Hi Bob. Let me try this again.
I started this project by taking a '65 Mustang wiring diagram, and writing down a list of all the colors of wires. I made sure to exclude wires for accessories that I didn't have like AC, and also for the neutral safety switch because I have converted my car over to a manual. I also noted which colors were repeated.
Along with the wire colors, I started figuring out what gauge of wire to go with. I planned on not going with anything smaller than 16 gauge. I used 14 gauge wire for heater control wires, the horns, wiper motor, and power to the ignition switch. I used 12 gauge wire for black/yellow wire that supplies electrical power from the battery to the interior of the car. Everything else got 16 gauge wire.
I measured all the wires with the harnesses out of the car. I used a measuring tape; the kind a seamstress uses to measure around one's body. It's flexibility made it easier to use to follow the contours of the wires. Whatever lengths I came up with, I added another foot just to be on the safe side. Better to have too much wire than not enough.
For the connectors, I spent alot of time online figuring out what I wanted to use. Once I figured what I liked and thought I could handle, I went Delphi connectors. Instead of using the 90 degree angled pigtails on the backs of the gauges, I used two Delphi type connectors on each side of the instrument panel and used nuts to secure the wires to the back of the individual gauges. I bought female connectors and sockets, male connectors and pins, crimping tool, etc., all through
Mouser Electronics - Electronic Components Distributor. I liked Mouser because you can buy individual components in the amounts you need instead of getting stuck of having to buy 25 of something when you only need 10.
For the wire, I went through
Rhode Island Wiring Service Inc.. They have wire in just about any color combination you would need. You can't order their product online - you have to call and actually talk to a human. I spoke with a guy named Travis, told him what I was doing, and started down my list. I gave him the wire color, tracer color, gauge, and length I needed, i.e., I need red wire, white tracer, 16 gauge, 15 feet. They have a minimum length of 10 feet per color, but that's okay. Better to have too much than not enough, right? Also, speak clearly! I ordered 15 feet of blue/red 16 gauge wire, and got 50 feet of it. Oh well, I'll keep it. If for some reason Rhode Island Wiring doesn't have the color combination you need, another place to check is on eBay. Look for a seller that goes by "brussellex" or "4rcustomswire". I think they are the same operation, but who knows. They sell wire by the foot, and have a chart to show what they have available. The only thing about their wire is that instead of the straight tracer that runs along the length of the wire, it "spirals" around the wire. For example, the wire that runs from the oil pressure sender to the gauge is white with a red tracer. The red tracer spirals around the white, and sort of looks like a candy cane. If one is looking for a concours wiring job, this is not the wire to use.
For the firewall connectors, I reused my old ones. I contacted a company that manufactures the stock-type wiring harnesses for our cars, but they wouldn't sell me the individual connectors because they said it was because the terminals are molded into the rubber blocks and couldn't be replaced. So what I ended up doing was drilling out all but two of the terminals on the connectors and enlarging the holes a little bit to allow wires to pass through. I cut the wires for the two remaining terminals as close to the connector blocks as I could get them. I used these two dead terminals to hold the connectors together while I passed the wires through the holes for the terminals I removed. If someone knows of a better way to do this, I'm interested.
The two fuse blocks I used are Bussmann - one has 6 fuses and the other has 8. I ran the hot wire from the battery into the 8 fuse block. I used that terminal stud to also supply power to the ignition switch, ignition kill switch, and the headlight switch. The 6 fuse block is used to provide power to those accessories in the car that utilize switched-on power, to include the heater motor, wipers, instrument cluster, etc.