Firewall Harness Wrap
 

What was used to wrap the firewall harness with? Looks like black electrical tape.

What series of cars? CSX2201 through CSX2589 street cars have mostly Ford designed and Ford supplier provided wire looms wrapped in self fusing electrical tape wrap. It has no adhesive on it but once stretched and laid over itself it bonds to itself. I bought some from McMaster-Carr Supply to do some repair work with and make custom looms for a trailer.

I have purchased harness tape from British Wiring which worked fine: Harness Tape

I have also purchased taped from M&H and seemed easier to work with and had multiple width options: Reproduction Wiring Harnesses for America's Muscle Cars

My car is based on the FIA cars if that helps narrow it down. But you have given me some great places to start.

Thanks
Bill

Hey Mongoose, that's a good price at $600 for a harness if it's fairly accurate for a 427! 289/Ford stuff is a lot more $$$ for accurate reproduction.
Larry

In the time frame the cut back door cars were being finished at SAI each car got custom wiring one car at a time as required. The images of new cars being made or immediately after show white aircraft wiring nothing like a street car. I don't see any bundles along the fire wall. Those looms were not wrapped. They had some type method of tying the bundles together at intervals.

Original FIA's used 1/16th to 1/8th aircraft style, zip ties for the smaller harnesses. :cool:


Bill S.

For UK cars or cars which would have been wired in England, Autosparks have very good looms made from old Lucas patterns. I have fitted a couple of cars with their looms and they have been pretty good. The main sections of UK-wired cars were cotton braided rather than tape, although some parts of the underbonnet sections were black taped. Autosparks supply all components for the harnesses, connectors etc.
From other responses I'm assuming cars delivered to the US did not have harnesses fitted, which surprises me as I had always thought these cars were pretty much complete apart from the drivetrains.
Roger

Autosparks, World leading supplier of classic car wiring looms

That is why I asked which series was being asked about. There is lots of confusion already in the world of Cobras. Even the way I answered could have added to the confusion. Why? The name “FIA car” or “FIA Cobra” seems to date back to descriptions done in print by a club about a decade after the fact. I will spare you all the long names but cars were set up to race in events organized by different associations or companies such as SCCA, USRRC, USAC, NHRA, IHRA, and etcetera including the FIA. The FIA was just one organization but it was the one Shelby American road raced Cobras internationally under. Want to race in FIA events, the car has to meet FIA rules. None of this is news, it has been published for decades and the Registries have covered the subject well I think. In the early days of Cobra racing a Shelby team car might race under the rules of two or three different organization’s rules in a single week or so. That required changes to the cars over and over. Any car, Cobra or otherwise, set up in accordance with FIA rules could be called a “FIA car” the way the Shelby club first used the term. Over the years the public have changed what “FIA car” means. By the time the sixteen cut back door cars were built Shelby American and the stakes had become so large that some cars were prepared to rules and for the most part left that way. Instead of constant conversions to different sets of rules for different events they just kept a fleet of cars with some set up for the each of the series they wanted to compete in. (Ned, did I get all that right?)

The way my question was answered I assumed the question was about what did the five cutback door racers set up to FIA rules in 1964 have for chassis wiring when they raced.

Most chassis were finished as running vehicles using wiring installed at AC Cars but most chassis didn’t become 1964 or 1965 season Shelby American team competition cars. The first racers, Shelby team or otherwise, were shipped as street chassis. CSX2002 was still very much in near street specification for its first race. Old images of Shelby prepared racers in the CSX21xx range show that most of the visible wiring was street car wiring with modifications. By the time the sixteen chassis were made with greatly enlarged rear wings chassis were getting features street chassis didn’t get and super duty wiring in aircraft materials. I can’t tell you how those wind wing rear chassis (a.k.a. cut back door, special competition and don’t forget that only five of the sixteen were set up to comply with FIA regulations) were delivered to California. There are however published pictures of the cars as they were being completed the first time, being raced, and being serviced between races that show the custom aircraft style bundling and materials wiring in that subgroup of race cars.

Hi Bill
Sorry for asking but some times translating informations gets a little bit comblicated. :rolleyes:

Would this aircraft style zip ties be something like the one used today?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cable_ties.jpg
File:Cable ties.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

As I've learned long time a go to do some cable lacing by using waxed cord, it would be a possibility as well.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ca...g_close-up.jpg
File:Cable lacing close-up.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
:D