1968Cutlassfallbrook

Hello,

I have been thinking of swapping out my factory harness for something newer and i was wondering what people thought of the aftermarket harness's that are sold is there companies better then others or does it hurt the value going to modern fuses or does the judges not really look at that? anyway I was just curious what people thought as it seem it would be cheaper going non stock to aftermarket.

rcorrigan5

I had to change out the engine compartment and front light harnesses in my '68 as the originals were frayed and cut. I got repros from Fusick and they went in just as easy as the old ones came out. I'm completely satisfied with them. I compared the new harnesses with my originals side by side and they appeared to be exactly the same.

Randy C.

Rickman48

Most of the aftermarket harnesses I've seen, have the correct colors, clips, and fuses.
Punch up two things in search: fire and harness, and you'll see why people are changing them.
Although I've not taken anything to a show, if a 'judge' took off points for upgraded wiring, I'd be thinking twice about a show circuit!
Where would you find a 'stock' one - they're all aftermarket now!

1968Cutlassfallbrook

Well you have the stock style fuses and the aftermarket with the newer fuses like painless or one of those other companies. That's what I meaning aftermarket vs getting something thats factory style.

501Paratrooper

I redid my engine harness, went to AmericanAutowire's site figured out which ones I needed and put the part numbers into RockAuto.com and got them for a lot less than from AA.
I was very pleased with the quality ease of installation and especially the price.
Search Rock Auto discount code and get an extra 5% off.

Good luck.

joe_padavano

Since the OP is talking about newer fuses, I assume he's asking about a generic, one-size-fits-none aftermarket harness, NOT a reproduction factory harness. The reproductions, if done correctly, shouldn't be distinguishable from OEM. The street-rod harnesses will be more "painful" than the advertising makes them out to be.

allyolds68

When I bought my car it came with a replacement engine and forward light harness from Year One. I can't remember who manufactured it. There's really not much to either, especially the engine harness. You'd have a fairly easy time repairing an old one to "factory" correct by replacing the few butchered wires. Every 68 (& I assume 69's) seem to suffer from undersize light harness wires. I've taken 4 or 5 apart and they all have some degree of heat damage where the forward light harness plugs in. I think that's why a lot of people replace them.

If you are talking about going to an upgraded fuse block that's a lot of work.

I completely rebuilt the under dash harness and it was pretty simple. I had a couple of old harnesses that I stole wires from to eliminate the butchered stuff. I also used the old ones as a reference so I knew where to "drop off" the various plugs. I could have replaced the fuse block but seeing as a stock one fits perfectly in that square hole in the firewall it didn't make sense. I also took the time to add a wire for the tach lead to each side of the harness (under-dash and engine) so I didn't have a single wire passing through a hole in the firewall.