Ok, as Piledriver requested, here are some pics to show you why you should replace the loom in your old car...
First up here's a pic of the 1956 6 volt loom cut open...
To the naked eye, it all looks pretty clean and in good nic. In fact, just to look at it, it would be fine. In practice, it's far from it.
Here's two tail-light wires just a few inches down the loom from there near where they come out of the loom...
Both wires are melted together and to the outer sheath.
Further up the loom...
If you look in the center, you can see where there is a divot in the grey wire. It and the bright blue wire had been melted together.
2 inches further up the loom there is this...
The grey wire with the black stripe was melted solidly to the outer sheath.
The other thing to say about the loom was, the insulation and the outer sheath had become extremely hard and stiff. Cutting the outer sheath off the loom was tremendously hard work even with a carpet cutting knife. If the insulation is cracking, then it will arc inside the loom.
All the places where these wires are melted together demonstrate long term arcing in the circuits those wires supply. As the arcing increases the temperatures increase to the point where the insulation melts enough to let the strands of wire touch. Once that happens it's only a matter of time before there is a serious short and the car can very easily catch on fire. Only a recently, a friend of mine told me about a relative who's VW had burnt to the ground in their garage from this sort of electrical fire. They hadn't even seen it coming. You might say, "but that was only one wire in your loom causing all that trouble". The problem is... how do you know it's only one? And, how do you know which one it is? We couldn't tell until we pulled the loom out completely.
The thing is, the sort of arcing I'm talking about is typical for the style of bulb and fuse connectors that came in vintage VWs. The ceramic fuses and spring contacts all arc when the car is driving along vibrating. So even if your car has had a nice life (like mine has), odds are the loom is going to be similar to mine. If it's sat outside in the heat for long periods, had an accident, electrical fire or been messed about with, it's likely to be a LOT worse.
New looms are a few hundred dollars and not hard to fit. A new fuse box is similarly cheap and kits are available. We wouldn't think twice about dropping this sort of money on a stereo or an exhaust... why wouldn't we do the same to stop the whole car from catching on fire?
P.s. in other news, the new fuel line is all in and secured well.
