New trucks, old trucks, farm trucks, and custom classic trucks are the current craze-for both utility and the fun of owning an affordable vintage vehicle. Whether yours was found resting in a barn or handed down from a family member, trucks have become sentimental favorites of the hobby crowd. And most, if not all, of these classic haulers needed (or will need) to be re-wired at some point.
A Painless harness (PN 10206) was chosen since it's designed to fit '67-72 GM trucks. The kit comes with an updated fuse block and heavy high-temperature wire for years of trouble-free service.
Vintage-vehicle lover Dave Foerster discovered he had the desire for a classic truck. He went on the hunt for a solid-running, but affordable, truck that still needed a few finishing touches. He located a '72 Chevrolet shortwide-bed pickup that was waiting for the installation of an air conditioner. The A/C unit and all the parts came with the truck, but the wiring needed to be replaced. Since Dave lives nearby in Bedford, Texas (a Dallas/Fort Worth mid-city), he contacted the capable crew at Painless Performance, and they volunteered to help with the electrical harness installation for training purposes.
For those of you who might have been reluctant to tackle the installation of a wiring panel, follow along with our story to see how (if you follow the instructions) you too can install a wiring panel and re-wire your own classic truck.
Mike Burke and Jeff Abbott decided it would be a good idea to first remove the hood for maximum engine compartment accessibility.
We wanted the side-marker bulbs to flash along with the turn signals-one of the two wires coming from the marker-light socket was attached to the park-light wire and the other was attached to the turn-signal wire. When the turn-signal wire is hot, current flows through the light and is grounded by the park light bulb filament. When the park light wire is hot, the opposite occurs, passing current through the turn filament of the bulb.
