IML: Rickard and Anna's Wiring Story

Paul,

I've followed the discussions on the IML about rewiring 55 and 56 Imperials. 
It's
frustration not to be able to answer as we are in the process of making a 
complete
wiring system to our car and have quite a lot of input to contribute with. Right 
now
we are one (1!!!) wire from having done the complete system. I was interupted 
the
other day so I was not able to finish up...
However, here's the scope of our project if you're willing to post it on the IML 
for
us:

We decided to go all the way with our wiring system and replace it completely. 
We
looked around for companies who made complete systems but decided to do all the
wiring our selves. We used the FSM as reference to get correct colours and cross
sectional area of all the wires. We then bought modern cables as functionality 
and
cost was prioritized before originality. However we have wrapped the different
harnesses as they were from the factory so you can only tell it's not original 
were
you see the cable ends coming out of the harness.
The biggest problem in this project was to find the original Flag type ring 
lugs.
Once those were found it all has been quite straigth forward. We removed the
instrument panel, steering wheel and the interior of the car (seats and floor
carpet) to be able to get to all of the different harnesess. There are three 
major
harnesses in our car, one going to the engine compartment (lights, charging,
starting etc.), one for the power windows and one for the rear lights.
I will be more than happy to share my experienses so far, I also have like a ton 
of
pictures taken during the process. To those considering doing work on the 
electrical
system the most important thing is to be thorough and mark every cable as the 
are
removed. Also this is a very time consuming work if done properly. We thought we
would have our car out running this summer but we're still working on it. We've 
been
delayed a couple of times when we had to order some parts from the US, had we 
been
properly prepared this could have been avoided. Make sure you have everything as 
far
as possible before you undertake a job like this. It will save both time and 
money.
This has been a very fun project so far and it is very rewarding to assemble 
fresh
wiring in the car. We did find some really disturbing damage on the old system
though it looked qite good when we started. We found at least three plases where 
the
insulation was damaged to the extent it had been shorts. Under the floor carpet 
we
found it had burned and also under the instrument panel. We did consider to only
make repairs to our system but the problem is to work with the old cables as the
insulation is very brittle and falls apart when you start moving the cables 
around.
For us making the complete system turned out to be the best solution and I've
learned a lot along the way.

Regards,


Rickard & Anna Sporre, Katrineholm SWEDEN          
www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1955/Sporre/index.htm
1955 Imperial & 1969 Ford Mustang Mach1