Dan:
I'm adding a vote for keeping the car as original as is feasible.
If you are planning on keeping the rest of the car fairly stock, then the
original harness design will work well for you. There are very few areas of
the original harness that can cause problems on the early car, and those areas
can be protected easily without converting everything to a system that in the
future may be a liability.
Inserting an in-line fuse into the fuel pump circuit is about the only
suggestion that comes to mind immediately.
Conversion to an alternator is easy and the wiring is pretty straightforward.
The original regulator location works well as a terminal point, and as Jerry
pointed out can be used to feed any custom circuits you require.
Check the rear harness out carefully, routing it is the hardest or at least
dirtiest part of the job. If the rear harness is undamaged, you may want to
stick with the original if you are not intending to do a full restoration.
Installation is pretty straightforward. Arm yourself with a wiring diagram and
pay attention to the wiring color codes.
Removing the seats makes it easier to reach under the dash, but is not
essential. The carpet does not have to be removed.
The headlamp bucket plug assemblies do not normally come in a new harness. In
many cases the early foot dip switch wiring is also seperate. If you have OD,
the relay and trans wiring will also be seperate, tho the switch wires are in
the main harness.
My suggestion is to keep the 2 fuse block in the original location. It is easy
to install an in-line fuse on the white feed line to the fuel pump where the
rear harness connects to the main harness on the RH fenderwell.
FME the fuel pump feed is the only line that is susceptable to shorting, don't
ask me why but after dealing with the cars for a number of years that's the
main area of problems. The only other common problem is the connectors in the
trunk coming loose due to luggage moving around. Make sure that the wiring
harness is routed correctly and all the P clamps installed to keep the wiring
tidy.
hope this helps
Kelvin.
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