Oh boy

[jastamjas]

Well I bought a 1965 GMC 4X4 and it looks like someone went crazy under the dash. I think the truck used to be use in a State Park. I will post some pics. I am looking for advice on how to fix this issue. Or if I should just get a new harness and if so where would you guys recommend. My skills are pretty week in the electrical department.

[Ed Snyder]

Originally Posted by jastamjas

Well I bought a 1965 GMC 4X4 and it looks like someone went crazy under the dash. I think the truck used to be use in a State Park. I will post some pics. I am looking for advice on how to fix this issue. Or if I should just get a new harness and if so where would you guys recommend. My skills are pretty week in the electrical department.

Welcome to the forum! There are two approaches to your problem. First approach -- get a shop manual specific to your truck and follow the wiring diagram in it to rework what you've already got. Second approach -- strip out the old wiring and start over using one of the aftermarket kits available. My personal preference would be the second approach. I used a kit from http://www.ronfrancis.com/ to rewire my '62 Suburban.

Installing an aftermarket kit like this does not require a lot of skill, just patience and the ability to follow the directions that come with the kit.

Good luck with your project, and keep us updated on your progress!

[AZKen]

I agree with Ed. It looks like you have typical precious owner wiring and gadgets. Some wires and gadgets are no longer used. At first, I would remove unterminated wires after I marked what I know about them. During that process you will straighten up and tie up the good wires a little. Some of your wiring looks OK. Save all wires. See what is not working after you remove unterminated wires. It may clean up OK or not.
We can help from there. It depends on your budget.
Please rotate your pics to normal on your computer and save the rotated version and post those. It makes it so much easier to view and orient ourselves. Especially wiring.
If you decide on a new harness, we can step you thru that also. Don't throw away anything including connectors. Keep the old harness taped together when removing. Keep the branches as they are. Strip out or rip out the old is just a term we all use. Keeping it together is nice to refer back to. ALWAYS MARK EVERY WIRE ON EACH END AS TO WHERE IS WAS TERMINATED. Take lots of pics before removing. Be gentle with unplugging connectors. DISCONNECT the negative battery cable before doing anything.

[jastamjas]

Thanks for the input. Tomorrow I will go through all of the wiring. I looked at RonFrancis and American Autowire. They both look good. I am leaning towards a new harness just because I know the original harness is over 50 years old. If I have the chance to freshen it up I probably should. But I will let you know what I figure out with the current harness. I am also trying to figure out how to get the bed off. It has 1/8 metal sheets welded on top of the wooden bed.