"Hidden" Engine Bay Wiring - Your Methods

[ragtopdodge]

not mine

[dfrazz]

Dfrazz, what about the mounting location of your voyage regulator? Also, do you remember about how much wire you needed to snake it from the trunk to the engine bay through the frame?

I mounted the regulator low on the firewall under the brake booster too.  I want to say I used about 16' of battery cable.  It was very difficult (took hours) to get it to snake through the rear frame rail because of the thickness of the wire and degree of S turn.  If I had to do it over again I wouldn't run it through the frame rail.

Here is a side shot of the engine bay.  You can see I mounted the coil on the rear of the engine, and flipped the fuel line to run up the back of the engine too including a splitter for the return line.  From the front of the engine you never see any of this.  Also heres pic of the loom with wiring running through the trunk floor, along the inner fender, and along the pinch weld to the engine bay through the splash shield.

[dave73chally]

I mounted the regulator low on the firewall under the brake booster too.  I want to say I used about 16' of battery cable.  It was very difficult (took hours) to get it to snake through the rear frame rail because of the thickness of the wire and degree of S turn.  If I had to do it over again I wouldn't run it through the frame rail.

Here is a side shot of the engine bay.  You can see I mounted the coil on the rear of the engine, and flipped the fuel line to run up the back of the engine too including a splitter for the return line.  From the front of the engine you never see any of this.  Also heres pic of the loom with wiring running through the trunk floor, along the inner fender, and along the pinch weld to the engine bay through the splash shield.

Great stuff, thanks. You said you mounted your MSD in the trunk? Where and did you notice any issues with the length of wiring needed to run to the engine bay from the unit?

[70chall440]

while I understand the desire to have this look, I have to say that hidden, buried, wires in a tube/pipe is going to make someone's life miserable at some point. If there is an electrical problem (of course Mopars NEVER have electrical issues..... yes that is sarcasm) someone is going to play hell tracking a problem down, making a repair, etc. Worse than all of that is fire.. something goes wrong and a fire starts, it is going to be interesting. More than likely, a fire would be catastrophic regardless, but I have personally ripped burning wires out to stop the action. I think your bigger issue will be tracing a short. My point is at this stage of design and planning, make provisions for tracing and repair or you will be very unhappy later.

I like the "no wire" look, but not enough to tie my hands with regards to tracing, repair and modification. I actually prefer well routed wires that look clean and professionally installed. I have begun using a lot of split covering (mesh like stuff) that comes in various sizes; not cheap but looks good.

Not hating, just lending some advice/observations. Nice work otherwise and so long as you like it, it is all good.

[Moparal]

I'm in with 70 chall440 . if I was into that look and just seeing this post, the first thought I just had was something to the effect like what they did running the wires from the drivers side floor to the trunk on the factory stuff. Just a painted metal shield to cover the wires would all I would think about myself.  But I have seen some really clead detailed compartments. There are different challenges using both bb and sb engines and the components involved though.

[dfrazz]

Great stuff, thanks. You said you mounted your MSD in the trunk? Where and did you notice any issues with the length of wiring needed to run to the engine bay from the unit?

I mounted the MSD box and mechanical pump (for brake booster) on the drivers side, then hid it behind the battery.  I also drew up the schematic for the wiring and carefully labeled all wires.  I included 2 extra wires from the trunk to engine bay in case there was something to be added later.

[70chall440]

pretty long way for that MSD, hope you are running some thick wire. I would have mounted inside the car behind the dash. But I do love your ingenuity.

[HP2]

while I understand the desire to have this look, I have to say that hidden, buried, wires in a tube/pipe is going to make someone's life miserable at some point. If there is an electrical problem (of course Mopars NEVER have electrical issues..... yes that is sarcasm) someone is going to play hell tracking a problem down, making a repair, etc. Worse than all of that is fire.. something goes wrong and a fire starts, it is going to be interesting. More than likely, a fire would be catastrophic regardless, but I have personally ripped burning wires out to stop the action. I think your bigger issue will be tracing a short. My point is at this stage of design and planning, make provisions for tracing and repair or you will be very unhappy later.

Yes. This certainly isn't an upgrade that is done without some fore thought, testing, and a host of new wiring.

[70chall440]

is the vacuum pump for the brakes?

[dfrazz]

is the vacuum pump for the brakes?

Yes it was because my 408 stroker was not producing enough vacuum for my comfort zone.  I hated the thing, so loud.  I bought a Tallon hydraulic kit but never installed it because I sold the car.

[70chall440]

Thanks. It will be interesting to see how much vacuum my 416 produces. I am running manual brakes so that isn't an issue.

[msbaugh]

I love the look as well, if done right it will look great and never have problems.  Why the heck would you care about what the next owner has to deal with.  I'm confident to say that none of us here are hack job flippers.


One thing does worry me though, and that's all of the hot wires I see that are ran the whole length of the car.  If this shorts your screwed!!! Big safety hazard, I hope you have fusible links on the hot wires from the alternator and msd  and have that relay wired correctly.

I personally wouldn't want any high current carrying wires running that long.

[dave73chally]

When running the battery cables to the trunk would you guys recommend through the interior utilizing a ford solenoid or under the car/through the frame rail?

[70chall440]

I never have, I just the cable from the battery to the relay under the hood. I do use a battery disconnect.

[dfrazz]

When running the battery cables to the trunk would you guys recommend through the interior utilizing a ford solenoid or under the car/through the frame rail?

The battery cables through the interior made me nervous, that is why I wanted them to run outside the cabin.  I was going to run them along the pinch weld, but then had the idea of going through the frame rail.  It look really clean, but was a pain to route the 2 thick cables through the tight "S" in the rear and took about 3 hours to just route the cables.