Burned wires under the dash, now dead as a door nail...

[75alive]

Thanks, I had actually just found that in searching the forums. I'm wondering if a rebuild is worth it, vs the relatively little expense if having a known working unit. And as a side thought, I'm sure this will happen again, should I just go ahead and plan a complete rewiring project?

[rrrrob]

Deciding to completely rewire your car is a big decision that you will have to make for yourself. There is a lot to be said for keeping it stock, and I have to say that if I could have saved my stock system I would have. I did decide to completely replace mine, but I made that decision on 2 key factors. First the previous owner had butchered the original, splices had splices. I swear no wire was left uncut. It was a mess. Second the corrosion was so bad that wire would break off in the insulation and pull out black and brittle.

I chose to go with a Painless Performance wiring kit. I made the decision and bought my kit long before I found this site. The great thing was when I searched the forum I found that baltobernie had also replaced his with a similar kit and he documented his process. He was kind enough to share it with me when I asked, and I'm very grateful for his help. Even though the harness he used and the one I chose were slightly different most of the harness is exactly the same. As I progress I'm creating a digram as well.

Now…. once again, I would highly suggest saving the original if at all possible, for many reasons. But if you decide it's to far gone….. by the way mine is a 75 also.

[majicwrench]

Rewiring, in my humble opinion, is almost never neccessary, and I would encourage no one to rewire their car. Previous butchering can be fixed. Corrosion...that's a diff matter, though I have never seen a harness so corroded it needed replacement.
Keith

[75alive]

That sounds fair and replacing the butchered sections by making sub-harnesses would probably work better and be less work. Since getting a replacement switch with key is time consuming and I'm suspect of my ability to successfully rebuild mine, hire about a push-button ignition?