Wiring Harness

[mdelapp]

What are a couple of suggested vendors for a pre-cut wiring harness for 6 volt system?
One that looks like the old cloth type

[55coupe]

Call Studebaker West

[StudeRich]

You do know that 95% of the Chassis Harness is Black Vinyl taped, so that only the breakout ends are visible right?
The one and only exact factory coded Studebaker Harness Mfg. in Plastic coated wire, is as you have seen in your TW, Studebakers West. You could ask if they will do cloth, but I doubt it.

[mbstude]

Rhode Island Wiring http://www.riwire.com/ makes a harness exactly like the originals. It's made of modern, plastic wrapped wire. But they go the extra step and wrap it in cloth too for the right appearance.

[StudeRich]

Interesting, Matt because post war Studebakers did not have cloth wrap.

UPDATE: OK that may have been an OVERSTATEMENT! It seems that as John Clary said, from '47 on to '55 improvements/enhancements were made along the way to the Chassis Harnesses.

I would never give cloth a second thought though, since they Rot, Crack & Burn, ever since 1962 when I pulled the old Harness and Dash out of my '54 Starliner H.T. and replaced it with a '57 OEM 12V PLASTIC coated Harness and a '57 Golden Hawk dash I never gave it a thought again, or looked back!

As I remember it though, the wires were as mentioned here, rubber dipped, cloth wrapped, BUT the BUNDLE was Vinyl tape wrapped, so that is all you could see is black tape. If I remembered it wrong for 1954, I will stand corrected.

Yes Virginia, I DO own some MODIFIED Cars, along with many bone stock original ones!

[paul v]

My harness in my '50 champion has the rubber insulation on the wire which is wrapped in a braided cotton covering. The whole harness has the woven fabric loom. With time, most of my harness has been covered in electrical tape or shrink tubing. Paul

[mbstude]

Our '51 Champion, and a few other early 50's Studes all have cloth wrapped wiring in it.

[raoul5788]

I had issues with RI Wiring. I went with YnZ. Here is their website:http://www.ynzyesterdaysparts.com/

[allstateguy]

my 52 Commander had cloth over rubber

[bondobilly]

I used Rhode Island Wiring on two of my cars. Both harnesses were a bit high in price but their documentation and fit was perfect. One word of caution if you go with them they do not provide some joiners and for a few cars like a 56 Golden Hawk which had a special horn connector they say "use your original". It has been 24 years since I wired the car and their wires have not become brittle, no isulation is coming off and there is no discoloration like from overheating. On Post War cars like 47 through 52 you will need to use your original light bulb socket for the speedometer as the originals had a longer neck to fit into the body of the speedometer. Rhode Island Wiring is probably the most expensive of all vendors BUT they will fix and repair any mistakes within a three to four day time frame.

On the Golden Hawks early production cars had a small harness for the starter motor which was later incorporated into the main harness. When I wound up with this extra set of wires they took it back and credited my account.

They also provide a two to three foot paper which shows all the branches of the harness and label each connector at the end.

Drawback to thier wire harnesses, expense. They break it down into, chassis, engine, clock, lighter, lights, convertible top, radio, directional signals etc. Each is a seperate item and an added expense.

BG

[jclary]

Interesting, Matt because post war Studebakers did not have cloth wrap.

[Bud]

I've used a couple of harnesses from YNZ, they weren't exactly cheap, but they were top quality. If plastic wire insulation isn't a problem, Studebakers west builds a nice harness and it's cheaper. Bud

[52 Ragtop]

My 52 ragtop has a Studebakers West harness in it, everything "fell" into place and colors are correct for following the wiring diagram. Originally it was a cloth covered, but the replacement harness is vynil. I alsos just picked up a new harness for my 63 Avanti from Carl in Phoenix.

Jim

[rockne10]

For the lacquered braided harness that would be correct for your model you need to use Rhode Island or YnZ.
They both use new modern wire and braid it to match original.
I have used both. YnZ supplies more stuff in a single package, whereas Rhode Island gives you more pick and choose individual components.

Expect to pay twice as much as a quality plastic harness from our Stude vendors.

[raoul5788]

Same with my '57 Packard wagon. Most of the wire was vinyl, but some of it was cloth.