I'm actually leaning towards the American Autowire Kit. I know its a little more expensive but I've done alot of research and it seems like theyve really done their homework. I appreciate everybodys input and help.

 

well, you're probably doing the right thing. two very important places you don't want to try to save a buck on are, wiring and safety

 

Ok so I am in a dilema and have been arguing about this with my hubby. I made the decision toget the cheaper kit & gave my body guy the money and he said he would order it for me. He knew what to get and had used thiswiring harness before.Plus heneeded aharness for himself and told me thatwhen his friend had2 of them he would send them and I would get mine. Well since then, the body work is completed and my camaro is home, and even after giving him my final payment for the body work I never got the harness. Bob(bodyman) went broke because of several reasons(long story)and I havent been able to get ahold of him since. I dont even know if he is still in business. So I am still in need of my wiring harness. I was thinking about some of the suggestions you all posted about here in this thread and since my car is basically totally empty.........what kind of wiring harness do I need? What's the difference in the kit I was getting to the painless harness? My hubby says the cheaper one has everything we need in it.

 

To try and keep it simple, from what I've read the 'basic' diff is...

The less expensive kit is a generic kit that you can wire just about any hotrod with and it 'should have' a circuit for just about anything you may need.

The more expensive kit (the one I'm using) is made, designed and engineered exclusively for the 1969 Camaro. Which means alot of R&D, time and effort went into designing or laying out the kit to take all the guesswork out of it for you the installer. Plus it has provisions for factory gauges as well as all the major aftermarket ones. and things like Standard ignition, as well as HEI electronic ign. ect. Along with this, The part I had spoken of where they have all the licensed GM plugs and connectors, really is gonna come in handy for me because I am keeping most of the wiring in the back half of my Camaro. this means I can simply plug into the existing factory harnesses where they connect. With a generic kit I would have to splice into the wires. Not only in these spots but anywhere you need to use a GM connector, plug or Lamp socket... you will have to splice your old ones into the generic kits wires. If you dont have your original ones this will create a whole other problem. Since most of mine were burnt in the fire I really need all of them so I feel like that is another reason for me to go with the more expensive kit.

Now for my personal take on it. I have spoken to several old timers here in town at the local cruise-ins that I know have built 8-10 hotrods locally since I was in high school (we wont talk about how long thats been). They have used all the diff kits and say the new kits which are designed specifically for the car you are wiring are well worth the extra money. These are old retired guys that try to pinch every penny they can so I pretty much take that to mean I dont need to skimp on my wiring. I freted over it for a long time but finally decided to spend the extra cash and go with the more exp kit. I havent re-wired the car yet so I dont know how its gonna turn out. Sorry to hear that your guy disappeared with your money. I hope you feel that you got your moneys worth outof him in your body work.

I dont know if your Camaro is a total rewire inside and out, bumper to bumper or what but if it is, I would recommend the 69 specific kit from American Auto Rewire. But dont buy it from them direct, its cheaper on Ebay, plus ThePartsLady selling it outta Crestview,FL warranties it fully. Its only like $460 with free shipping if I rememeber. Anyway, I hope this will help you with your decision Orocker. Everybodys situation is diff so if you do go that route and If it doesnt work out for you please dont hang me. I'm only human and merely a man at that.

 

lol no I thank you for the advice. I did get my money's worth fromBob with all the body work. I feel badly for him that things went south. His son was going into partnership to take over the shop with someone else and his friend bailed. So Bob was waiting on his next payment installment. $5000. Plus his health was getting the better of him. Prostate problems and kidney stones. It sucks because he was a great guy to work with. I feel blessed that I found him& we got it done in a year. His sign is still on the building but the answering machine is not on anymore. I will have to go up during the week and see if he's there. Anytime I wanted to talk about money Bob was there to talk and that was really cool for me doing this for the 1st time. He has always used the generic kit and had me convinced that was what I needed to use. But after the $9000 + all the stuff I bought, if I only have lost $150, its no big deal. Today we are going to finish the rear suspension and I think tomorrow we install the new brake line. I have to buy the exhaust next and shorten the drive shaft before the wiring comes into play. I will have some time to get ahold of Bob and think this over. I can also ask my neighbor who has been restoring cars all his life. But I do thank you or anyone for their advise.