1950 Jeepster Rewire Pitfalls

Denmark219

Denmark219

Gear Grinder
Jul 24, 2020
10
Rockford, IL
First Name
Mark
Willys Model
  1. Jeepster
Willys Year:
  1. 1950
I am helping a good friend do a rewire on his 1950 Jeepster (see image below). He bought a harness from Walck's and it includes the turn signal loom. I restore Chris Craft's and have done a bunch of rewiring with those and I helped another friend rewire a 1970ish Toyota FJ.

My question is, what are the pitfalls before I get into the project? What did any of you run into that made you say "this was the biggest b@#$% of the project?"

Are there any difficult to get to places? Are there any parts of the process that require massive disassembly of the interior or exterior?

Does the loom follow the factory loom pretty closely in terms of can I use the factory attachment points (given they aren't corroded)?

Any other tips? Trying to get my ducks in a row and manage my expectations for the project before we go after it.

Thanks for the help!!
Willys.jpg
 
Behind the dash was physically challenging. It’s just about impossible with heater and defroster duct in place. Having the front seats out would be a big help. The instructions are rather cryptic but accurate. I'm used to schematics so I printed one out and added the color codes. Pull it all out of the box and identify each component to start with. My kit was missing the headlight harness. I tagged each termination and that helped speed up installation. I started with the overdrive harness. My Solenoid Terminal #4 is a 1/4-28 fastener, Terminal #6 is a 10-32. My Relay does not have markings that match the diagram, took a bit of sleuthing. I used some plastic edge trim on sharp edges. My new headlight switch is very close to some of the structure, I put down electrical tape on areas that were tight.

Overall its a very good kit, routing matches pretty close to original and wire lengths are long enough.

Should be an improvement over whatever is in there now.
 
I added a fuse panel to serve some non-original circuits. The directional assembly has an in-line fuse, Overdrive relay has its own fuse, light switch has a breaker. Fifth Ave. Garage has some good stuff if you need to go shopping.
 
How long did it take you? I’m thinking this could be done in a couple saturdays. I’m prepping all the harnesses so all of the terminations are labeled. Seats are out.
 
Nice looking Jeepster!
When I rewired my wagon I did sort of a lift and lay . Cut the existing harness at the firewall to make room for the new one and just followed the paths to each drop off point - old to new if that makes sense :rolleyes:
 
It took about 16 hours to do my Jeepster. The biggest issue is the instrument panel. Most of the wires are compressed into this area. I took my panel out and set on it face down a temporary stand straddeling the transmission hump.

When you are removing the original wires remove the black wrap so you learn the color code. It will help when installing the new wire. 70 years of gunk will go away on the uncovered wires.

Add a fuse panel tcover the added electrics like signal lights, cigar lighter, heater, radio etc. The only protection for the whole vehicle is a 30 amp breaker on the head light switch and fuse for the overdrive on that relay.
In hindsight I would include the lighting system on the added fuse panel and forget about the breaker.
 
peashooter said:
Behind the dash was physically challenging. It’s just about impossible with heater and defroster duct in place. Having the front seats out would be a big help. The instructions are rather cryptic but accurate. I'm used to schematics so I printed one out and added the color codes. Pull it all out of the box and identify each component to start with. My kit was missing the headlight harness. I tagged each termination and that helped speed up installation. I started with the overdrive harness. My Solenoid Terminal #4 is a 1/4-28 fastener, Terminal #6 is a 10-32. My Relay does not have markings that match the diagram, took a bit of sleuthing. I used some plastic edge trim on sharp edges. My new headlight switch is very close to some of the structure, I put down electrical tape on areas that were tight.

Overall its a very good kit, routing matches pretty close to original and wire lengths are long enough.

Should be an improvement over whatever is in there now.
Click to expand...
I am undertaking the same project. (1950 Jeepster with Walcks harness). I have the seats out and labeled the wires. Now comes the rewiring. And I have several questions.
Where do I start? Did you rip out all protective coverings on firewall in the engine compartment?Should new harness start from inside and make all connections to switches, gauges etc?
Will main harness then with various legs feed through firewall as per original legs setup? At first glance it doesn’t look like they will reach.
Lastly, Did you replace all or do selective cable replacement? Any additional tips would be appreciated. Thanks
 
I stripped out 70 years of wire and assorted mistakes, scraped the remains of the cardboard firewall insulator to start off. Having the old harness would have been nice but there wasn't much left of mine. I added some dynamat to the inside and bought an insulator from Willys America. Good product but needs to go on first. The headlight harness is short, you could start there as it begins at the terminal block on the left fender. I laid out the main harness under the dash and fed wires through likely holes making routing corrections as I went along. I believe its pretty close to stock. There may have been a short wire or two but the important stuff went fine all the way to the taillights. A few of the bits can be a mystery but as long as they can tie down out of harms way its all good. I added directionals near the end, I think it caused a little rework but not much. My vent assembly not yet installed and the hole helped with access to the back of the instrument panel. I like Phaeton's idea with laying it on the floor starting off. Mine is 12 volt with alternator and stock ammeter. I couldn't bear to cut the generator and regulator wires, just tucked them behind the engine.
Hooking up the battery after it's done is almost as much fun as starting the engine for the first time.
The photo shows one of the tighter areas on mine.
 

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That looks great. Good work. I hope mine comes out as well. I noticed a couple wires that varied in color from the diagram. I believe (2)yellow wires with 2dashes were stated to be green with 2 dashes. I met with another Jeepster fan that saw the same.
The headlight harness did look short. My terminal block on fender is shot. I’m not in my garage now but I believe there is another terminal block near horn that looked funky. Did you replace those blocks ? I miss radio shack.
 
Naiad50 said:
That looks great. Good work. I hope mine comes out as well. I noticed a couple wires that varied in color from the diagram. I believe (2)yellow wires with 2dashes were stated to be green with 2 dashes. I met with another Jeepster fan that saw the same.
The headlight harness did look short. My terminal block on fender is shot. I’m not in my garage now but I believe there is another terminal block near horn that looked funky. Did you replace those blocks ? I miss radio shack.
Click to expand...
I cleaned up and used the old terminal blocks but shiny new ones are available. Too bad about the Shack.
Will you be on the road this fall? WOJC meet is in Taunton this year.
 
peashooter said:
I cleaned up and used the old terminal blocks but shiny new ones are available. Too bad about the Shack.
Will you be on the road this fall? WOJC meet is in Taunton this year.
Click to expand...
That is my hope to get it running this summer. I don’t live far from Taunton. I will most likely be there with or without my Jeepster. There are other hurdles besides wiring. I’ll keep in touch
 
Lay out the harness with the wires starting at point A and ending at point B. Don’t terminate or connect anything until all wire are routed to your satisfaction and in an orderly way. Take the seats out and as mentioned take the vent cowl door off. Keep the wires orderly temporarily with tape around the bundles or small wire ties. Once happy, the terminated or connect each circuit. Rearrange as needed. Only when everything is working, should you package it up and tie down.
 
KLankford said:
Lay out the harness with the wires starting at point A and ending at point B. Don’t terminate or connect anything until all wire are routed to your satisfaction and in an orderly way. Take the seats out and as mentioned take the vent cowl door off. Keep the wires orderly temporarily with tape around the bundles or small wire ties. Once happy, the terminated or connect each circuit. Rearrange as needed. Only when everything is working, should you package it up and tie down.
Click to expand...
For anyone doing rewire I suggest getting a good DVM (Fluke if you can spend the money) and before you ever touch anything to the battery ring it all out. And don’t just ring a hot wire from one end to the other, check them to grounds. Hate letting the smoke out but seems a bunch of times folks post they found the dead shorts quickly
 
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