Just bought a 95% complete ground up resto that has a 78 wiring harness in my 71 Z28, the 78 has deticated brake lights but the 71 does not, I can't figure out how to wire it because it has that extra brake wire going to the trunck were as the 71 harness only has the two wires for brake and turn signal, has anyone done this before. If push comes to shove then I may have to use the back up lights as turn signals (which may look a little goofy), HELP PLEASE ANYONE!

 

Whats up from Muskegon. I think Vall can help.(1971BB427) He's the wiring guy here. He also has a early second gen.

 

You just need to get the correct sockets for the '71 first. NAPA sells them for under $5 ea. I just converted my '71 to dual tailights and eliminated the backup lights. Just figure out which wire runs the tailights and buttsplice that to the correct lead on the new socket. I put a lamp in the new socket and touched the leads to the battery to see which was the dimmest of the two, and that's the tailight.
Once you get that, then turn on the turn signal and find which wire is the turn signal for each side. Black of course is ground. Splice the turnsignal wire to each wire on the new socket as you do each side.
That should get you everything you need. Don't forget to splice in your license plate light to the tailight wire too!
I've built these harnesses from the point of entry into the trunk, and even from the firewall back from scratch. It's a pretty simple 4 wire ckt. 1-ground, 1-L. signal, 1-R. signal, 1-tailight. 5 wires if you count the backup lights.
Here's mine with LED tailights:

I set mine up so both flash together on each side, and all 4 work as tailight and brake lights. That really gets the tailgaters attention when I hit the brakes!

 

See I told ya. LOL

 

Wow that really looks good with the LEDs, I understand what you are saying but my problem is that I have five wires coming from the 78 fuse box 1-running lights 2-LH turn 3-RH turn 4-Brake and 5-back up, the original harness only has four wires for the lights, the brake lights are some how connected up near the fuse box, therefore the two wires for the tail lights on the 71 carry power for the turn signals PLUS the brakes were as my harness has the seperate brake wire...........I wonder if someone makes a bulb and socket with 3 light coils in it one for brake one for running and one for turn.

 

does anyone know if you can get LED tailight kits for 81's?? yours look really nice 1971bb427

 

They don't sell them, but I am working (slowly) on something. It will involve LED panels. I have a ton of these little projects. Yet in my free time i get on here. Go figure.

 

They don't make them for any Camaros past 1st gens. I used a kit for a early 50's Chevy PU truck tailight and fitted them inside my existing tailight housings.

 

Well this is different than what you originally said. You don't have a late model rear harness, you've got a whole complete late model harness, including fuse box. Have you compared the wiring diagrams for the 71 and 78 to see the differences? You could rewire your tailights to make the inside backup lamps into stop lamps, then use the others for turn and running lights. You'd need to convert to LED's or change the inside lenses to red if you did so.

Here's a link to the '71 Camaro wiring diagram so you can see how to change the later to work, if you don't want to change the lenses or lights:
http://rides.webshots.com/album/558834225WRYeHY

 

Sorry for the miss communication but yes the whole harness is from a 78. Good idea about turning the back up lights into brake lights or turn signals. Will the lenses from the brake lights fit in the back up light pockets, they look to be about the same size. I have an electrical engineer that works for me coming up with a way of putting a couple of relays in the truck that may allow the stock configuration work. All the wiring drawings do not have specifics on the switches and how everything is wired to the different contacts, I would have to spend a ton of time with a volt tester to figure out how everything works.