Lock door, disable all phones, turn on every light plus several more you've borrowed, clean ( with lacquer thinner) 5x10 welding table for lay out, tune in to a classical music station with selection from Brahms or Strauss and not Rossini or Paganini, remove front seat if under dash work, re-schedule for tomorrow.
Being involved with electrics since turning wrenches for Uncle Sam on B-52s in the 1960s I kind of feel that way about paint and body work Evan.
There's a Rebel wiring harness waiting on the shelf and the box with all the switches and fixtures came today from Classic Parts, so it looks like it is my turn in the barrel for wiring a truck. Planning on following your advise and I've dedicated all day Saturday to give it the first lick. Will post up progress and would appreciate critiques and suggestions from both of you. Just thinking about this a little bit, one of the things I'm concerned about is the ammeter in the original gauges I'm using. The Delphi alternator will probably put out 100 amps of current but the ammeter gauge says 50 amps is full swing. Should I just not use the ammeter altogether or is there some sort of workaround for this issue? I could be perfectly happy with the ammeter just filling the hole in the cluster and not working and depend on a alternator idiot light and a voltmeter somewhere hidden in the cab. Any recommendations?
Does the Rebel wiring harness run most of the power through the ammeter like a stock wiring system would? If so, I'd just connect the two ammeter leads together TIGHTLY and insulate them well, leaving the gauge out of the system. I've seen ammeters converted to voltmeters that would be a good solution. Try looking here: 1947-53 Chevy Truck Gauges. Upgrading the fuel gauge, ammeter, oil pressure and water temperature gauge cluster. or here: Stovebolt Tech Tip -- Antique Chevy / GMC Truck Restoration Help Do you have a schematic for the Rebel harness? Could you post it here?
If you have a regulator either internal or external you shouldn't get anywhere near the alternators max output showing on the gauge. Mustangs in the 60's had a "shunt" where just 16g wires run to the amp gauge. Have Bill explain shunt. An amp meter just shows charging rate while a volt meter shows the condition of the whole system---much better and it just uses a hot wire and ground to wire in. I hope you got a 10 or 12 circuit harness as that is all that's needed for these old trucks. A 20 or 22 circuit one ends up with a bunch of wires rolled up and taped off.
The best thing to do is get an old duffer like Evan to do the work...... Electrical isn't hard once you understand it, it's just tedious and time consuming . I'm stupid and old so I actually enjoy taking old switches & fuel tank senders etc. apart and making them work like new again and taking the time to ensure proper ground paths for everything.....
