two because I was "That Guy" who didn't just redo it now when it is all accessible. What I am looking for are a few simple things that hopefully this community can offer me some help with:

- Does anyone know if a "Painless Wiring Harness" will work well with a 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T?
- If not, does anyone have a different brand that works better?
- Is it worth rewiring the car or should I just roll with the old wiring (I have a friend who is an ASE certified technician who has rewired cars before, he is going to do the work, lol, not me, I know my skill level, no worries there)?
- And the last question, is there anything involved with rewiring a Dodge Coronet that I should be aware of that is not your typical procedure or any sort of issue to be aware of that I / my friend might run into?

I appreciate anyone taking the time out of their day or night to answer this, hopefully it is not a pain to find the right harness. I am not sure what other info may or may not be pertinent. Here is what I have to work with:

1967 Dodge Coronet R/T
engine is a 440, that was purchased and put in before I bought it, not the original engine
Stripped down to the bare metal, no interior currently, though I do have the old ratty seats
No exhaust, currently
Appears to be a TorqueFlite transmission, but I am not sure (need to look up how to determine what it is)
No clue what is in the rear end for gears
Automatic transmission - floor shifter, not column
I have both the small 1967 Dodge Coronet Wiring Harness book, and the Dodge Service Manual as well for reference material

Not really sure if any of that info is even helpful for wiring (probably not, lol) but if anyone is willing to offer advice and has any questions, please let me know and I will answer to the best of my abilities! Thanks for taking the time to read my post, hopefully I will get some good advice from the community that I can apply towards my restoration of this beauty. I do have pics that I can post, but I think most people on here have seen a car mid-restoration, it is not in the best of shape right now. But let me know and I will post pics.

 

[Jerry Hall]

Welcome from Alabama. First off your questions are a big mouthful. Not they are not realistic, but we know nothing about your intended use of the car, or any intended upgrades. Most of my builds are basically stock with maybe a little increase in power, so I am satisfied with the stock wiring. It needs to be checked for any alterations, cuts, or splices. Also a through cleaning of the bulkhead connections. Make sure the wiring is still flexible and there are no cracked or weathered wires. New original style replacement harnesses are available for plug and play installation. Any aftermarket wiring requires a lot of modifications. Under dash harnesses usually survive quite well unless a lot of aftermarket things have been added and removed over the years. My findings are that the engine wiring harness gets the most abuse over time. There are relay kits available by a member here that allow you to upgrade your lights without putting a strain on your forward light harness.
Best to you on your restoration.

 

[topside]

^^^ Yup. Condition is everything, really. Potential trouble spots aren't too difficult: ammeter, bulkhead connector, column harness connector.
If a harness requires replacement, reproduction from one of the established guys (Evans, M&H) is best: basically plug & play, and the FSM is your guide for that.
For non-stock, American Autowire has general and specific kits, and I've been happy with them; some of the Painless stuff is anything but, and I'm hearing that Ron Francis' stuff has been declining in quality.
Auto transmissions can be readily identified by their pans - I'd bet on it being a 727 - but there are numerous variations. #s along the pan rail will provide a better ID, but only way to know what's inside is to open it up; probably not worth the bother for street use, unless of course there's a problem. Hopefully the converter matches the engine's balancing.

 

[Don Frelier]

I think replacing the engine harness at this point on any car 50+ years old is a good idea.
The heat under the hood makes the insulation stiff and you'll usually find the wires have a black color instead of copper whe you strip anything back.

Usually the interior harness is in much better condition but you should carefully inspect the female terminals on the bulkhead connector where they come through the firewall.
It's possible the replace these connectors as well as the bulkhead. Not real easy but it can be done.

I would look at Classic Industries, particularly the "modified" style which is set up for electronic ignition and electronic voltage regulator.
Unfortunately their search engine is pretty crappy you need to sort through a bunch of harnesses.
Just be sure you know what you're looking for and double check the description.

 

[493 Mike]

If you have enough years left in you, devote some time to learn about 12 volt wiring and circuits. It is not difficult. Then purchase the wire (many colors). terminals, shrink wrap and loom (different sizes), correct crimping pliers and do it yourself. I'm positive it won't be as involved as my current project.
Mike

 

[rmchrgr]

Does your ASE Certified tech friend know anything about vintage Chrysler products? I used to be an ASE certified tech myself and can tell you that only the basic ideas regarding proper wiring would translate to rewiring an older car. Is your friend detail oriented and take pride in his work? Does he have the correct Packard 56 open barrel crimping tool and a variety of other electrical work tools including a good volt meter? Is he willing to think outside the box when he is presented with something that is not in the instructions? Does he use quick splices or yellow insulated crimp terminals? I hope not...

I've rewired a few cars myself including most recently my '68 Coronet. I've used American Autowire twice now but I can't say I'd recommend using their kits over another brand. While the kits are complete and use decent wire, they base everything off GM wiring and connectors and tailor it to fit other makes. Their replacement bulkhead connector is terrible. It does not fit well because it's made to fit GM products. Plus, they want you to drill holes in your firewall to secure it properly which is asking a lot. Trust me when I say their A body fuse box in particular is a monstrosity and possibly one of the worst aftermarket parts I've ever had to deal with. It was so awkward and cumbersome I cut everything out of it and replaced it with a generic one to 'make things easier.'

They also give you so much extra stuff that you'd likely never use (like power seat and window wires) but you have no choice about it because it comes pre-wired into the harness. If you don't care about extra coiled up wires just hanging out taking up space then whatever but if you're like me, (or you buddy is) you'll end up spending a lot of time and effort re-working your brand-new, $900+ wiring harness to make it fit and function like it's supposed to.

If you don't care about "modern upgrades" like blade fuse boxes or TXL wire or '90s connectors I'd just look for basic replacement harnesses from one of the Mopar specific parts houses. They will plug right in and fit and function like they're supposed to.

Or, you could always just unwrap your original harnesses and check them out. If you find damaged wires you replace them as needed then re-wrap everything and put it back in. If it's never really been messed with, I'd look into that option before plunking down $XX amount for a new harness. Sometimes these aftermarket parts create more hassle than they're worth.

 

[Don Frelier]

This one was really easy:

 

[CoronetRTrestor]

Does your ASE Certified tech friend know anything about vintage Chrysler products? I used to be an ASE certified tech myself and can tell you that only the basic ideas regarding proper wiring would translate to rewiring an older car. Is your friend detail oriented and take pride in his work? Does he have the correct Packard 56 open barrel crimping tool and a variety of other electrical work tools including a good volt meter? Is he willing to think outside the box when he is presented with something that is not in the instructions? Does he use quick splices or yellow insulated crimp terminals? I hope not...

I've rewired a few cars myself including most recently my '68 Coronet. I've used American Autowire twice now but I can't say I'd recommend using their kits over another brand. While the kits are complete and use decent wire, they base everything off GM wiring and connectors and tailor it to fit other makes. Their replacement bulkhead connector is terrible. It does not fit well because it's made to fit GM products. Plus, they want you to drill holes in your firewall to secure it properly which is asking a lot. Trust me when I say their A body fuse box in particular is a monstrosity and possibly one of the worst aftermarket parts I've ever had to deal with. It was so awkward and cumbersome I cut everything out of it and replaced it with a generic one to 'make things easier.'

They also give you so much extra stuff that you'd likely never use (like power seat and window wires) but you have no choice about it because it comes pre-wired into the harness. If you don't care about extra coiled up wires just hanging out taking up space then whatever but if you're like me, (or you buddy is) you'll end up spending a lot of time and effort re-working your brand-new, $900+ wiring harness to make it fit and function like it's supposed to.

If you don't care about "modern upgrades" like blade fuse boxes or TXL wire or '90s connectors I'd just look for basic replacement harnesses from one of the Mopar specific parts houses. They will plug right in and fit and function like they're supposed to.

Or, you could always just unwrap your original harnesses and check them out. If you find damaged wires you replace them as needed then re-wrap everything and put it back in. If it's never really been messed with, I'd look into that option before plunking down $XX amount for a new harness. Sometimes these aftermarket parts create more hassle than they're worth.

Thank you for your response! I should have been a bit more specific about my friend and his experience with old cars. Him and one of our others friends from H.S., their dad owned a small company that would salvage old parts from all around and refurbish and then resell them as well as work on old school cars (H.S. was at the dawn of the internet - 2002 graduate, ebay and such did not really exist yet). He has been crawling over cars since he was about 14, 15, and this has been his only profession. He has rewired other old school cars, but I cannot remember what they were, as well as has done some more modern wiring in his Chevy pickup and some of our other friends cars/suv's. He has a lot of tools, I do not know what he has or does not have, specifically, but I would be amazed if he dove into this and did not have the necessary tools for the job (though I will check!). He has a lot of hands on experience, and yes, he can think outside of the box, is detail oriented and does take pride in his work (I would never have asked for his help if I thought otherwise).

As for the prewired harnesses that would have extra offerings (power seats, power windows, etc) you are correct. Neither my buddy nor I would care to see loose wires wrapped up and hanging, even if they were hidden, I had not even thought of that, thank you. This old gal is pretty basic, crank windows and sliding seats, not powered, which is ok with me. Though my friend is offering his help, I do not want to make him have to work any harder than is needed, so thank you for the heads up about that with the other wiring kits. I will keep my eye out for that as I go forward.

No, I do not really care about "modern upgrades", at least not that I can tell...? Only thing I really plan on upgrading is to buy one of those new "old" radios that looks like one from back in the day, but allows my to connect my phone over bluetooth. That is the only real "upgrade" that I have planned, and I think that should still work with the normal wiring for the radio (not sure, need to verify!). My plan is just have this as a bit of a toy driver, not planning on taking it to the track, or putting a supercharger on it or any of that. I just want to hear that old gal purr when I turn the key or roar when I put my foot into it, and to enjoy driving it around town, and go to a few local car shows. Nothing fancy, just something for me to enjoy (single, no kids, 40).

As for checking the old wiring, I will have to see if my buddy can swing by and show me what to look for as far as damage goes. Fairly sure that this car is rocking a lot of old, original parts, so I don't think that the old system was ever messed with much... but, I do not know. I will have to look into it.


And to everyone else that I did not respond to yet, thank you also for all of your input!! I am doing this while at work, lol, so I will try and find time to respond to everyone! All of the information is greatly appreciated!

 

[gtx6970]

I would highly recommend M+H harness.

Exactly like OEM makes them 0lug and play