wiring kits

[Charter]

I have a 57 ranchero. the wiring has to be done. It looks like they may have attempted to install the kit from dearborn. The original harness is long gone. I have a real mess. scotch locks, masking tape, zip ties and wire nuts. I can fix this. How ever I must ask before wasting hours, Is there something better, faster and less confusing than what I have now ? There are alot of wires of the same color. To me that makes for alot of frustration if a problem arises and needs to be chased once the wires are in a nice neat loom.

[Ford Blue blood]

Many of the wiring kits today have every wire labeled as to function.  It is my personal experience that when looking at a mess such as you are describing you will be light years ahead by ripping out everything and starting with a new after market kit.  Ron Francis is the top of the food chain with respect to kits.  Pricey but simply the best IMHO.  Painless comes in a close second.

I have used and installed several different kits over the years.  I have found them to be of equal quality with respect to materials.  Completeness and accessories seams to be the main difference between the high end and some of the lower cost kits.  Also after purchase support, tech and material, is the best when using Francis and Painless.  They make wiring a car nearly idiot proof.

Now having said all of that I am an electronics technician by trade and find auto wiring much less a challenge then some other folks so the tech support is not important to me.  Bottom line, research the available kits and talk to their tech section and see if their kit will fit your needs and skill level..

[Charter]

OK. I was thinking of calling Francis. I looked them up. I was looking over your build. Very nice. When I picked my 57 up I knew the wiring was a mess. now that I'm starting to work on the car I'm not to happy. Halfa$$ shady work very lucky the wheels didn't fall off or the brake rod brake off. I am going to add some pics to get opinions. 400m and C6 are installed. They cut off the nuts and some of the upper A arm on both sides. Did you do this to fit your 351C in between the A arms ?

[Ford Blue blood]

Did not, the upper control arms and their mounts are 100% stock.

[RICH MUISE]

Ditto what Bill said on the Ron Francis. They're #1 quality wise, and I'm not an electronics guy like Bill. I used them for my custom built Express kit and my 4.6 EFI wiring harness. My first wiring ever and it took one 10 minute call to RF to clarify something that was confusing me between the two kits. They also make the express kits for YOUR car with it's own individual serial number. You won't find a Ron Francis universal wiring kit on a shelf in a speed shop because they don't make them. And you won't get a wiring kit with GM color codes and steering wheel connectors.
I've never used a Painless kit, but you know a universal kit isn't going to be as easy as one made specifically for your car, and I do not believe Painless uses the double jacket crosslinked wire that is abrasion resistant and heat resistant.
Just a little interesting info......one of the Canadian  members here 3 or 4 years ago bought a really nice '57 from a dealer in Scottsdale. Not much info was available as the owner had passed away and the dealer was selling it for the widow who understandably did not want to be contacted. Lorne spent quite a bit of time trying to track down somebody who knew something about the car to no avail. I happened to be thinking about the serial number on my Ron Francis chassis harness, and I asked Lorne if by any chance the car had Ron Francis wiring, which it did. I told him about the serial number and Lorne was able to get the name of the hot rod shop/builder that bought the wiring from them with just the serial number! pretty cool.

[Charter]

That is cool. I keep a file for every receipt on all my vehicles to make life easier. I will contact them Monday. Before taking the wiring out, this car did not have brake lights. I did not find a switch/ push button behind the brake pedal. However there is a pressure switch plumed into the forward brake line at the M/C. Is that a light switch or a low fluid warning light relay to the dash light( If so equipped) ? I'm comparing this to my 68 F100. It's the oldest vehicle I've worked on so I'm not sure what is what on a 57 yet.

[Ford Blue blood]

It is the brake light switch.

[Charter]

Thank you. First one I have seen. To correctly wire it in, power from fuse panel. The other back to the lights, grounded by the light bulb socket ?

[Ford Blue blood]

Fuse panel to switch to steering column to turn signal switch to brake lights.