Cost of Fully Rewiring a Car?

[Garth AE86]

Just trying to get some figures here for the cost of such a process
and as a lot of you are experts with the soldering iron, crimping tool and shrink wrap you can give me an idea.

im talking the whole car, front to back all elelctrical wiring replaced with new, conduited and labelled accoringly, hidden wiring the engine bay etc. a pro job.

has anyone ever tried such a feat? probably old 50's hot rodders are the ones to ask seeing as their wiring is probably fucked proper.

[myne]

I got quoted 500$ for a complete rewire of my GZE ae82. That was through Adelaide based Fours 'n more. I think that's a quite reasonable price, though I havent gone through with it yet.
Whoever wired my car really had no concept of how to do a proper job. It's appaling, though it does work flawlessly which is quite suprising.

[JustCallMeOrlando]

Are we talking as per factory, or as per race car, i.e. the essentials work.

[HAVABEER]

i'd love to get something like that done. 500 does sound like a good price when you think of how much effort would be invovled. i assume an autoelectriction would also be a good place to check out a quote for something like this

[The Witzl]

it all depends on what you want done. There are a few places around that will supply "replacement" wiring looms for cars, front to back. That would probably be the cheapest option.

From there..... well the cost is arbitrary really; the specifics are needed to know how much it will cost, and then from there it depends on the person doing the job as to what they charge!

In my opinion, if i got change from $1000 for a FULL FACTORY functional rewire with hidden wiring in the engine bay then i would be happy.
It's not exactly the easiest thing to do, and it's most certainly a time consuming son-of-a-bitch!!

If you were making things minimalistic it gets much easier.... but still not the most fun


One day, when i finally get off my lazy arse and rewire the '28..... i'll let you know

[The Witzl]

i would also suggest that $500 is not for a "complete" rewire of the entire car.
That sounds more like a quote to rewire the engine and EFI systems.....

[AE86slut]

I agree with Karl there - $500 would be OMGWTFBBQfcukenwhoosh!!~1oneoneeleven for a complete rewire of the whole car. I even paid slightly more than that just to have my old 20V/Microtech wired up (but the end result was completely worth it).
The Painless Wiring kits that I've seen around look pretty good, allowing you to have everything colour coded and with a new fuse box included etc, but you would still need a fair amount of automotive electrical knowledge to complete the job I would think.
Something like their 12-circuit Pro Street harness would be a good option I reckon. Even better would be the universal Aussie version from Aussie Auto Loom retailing for around $550 from memory.

Check these out...

www.aussieautoloom.com.au

www.painlesswiring.com

[Garth AE86]

great response

i was thinking the whole deal
as per 'leaving the factory floor' kinda job
there a lot of shit in my car thats old and hard and cracking
plus a lot of shit that doesnt work (ie demisters, random switches, door sensors, etc etc)
so getting the whole lot redone would really make me confident with the electricals

im trying to gause the costs so when the new shell is prepped + painted and ready to be 'swapped out' with my current cars bits, i'll be able to have the blank shell newly pre-wired with plugs etc to just 'plug and play' everything in without worring about cracking/bending old taped up factory looms.

1000 bucks for a decent job is quite resonable considering the work.
considering ill be getting the efi/engine bay done separately (with special plugs to remove the engine quicker etc) the "interior/accessories" looms/wiring should be easier to do.

then theres also the thought of moving all fuses relays etc into a central sealed box in the glovebox with close proximity to the other electrical conponents.

is the custom work also pricey?

[fuzz!]

One day, when i finally get off my lazy arse and rewire the '28..... i'll let you know

i've started re-wiring my 23.. tis amazing how simple the old girl is - just time consuming.. i got everything set up in front of the tv to help keep my mind off the chore as you don't exactly need to think much.. strip, crimp, solder, shrink, strip, crimp, solder, shrink... repeat ad nauseum..

it cost me about $250 for plugs, relays, wire, shrink, etc.

[BradW]

I am currently wiring up an FE holden for a guy. It is running a VK injected 6 cyl.
It is a full custom wiring job (as the car is now A LOT different to what it was when it came out of the factory) with all wiring hidden in engine bay and a fuse and relay panel made to go under the dash.

I have designed the system, drawn up the diagrams and made all the harnesses from scratch. So far I have spent about 20 hours on it and I still have to finish the dash harness, fit the harnesses to the car and hook up all the lights, etc. This is probably worth at least $2000.

It is very time consuming to do it from scratch but copying a factory harness would be quicker and easier (read cheaper). $1000 would be a good price but I would be sceptical about a FULL rewire for $500.

[fuzz!]

It is very time consuming to do it from scratch but copying a factory harness would be quicker and easier (read cheaper). $1000 would be a good price but I would be sceptical about a FULL rewire for $500.

yeah sounds right. it's not like you're paying for materials, you're paying for a the work involved.. as with everything on cars, just do it yourself. you'll learn a lot, feel rewarded and save money.

the best part in my mind is being able to modify some of the electricals. eg. i've always hated the fact that the RA23s headlight switches run directly off the battery. on a rainy day i really want to have my headlights on so other cars can see me, but at the same time dread the possibility of forgetting to turn them off. this won't be a problem in the future.

also, wiring is a lot nicer (cleaner) work than most things on the car. (you're not busting your knuckles open on a filthy chassis.)

[sideshow]

500 bucks would only be for the engine wiring

id tell them to go .......... if they wanted the whole car wired from scratch meaning everything new for 500

i do complete wiring from scratch about one every 5 months
it takes 4 to 5 days
this includes new fusebox
wiper wiring which can be a pain
headlights also a pain
especially if u r using old factory switches with new relays

unless u have actually done this sort of thing its hard to imagine taking 4 days

but its usually a 2000 to 2500 dollar job especially if u want heavy duty wiring
all hidden etc

even to copy a harness for 1000 bucks is not really worth it

once u open up a loom to see or read it it gets all messy and shit

the only way to wire up a car from scratch is do it on car with all new gear

most auto elect shops will not do it for under 2500 or even 3000 because its not worth it

best bet is to ring around and get prices

i have done old mustangs
old datsun
race cars
rally cars
4wds
cobra kit cars

all of them have been over 1500

another easier way is with a painless wiring loom

but even then theyre worth 500 bucks just for wiring kit

it still takes 3 or so days to sort everything out like all the lil bugs etc

so its still goin to cost over 1500 if the person charges accordingly

so unless u know someone who can do u a favour then its not cheap

i can do a very nice job with alot of wires hidden and with abit of extra work u can make it very very neat

but u have to pay its all up to labour time

[takai]

Thanks for the price list sideshow, im now much more happy that i did my own wiring on the race car. But then again, as many people have alluded to that is much easier due to the fact that i only need the bare essentials. Infact, i only need a total of 12 fuses.



Pity that the shops i went to didnt have anything other than red wire when i did mine :S

[sideshow]

im not being rude but u should spend bit more time making it nice and tidy

the tidier it is the less hassles u have

another thing i try not to use is the fuseboxes or holders with the push on terminals

they are one of the most common probs of bad connections with terminals falling off

the parts i buy are twice as dear but work much better

plus i try not to use those gold stereo connectors that u screw the cable into

on a car thats driven every day its very easy to get probs

i recently rewired complete 240z for the east african safari rally in africa
the car had to be finished very soon to get on boat
i had bugger all time for testing
so u have to check and tripple check everything

all this takes time and that is where the money goes


luckily i found out it had no wiring probs hehe

[Cool1]

What fuseblocks/boxes do you use sideshow?

[sideshow]

another thing with painless and that aussie loom site
you have to remember this is australia
we do not have the population of the usa
i was at sema last month and spoke to msd auto meter painless wiring all these places
andfound it was not worth my time to bring anyhting in from these companies
there is not enough market here in australia

rocket and american autos bring a shitload of other stuff in one container regularly so they can afford to bring bits from here and there

for me its easier to buy my own wires and special fuseboxes and make my own looms on the car from scratch

but if i had to choosebetween wiring up 5 20vs into corollas or to rewire just one car
i would do the 20vs any time as it make more money and take less time
and i can do it with my eyes shut

when i wire up an old car its more for the fun and for the ecitement of wiring up something special
i have done 2 eleanor mustang replicas and 2 cobra kit cars and i love doin these cause
they are one of cars

i usually dont make as much money for the hours spent when doin a full rewire

[takai]

Yeah, that shot was taken a little while ago when i hadnt cleaned up yet, and the car isnt a daily so i doubt ill have too many issues straight up.

[The Witzl]

sideshow, i'll reitterate cool1s question regarding the fuseblocks and connectors that you use. I'm interested to know as i have several options to choose from when i get around to doing the RA28, and want to be sure i make an informed decision

[sideshow]

ok i buy these fuseboxes that have wires already coming off the block
they are not push on terminals
they have 10 blade fuses

they have 2 wires in and 10 out

so u can have 5 fuses for ignition and 5 for battery (most comon)
or 5 for ign and 5 for accessories

[chris davey]

My mate just got his rx2 fully rewired from front to back and surprisingly it only cost him $1200. The guy who did has had many years experience and worked with Motec but is now working from his house until he starts his own business so that could have been a factor also.