I'm consulting a few forums to see if I can get some answers. I am the proud owner of a 1986 Camaro Z28. It has a 5.7, and it hasn't run in years. I got the motor back together, but the wiring harness in it was an absolute mess. The previous owner had cut a bunch of connectors off and tried to rig it himself, and ended up ruining the harness. I now have an opportunity to buy a 1989 Camaro RS with an LB8 V6. The wiring harness in it looks perfect. My question is, can I make that work? I don't mind doing some work to get the harness to fit, as I'm not anticipating it just plugging up and working. But is this a better option? I'm trying to avoid spending too much, as custom harnesses are expensive and I don't have the electrical knowledge to build my own harness. So, 1989 V6 wiring harness on a 1986 V8: will it work? Any help or recommendations are greatly appreciated!

 

I would look for a v8 harness. Is this tpi ? or carb ? posting a ad in the classifieds might be a good choice. If this is tpi there is one in the classifieds now. Its a 89 so the alternator wiring is on the drivers side and there is no ninth injector wiring.

 

That's part of the problem for sure. My 86 is carb and the 89 is tpi, so that would need some work for sure. But the alternator wiring wouldn't be too much of a problem. I can always just cut the wire and extend it to fit.

 

Computer Controlled Carb ?
or just a carb ?

 

Just a carb. It's a Holley 4 barrel that the previous owner put in.

 

You don’t need much wiring wise, unless your headlights and charging system are hacked up.
To run the engine you need power from the ignition switch. If you have a tach it’s a white wire to the dash.
green wire for the coolant temp gauge ect.. If the car was ccc strip down the harness. All the ecm controls went through the passengers side wheel well.

 

I'm not even that worries about gauges for now. I mostly want to make sure the engine runs before I put too much work into the car. It's got a new distributor, spark plugs and wires, battery, and the engine is ready to go. Would I be able to do some easy wiring to crank the car with brake cleaner? Or is that a bad idea. From my understanding, I'd just need these:
-Ground wire to negative terminal of battery
-Wire from distributor to positive terminal of battery
-Ground wire for starter
-Spray brake cleaner into intake for spark
-Touch the starter wire to the positive terminal of battery to crank