Electrical: new wiring harness

[bob mulhern]

redoing 58 silver hawk and electrical is next on the list . Are the new complete wiring harness the way to go and are the companies that supply them close in quality? Also anyone give me an idea on install time for front harness by someone who knows electrical repair work on cars? I live in new england and labor is not cheap. it is not a job i would tackle>

[53commander]

Although I never used them, Lark Works has an impressive website so it may be worth a phone call. http://www.larkworks.net/

[Warren Webb]

The last harness I bought(for my 62 Champ)was from Studebakers West. Impressive workmanship & exactly the same except for the coil wire. They cannot produce a resistance wire but in your case I don't believe the 57 Hawk had one. I think it has a ballast resistor there, right?

[rockne10]

Bob,
The Studebaker harnesses from our Studebaker vendors are outstanding. They have been installed in practically every show winner in SDC competition.
You say "it is not a job i would tackle."
It's one of those you should!
Simply cut the old harness clean where it passes through the firewall. Disconnect and reconnect each terminal under the dash, one at a time.
Then feed the new harness through the firewall and repeat the one at a time terminal swap under the hood.
It's not rocket science and, not only will it cost virtually nothing, it will give you huge satisfaction; and teach you much about how your car functions.

[Pentax645]

I like Lark Works because all wire ends are numbered with a spec sheet telling where each wire is to be connected. it saves a LOT of time when installing. Quality is top notch.

[Dads Baby]

I got mine from Lark Works. It was super easy. The hardest part for me was under the dash. I just pulled the front seat and put some pads on the floor and used a florescent trouble light! One wire at a time! Everything was labeled and all the connectors/wire colors were just like the originals. Donald even supplies all the light bulbs too!

[Bud]

I've used harnesses from Studebakers West on several rewiring jobs and I'm happy with the quality and their prices are good. Figure on 20 hours to install a new harness. It isn't hard to do for someone that has done it before, but the job is labor intensive. Bud

[bob mulhern]

thanks for the input

Although I never used them, Lark Works has an impressive website so it may be worth a phone call. http://www.larkworks.net/

[bob mulhern]

not sure my son is tge tech guy

[bob mulhern]

thanks might give it a try could be a long winter time killer!

[bob mulhern]

good info -cars look same color scheme

[alex54]

I would look at what my skills are, the time I have, and what exactly I want to accomplish.

I completely re-wired 2 cars myself...a 49 Chevy and a 69 Triumph...because it needed it and I can do it myself. But, it looks like I re-wired it myself. It does not look bad, but it does not look stock. I used as many as the original colors as possible, but its not 100% accurate. I also did not have stock connections. I used gm weather packs. It functions and it's safe. That is what I wanted.

Now on my Studebaker, I wanted everything to be as stock looking as possible. This is the most original vintage car I have, and I wanted to keep it that way. So I went with Larkworks. Donald at Larkworks uses factory blueprints, factory colors and factory connections. This is not the cheapest solution, but it's what I wanted for the car. The other vendors did not have a harness for my particular model. Donald has to make the harness when ordered, so there is about a 2-3 month waiting period.

[bezhawk]

Studebakers West is a good product, but a year or more wait time is totally unacceptable . I have tried to order form them on numerous occasions over the last few years, and was always told they were back ordered, and out of stock. I did always call back like six months later to check for updates, and was told the same thing.

[Studebakercenteroforegon]

Studebakers West is a good product, but a year or more wait time is totally unacceptable . I have tried to order form them on numerous occasions over the last few years, and was always told they were back ordered, and out of stock. I did always call back like six months later to check for updates, and was told the same thing.

I have been buying my harnesses from Studebakers West for many years now, and I have never had any delivery issues. Usually they arrive sooner than I expect them.

[rusty65]

I was lucky enough to get an original harness for my Daytona from Studebaker International.I have been hesitant about doing the job myself.However, between advise gathered on this Forum and Showbizkid's Studeblogger (where he chronicles doing a harness replacement on his Lark),I just may get enough gumption to do this myself.It seems like my CASO 'one wire at a time'method is not working.
@bob mulhern--let us know what you wind up doing.I'm interested in knowing.