OK after a long think over, I am going to rewire Lillee's "spagetti" one wire at a time (boy am I a sucker for punishment ). Well I figure that reqire is much easier than new loom as I wouldn't know where to start with a new loom!

I have some questions:

1) Is it worth doing them in the same colours? or is this going to lead only to frustration?
2) Should I replace the entire wire from beginning to end or just snip off the crappy bits and solder a new extension?

Sorry for these newbie questions but I have NO idea about electricals

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

First thought that comes to mind for me is find another stock loom in reasonable nick and tidy it up, then just swap them over.

For interest's sake, why do you want to rewire it?

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Metal to burn, sparks to fly...

the colour scheme is to make it easier to trace and identify a wire so if you go one colour you loose that feature.. probably not so bad if you invent an easy taging system to do the same thing... this would have to be identified at both ends ie brake switch to brake bulb and brake bulb to brake switch..
I had some time to ponder this last night after seing gafmo's post about looms and thought he was onto something when asking about wire thickness...
electricity actually moves in mysterious ways in a wire so wire choice can make a difference.. gaf was asking about thickness of the wires i think and i thought it wouldnt be a bad idea if remaking a loom from scratch to use a heavier grade of wire in some aplications as with all the mods we are using (bigger alts, big stereos more drain in general) then it may well be a good idea to rethink wire choice..
sorry i didnt answer this to you gaf.. went to last night way late and the connection died so i went to bed instead..
if you can come up with a good way od tagging wires perminantly then i dont see the one colour thing being a problem.. could use a simple code and make a document that explains the code to ant future owners if you sell..
you would need a good crimping kit and a bit of practice using it and some good quality connections..
if it turns out nice you could probably sell a few too

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No longer Ms Westwoods mini outside her original kings road shop

NOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just buy a new Loom, you will find yourself in all sorts of strife if you go down the route you are intending. Chopping off the bits you don't want and adding subtracting... you will get lost and next time you want to fix something you will have absolutly no clue. If you can get a 2nd hand one, then clean it up and check it over. But for love of god don't cutting up what you have, you will only make it worse. For the pice of a new one 300-400 it will just make things easier. When you pull the old one, lable everything, and when you put in the new one, connect what goes to what.
Just remember Lucas electrics are bad enough as is without you making it worse. Not trying to sound harsh but unless you have good knowledge in auto electrics you will make a mess.

Cheers

Aaron

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Having done repairs and replacements, I would go the replacement everytime. Not too costly to pick up a secondhand loom, clean it then get it checked over by a specialist and recovered (that way dodgey bits you weren't aware of would get fixed). It would then just be a case of changing it over which isn't to difficult on a mini.

IMHO I would stick to the colour scheme on the original loom just for the sake of keeping things simple.

A wire by wire repair sounds like a lot of hard work and more difficult than a change over.

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1965 Morris Mini 'Woody' Traveller

yes good point aaron my above statement was meant to only apply to making a new loom from scratch (repairing doesnt work and looks messy)... which would take a degree of practicality, and a lot of time to get right..

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No longer Ms Westwoods mini outside her original kings road shop

Unless your having problems with her..i'm going to have to ask, why?

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Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

I bought a brand new loom (just front) for my Clubman that cost about $150 from memory. When I was taking the old one off, I wrote down in a notepad what colour wire went to what connection. I also used a wiring/electrical diagram for my Clubman to double check that what I had in the first place was correct.

It's so much easier to rip out the old and put in the new. You just need to be patient, but you end up with a really tidy, clean, spaghetti-free finish.

I also recommend a cable cover/tidy/case thing (somebody help me with a proper name) to snap around the main, longish stretches of bound up wire. Hides the colours and makes it look even tidier still. It's also easy to take off if you need to.

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Jonathan
http://photobucket.com/albums/y64/FatMaserati/

Well my thoughts are to get another loom means big trouble! I wouldn't know where to start! Which plug goes where etc. I thought at least if I clean up the one that I have then I know where the wire came from/goes to. Whereas if I ripped out the old one I wouldn't know how to put the new one in!

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Sorry I posted my last message before reading Aaron's doom message

OK... if it's THAT bad then maybe I will think about a new loom... It's not the money, it's the ability to do it! Looking at a picture of a brand new loom just gives me the creeps!

It can't be that hard can it??? Wire from leadlights, white with red lines, snip, replace with new white with red lines wire, solder, headshrink tube, crimp, next wire???

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

Because it looks like spagetti under there! lots of wires are frayed down to their cores! Put it this way it's actually amazing that Lillee even works!!!

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

To replace a loom mate is very straight forward. Lable everything, pull out the old loom. Photo's may help, and then put the new one in.

Cheers

Aaron

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I see... hmmm food for thought...

<<< Nice avatar by the way Aaron Is zat your wife posing there?!

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Lillee - 1969 Morris Mini K

No thats my girlfriend! Lucky me, hot wife and hot girlfriend.

Cheers
Aaron

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It should not be difficult, and even easier if you have a wiring diagram.

I can't think of any places where you would need to cut & solder if you have another loom. Just unplug the old and plug in the new.

If I may quote Ready, "easy peasy"

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Metal to burn, sparks to fly...