Buddy told me my LS swap wiring was a fire hazard and he was right

I spent like 3 weekends getting a junkyard 5.3 into my 72 C10 and was so proud when it fired up. My buddy Dave came over to check it out and saw I just used twist connectors and electrical tape for the whole harness. He grabbed my shoulder and said 'dude you are gonna burn this thing to the ground first time you hit a bump'. I got pissed at first but then I looked under the dash and realized he was totally right. Bought a proper fuse block and some heat shrink connectors for like 60 bucks at AutoZone and spent the weekend redoing everything. The difference is night and day now no more sketchy wires hanging everywhere. Has anyone else got a wake up call like that from a friend after you thought you were done?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordan65315d ago

My buddy saved my ass on my 78 F150. I had a 351 swap and used those same blue wire nuts. Looked like a Christmas tree under the hood. He showed up with a beer and a roll of electrical tape, laughed his ass off, then told me to tear it all out. Spent the next day soldering everything and wrapping it in heat shrink. Yeah it took way longer but that truck still runs and hasn't caught fire. Wire nuts on automotive wiring is just asking for it man.

quinn_nguyen15d ago

I feel you on the wire nuts thing. I did the same on my 85 Chevy with a 305 and learned the hard way when one of them vibrated loose on a dirt road. Ended up stranded with smoke coming from under the hood. After that I switched to crimp connectors with heat shrink tubing and never looked back. It's more work upfront but beats chasing electrical gremlins or a fire.