68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

[Gary K.]

In the engine bay, cleaning up and re-using the working original harness in my driver-quality 68 427. I have a DeWitt aluminum radiator and need to wrap long wire runs from the dual fans plus a couple other minor wire cleanup issues. Existing 45 year old wrap still nice and tight, neat, black 3/4" kind of thin tape.

Anyone have a modern day equivalent? Any insights on what was originally used? With age it's a matte finish, so a typical new roll of good tape will not match. Plus today's tapes seem thicker. Any suggestions?

By the way - anyone in Phoenix (me) or hot places w/overheating problems and not worried about points the DeWitts radiator w/dual fans keeps it so never gets to 200 even on hot days.

[Mike M.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

paragon has non-stickey electrician's tape , similar to original. mike

[Russ C.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

This is the stuff you want Gary. I've used it on several EFI harnesses and it's a great product. hi temp, no adhesive, etc.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Elliott-Tape-ET-501-Dry-Vinyl-Tape-Wire-Harness-Wrap-OEM-/120888950760?hash=item1c258affe8&vxp=mtr

[Gary K.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

Boy you guys are fast.... Wow! Thank you very much, a great easy fix.

[Terry M.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

Boy you guys are fast.... Wow! Thank you very much, a great easy fix.

Gary,
If your engine temperature never really gets above 200* I would suggest you are doing more harm than good to your engine. The engine needs to be closer to boiling in order to burn off moisture in the oil in order to prevent acid build-up in the oil. Of course one also needs an accurate temperature gauge and checking that with an IR temperature gun at the thermostat housing is also useful.

[Duke W.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

No problem as long as he's running at least a 180 degree thermostat, and I believe all '68s had 195s because they were emission controlled engines. In cooler climates engines with 180s usually won't get much above that.

The oil itself should get up to the 200-220 range in city traffic in hot ambient temperatures as long as the engine is operated for at least a half hour and not mostly short trips. The vapor pressure of water at 200 is high enough to prevent significant condensation in the crankcase.

The electric fan setup will pump more air through the radiator in city traffic, so the maximum coolant temperature will be less than if the engine had the original clutch fan in proper working order.

Coolant temperatures up to 230F with a 15 psi cap are okay for vintage engines running 50/50 glycol/water coolant, but most of us don't like to see the gage go that high. In modern Corvettes I don't think the fan engages until coolant temperature hits 230. Aluminum engines actually run better the hotter they are - up to a point.

Duke

[Terry M.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

No problem as long as he's running at least a 180 degree thermostat, and I believe all '68s had 195s because they were emission controlled engines. In cooler climates engines with 180s usually won't get much above that.

The oil itself should get up to the 200-220 range in city traffic in hot ambient temperatures as long as the engine is operated for at least a half hour and not mostly short trips. The vapor pressure of water at 200 is high enough to prevent significant condensation in the crankcase.

The electric fan setup will pump more air through the radiator in city traffic, so the maximum coolant temperature will be less than if the engine had the original clutch fan in proper working order.

Coolant temperatures up to 230F with a 15 psi cap are okay for vintage engines running 50/50 glycol/water coolant, but most of us don't like to see the gage go that high. In modern Corvettes I don't think the fan engages until coolant temperature hits 230. Aluminum engines actually run better the hotter they are - up to a point.

Duke

Duke,
I thought engine temps should go to 200-220. I misunderstood.

[Gary K.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

Russ, used the link, got my roll today in just a couple days, yes it is the ticket. Only problem is the 45 year old original tape is aged, new tape isnt, so either super clean the old or just leave as - is and sparingly use the new Elliott tape on the long new wire runs and for any fixups.
Again thank you...

[Russ C.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

Russ, used the link, got my roll today in just a couple days, yes it is the ticket. Only problem is the 45 year old original tape is aged, new tape isnt, so either super clean the old or just leave as - is and sparingly use the new Elliott tape on the long new wire runs and for any fixups. Again thank you...

Good deal. glad it worked out for you.

Russ

[Joe R.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

paragon has non-stickey electrician's tape , similar to original. mike

Hi Mike,

Is this the stuff? It's 1.25 " wide.

https://www.paragoncorvette.com/p-35...ness-tape.aspx

I noticed that the Elliott Tape ET 501 Super High Heat tape in the ebay listing is 1 " wide.

Which tape would be more correct for what year Corvettes?

Joe

[Alan S.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

Hi Joe,
The original wrap on the engine harness in my 71 is 1 1/4" wide.
Regards,
Alan

[Terry M.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

Hi Joe,
The original wrap on the engine harness in my 71 is 1 1/4" wide.
Regards,
Alan

IIRC Bill Clupper once told me there was a change in the width of the tape at some point. I'll ding him up to see if he still remember.

[William C.]

Re: 68 Wire harness is there black insulating tape to match original

1.3 inch tape became standard in the late 1960's as the result of a suggestion from a gal who worked in the methods development area at Packard Electric, Earned her a $10.000 suggestion award and was used right up until convoluted conduit was introduced. I think the changeover was the 1969 model year. Earlier would have been 1.0 inch wide tape. Sorry my memory of the exact timeframe is a little weak.