Hey guys. I really don't like the look o the thick bundle of convoluted tubing running across the engine and over the passenger side. Who had tried hiding and cleaning up the look? What has worked for you guys? I really suck at soldering, but I need to get better and practice, so I'm open to ideas that require lengthening wires too. And heck, while we are on that topic, does anyone have any tips for getting a decent solder? I'm terrible.

A good..HOT iron...tin both pieces first then heat and stick.

yeah, what he said.

many ways to solder, try looking on youtube for a how to video.

ive seen guys take various types of tube and run the wires through it - pvc, aluminum, stainless - even polished.....

but the best i have seen was the mil spec cannon plug dead center in the firewall on a corvette - just awesome.

i should try to find that thing and post a pic of it.

I've seen that military spec connector on the Corvette. That is a very tidy way of doing it. I don't think it would help in this case though, since the PCM is under the hood. That would definitely be cool on a street rod. I was thinking of doing that on my 54 Chevy P/U project.

Jeff

I've thought about the tubing idea, but I'm not sure how to finish off the tube after the connectors exit. What I mean is, I would be feeding the wires down the tubes but at the end with the pig tails I would want a clean look. I will try to find some pictures to see how others have done it. Steel or aluminum tubing would probably look cool and since this is going in my Chevelle some of the Vortec wiring is already gone since it is unnecessary. If anyone has any pictures of cars and trucks with clever ideas post em up! I'd love to see the cannon mil spec plug. Sounds cool but like a lot more residing than I want or need. I'm mostly looking to make the main bundle look better than the big black tubing that is there now.

HA!!! found it



http://www.montygwilliams.com/

That's pretty cool! I I ever rewire a car again I will remember this! So much nicer looking than the big plastic plugs and screws that are on production harnesses.

Nobody ever said you had to have a single large plug coming out. You could also have multiple smaller portals from the firewall, allowing you to have the wiring come out at the point closest to the item it wires up. Since you want to use hard tubing to hide the wires, with a lot of work you could lay the wires in with right angles that follow the engine's visual lines. They make those milspec plugs in multiple sizes, and they have different connections to make them dummyproof.

Personally I never had a problem with just using plain wire loom to keep the wiring together and safe from damage. If you do decide to use metal tubing, it'll be very important to make sure there are no sharp edges anywhere wiring comes into contact with metal. Vibration will eventually cause any edges on the tubing to wear through the wiring insulation and cause a short. I'd not use metal tubing myself, but that's just me. They do make a metal look plastic loom though, and it would be easier and safer to use than actual metal tubing. Here's an example, but I use this place as an example only. I've never heard anything about them or used them.

Speeder wrote:

Nobody ever said you had to have a single large plug coming out. You could also have multiple smaller portals from the firewall, allowing you to have the wiring come out at the point closest to the item it wires up. Since you want to use hard tubing to hide the wires, with a lot of work you could lay the wires in with right angles that follow the engine's visual lines. They make those milspec plugs in multiple sizes, and they have different connections to make them dummyproof.

Personally I never had a problem with just using plain wire loom to keep the wiring together and safe from damage. If you do decide to use metal tubing, it'll be very important to make sure there are no sharp edges anywhere wiring comes into contact with metal. Vibration will eventually cause any edges on the tubing to wear through the wiring insulation and cause a short. I'd not use metal tubing myself, but that's just me. They do make a metal look plastic loom though, and it would be easier and safer to use than actual metal tubing. Here's an example, but I use this place as an example only. I've never heard anything about them or used them.

No, I was saying that the factory harness had big ugly plugs. The mil spec ones aren't big and ugly. They look cool and seem like they would be easy enough to use.

I am kinda on the same page as you when it comes to using metal tubing. Unless I can come up with a way to finish the tube and have the wire come out nice then that's not going to be an option. Well, it's just ideas for now. I have to research more I guess.

Those mil spec plugs are/were popular with import tuners. It's called "wire tuck". Some kid used to travel across America to rewire cars...

http://www.importtuner.com/tech/0705_impp_wireless_engine_bay_tricks/viewall.html

FYI those things are called "circular connectors" and can be purchased from Mouser or any big electronics warehouse.

I could see hiding the ugly wiring if you built a show truck. There's lots of money tied up in building a show truck. It would be ruined with wires running every where. For me, its not worth it. If I built a EFI mud bog truck, the computor would be going inside the cab.