[HWYSTR455]

Did an AAW update kit on my 70/71 GTO project, and was disappointed with a couple things, but overall was happy with it since I was able to tailor the entire harness for my specific installation. Not an easy task.

One thing that bugged me was the turn indicator sockets. Yes, they were like the originals, but had no seals included with them. On the fronts, I used seals from another connector type and it worked fine. For the tail lights, I purchased OE type replacements, not too expensive, but was an added cost.

The AAW instructions were vague at best. Some pages forwarded you to a different page, and figuring out what you actually had required having an OE harness diagram. (and even the OE diagram is somewhat vague, and believe it was wrong on a couple things).

Use the instructions to make notes on as you go, and take pics, both for future reference. Cross out any unused sections/wires. I removed unused wire from the harness and saved them, in case I need them for future items.

I have a lot of aftermarket stuff on that car, and I was able to use the AAW harness as a starting point. That saved a ton of time, and added a blade type fuse box. (Go ahead and try to source a blade type fuse box only, think the smallest amount you can buy is 1000).

Having the wires labels on the insulation of the wire is nice, but the markings don't always match up to their' purpose. You can release and move some, and put into a diff connector to solve some of that, but not all.

Both the AAW and the Painless don't include any loom, and just say 'NO' to zip ties and electrical tape. (not getting into that here). You can use zip ties and/or electrical tape to 'stage' sections of the harness, trim to length, then remove when you are ready to install the loom.

Don't forget to leave slack in areas that require it to remove & service certain items, like the gauge cluster.

You can use the original harness as a guide for layout of the new harness, but like in many other projects, measure & mock up several times before you cut or wrap.

My engine side harness was narrowed down to only the items I needed, wiper/washer, key on, oil & water temp senders, and interior power.

I did my EFI harness too, using a universal harness as a starting point. Merging to harnesses gets tricky.

If your OE harnesses are not too chopped up, crusty and not save-able/sell-able, cut of all the OE ends and save them. Leave a short piece of wire on them so you know what the original color was (for reference when comparing to OE diagram).

The column connector is a little tricky, I had to check all the wires for what they did and compared to both the OE diagram and the AAW sheets.

They do not include the under-carpet wire protector for the fuse box to trunk run, and the one they off is junk. It's best to clean up and reuse the OE one, or source a new OE one.

Remove the dash to do the dash harness. (trust me on this one). Use the OE harness to rough in the distance from the driver's lower corner of dash to the firewall. Use the same or slightly longer on the AAW one.

Use the correct crimpers, and be mindful that some terminals have anti-pull-thru tabs. Don't crimp that part.

Don't suffer in silence, if you get stuck, ask.

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[Scarebird]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

Did an AAW update kit on my 70/71 GTO project, and was disappointed with a couple things, but overall was happy with it since I was able to tailor the entire harness for my specific installation. Not an easy task.

One thing that bugged me was the turn indicator sockets. Yes, they were like the originals, but had no seals included with them. On the fronts, I used seals from another connector type and it worked fine. For the tail lights, I purchased OE type replacements, not too expensive, but was an added cost...

Agree - I reused my OEM tail light harness.

But overall a very nice bit of kit. And the phone support was superb.