Wiring dilemma

[Dylan780]

I have a decision to make and I am looking for a little input from some more experienced people on this forum.

This is not my first time working on or modifying a car, but it is my first time dealing with a Nissan and any sort of what I would consider complex wiring.

I recently picked up an S13 240sx rolling chassis with plans to drop in an SR20DET I had laying around to build a fun weekend warrior/drift car. The frame is dead straight, there is minimal to zero rust anywhere on the body or frame, has 50mm rear over fenders and a roll cage but the shell has absolutely no wiring.

I would consider myself somewhat mechanically inclined and this will be my first time swapping a motor but I feel confident that I can do it quite easily with some research and time. BUT I am a complete beginner when it comes to any sort of wiring, which leads me to a few questions and concerns.

How difficult is it to re wire an entire car? I have the upper and lower harnesses for the motor and tranny but that is all the wiring I have for the car. There will be no AC, no radio, no power lock/windows, nothing besides the minimum needed to drive a car.

Is it worth it to keep working on this shell or to pick up another with all the wiring still in the car?

Thanks for any input!

[JSimpson]

Sounds like its going to be one hell of a learning experience for you. I would advise getting a rusty parts car with mint wiring and take your time swapping it all over. Go for stock, any simplification may massively complicate your project.

[KiLLeR2001]

Do not attempt.

Find the stock body harnesses and then go through the wiring schematics and slowly start removing wiring systems you won't be using. For example, on my hatch, I have an S15 front so I eliminated all wiring that has to deal with the pop-ups. I also removed all A/C wiring since I never plan to have A/C.

If all you need is the basics, once you remove all the wiring systems you don't need you will be left with a lean version of OEM wiring. You will also find that by going through the schematics, you can re-purpose some circuits for other things.

Good luck, it's best to know someone who is into wiring who can help you along the way.

[ixfxi]

a proper wire job can be intimidating, especially if you are an amateur and have no experience in wiring.

if you have plenty of time AND have the knowledge and resources, i say go for it. the biggest challenge would involve things like popup headlights, proper hvac setup (digital climate control?) and stuff like that. if you have fixed headlights (silvia) and no AC then you will simplify things a lot. if you dont have power windows, that too will help. basically, the less you do the easier the project will be.

you may even be able to use a painless wiring setup, but not sure how easily that will integrate. at the very least, its worth a try. if for whatever reason you are not happy, go pull a body harness from a junk car. in the end, the most important thing to remember is that these cars still have OLD WIRES which ultimately, all of our cars will need a proper wire job. so doing this now will ultimately save your ass later down the road. taking your time to properly wire the car is extremely rewarding.

[Dylan780]

There will be no hvac, no ac, no pop up headlights, no electric locks or windows, no radio, basically anything not needed to get the car to drive and be road legal will be removed.

Maybe I'll look into getting this done by a professional, wiring is very intimidating to me and can cause serious problems if done incorrectly.

[ixfxi]

then just buy a painless harness, that should take care of 99% of what you need

[pajusteg]

then just buy a painless harness, that should take care of 99% of what you needhttp://goo.gl/feCCP2

[ixfxi]

^ punk ass spam bot tryin to copy my style

king kong aint got shit on me