12 volt small block conversion

[jpsnblood]

I am getting started with putting a 350 chevy out of my rusty 68 715 into my 67.
The 67 had a 12 volt conversion, stock 230.
I have several questions in my mind.
How safe is it to use the original wiring for the 12 volt setup
Can I use the foot starter switch with out using a starter solenoid.
If I need to replace complete wiring harness, now would be the time. Dog house off, motor out,ect. I am partial to Painless. Has anyone used one of their systems.
I am trying to save as much money as possible, but safety comes fist.
Any ideas,suggestions,advice ,part numbers ect. would be greatly appreciated.

[fng]

On my first truck I did the 350/12v conversion. I used a Painless 12 circuit set up and it was a breeze. Really nice instructions, pictures and verbage to explain it all. I was pretty expensive (back when I thought I had money), about 350.00 on ebay. Anyway I'd really rather trust a whole new setup if I was going to all that trouble again.

[brute4c]

The old wiring can handle the 12 volts but it is known to fail over the years...it would be best to rewire at this age.

Seems to me you could wire from battery to foot starter switch to starter without problem...

[rollie715]

Here's my 2 cents.
This might be a little different perspective from the 2 previous posts.

I am cheap.
Wiring for the 350 is very simple. If I was doing it, I would reuse the setup you had on the 230.

The foot switch was originally sized to run the 24volt 230 starter. When the 230 was switched to 12v, the new starter would have drawn about twice the amps as previous which could stress the foot switch. I assume a 350 starter may draw even more, but I don't really know. On the other hand the foot switch may be a standard military part which was oversized and would handle the 350 starter just fine.

And after all this deep thinking, I just realized, the 350 already has a solenoid built into the starter that needs to be used anyway. No seperate solenoid is needed. So you could reuse the foot switch to run the solenoid with, but a start pushbutton on the panel or a regular ignition keyswitch would probaby be better.

I'm thinking my 2 cents may be only worth 1 cent

Rollie

[Barrman]

The stock wiring works fine if it is in good shape. To use the foot switch, just run a wire from the power post on the starter to the foot switch and then back to the solenoid post on the starter. The foot switch will be handling the same current as a regular starter switch and not the entire load. Plus, you can still use a screw driver to start the truck if the switch goes bad.

[kwai]

Plus, you can still use a screw driver to start the truck if the switch goes bad.

It's always good to have a backup plan when the zombies are after you.