C1 wiring harness removal

[Michael L.]

OK, can't get the rear wiring harness on my '55 out. It is stuck between the trunk and convertible top area, over the wheel well. I can get it to move back and forth about 4" then it is jammed up. Any tricks to getting the old wire out to put in the new stuff?

Mike

[Joe R.]

Re: C1 wiring harness removal

Mike, had the same problem with my 54. I tried everything and finally decided to cut the wires and resplice them by using solder and heavy shrink tubing. I am told that they (St. Louis) laid these wires on the fender before bonding the pieces together. It was painful to cut them but if repaired right ain't no big deal.

Joe

[Joe R.]

Re: C1 wiring harness removal

Oh, and there is some soft tar-based sealant up in there that you have to remove first. Save it for replacement later.

[Rich Puleo]

Re: C1 wiring harness removal

Believe it or not, the harness was put in place before the body was glued together. So, if you are replacing the old harness, cut it, tape the new harness to the old one, & pull it through. If you are not replacing it, leave it in place. You should be able to fish it out in most cases. The variable is how much adhesive was used on the panel.
Good luck,
Rich

[Rod K.]

Re: C1 wiring harness removal

I used a long flat blade screwdriver and chipped out the bonding adhesive until I could pull the old harness through with a pull wire attached so I could pull the new harness back into place. Just be careful not to punch through any fiberglass panel with the screwdriver, then refill the remaining hole afterwards. Not a biggy.

[Dave Suesz]

When I did mine...

I did exactly what Rod did, and it worked perfectly.

Same thing on the other side with the antenna cable. The hardest part of that was fishing the ground strap out of the center through the inner side of the rocker, to attach to the chassis. I got lucky, took me ten minutes.