Cloth sleeving for wire harnesses

I want to give the wire harness that runs from the engine bay to the rear of the car some TLC while the engine and gearbox are out. The original harness was covered with cloth sleeving and has, over 40 years, become somewhat degraded, ok most of it is gone and the only stuff left is oil soaked and caked with dirt. I'd like to replace the sleeving with some new cloth sleeving for originality (I know there are more durable/practical products, but....).

I checked British Wiring and didn't see cloth sleeving offered up,so can anyone point me to a supplier for this stuff?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Go to Your local parts house and ask for fabrick wire loom.

It would be difficult the replace the cloth, I think the harness would have to be mostly disassembled. If going to that much trouble, I would consider just replacing the harness, you would have the advantage of new conductors, insulation and terminations.

Fabric wire loom is what you want http://www.tptools.com/p/2033,335_Fabric-Wire-Loom.html might also try NAPA

The loom comes in sizes 1/4 in. 3/8 in. etc.
I get the loom that will be large enough to pass all the wire through with a bit of ease and nip a hole in the loom where the wires branch out and exit the loom in various places then fish the wire/wires out through the hole.Where a wire will be exiting I before pulling the wires through the loom shove a piece of heat shrink over the loom then after I get the wire/wires pulled through the hole and routed and situated shrink the tubing down to seal the loom from having dirt accumulate inside the harness.
also shove a pice of heat shrink over the ends so You can seal them up as well.
works better than tape that starts unraveling over time,dirt and oil.

If you want to duplicate the original cover EXACTLY....contact EGGE Machine in Santa Fe Springs CA. They can do it.....but why? your old harness is OLD....buy a new cloth covered one and you'll be ahead of the game.

Painless wiring makes a product called Powerbraid. Check the Painless website or Summit Racing for information. I'm thinking of using it on my '67 B. It's not original, but may be a good substitute.

I too was faced with the same dilemma when I was cleaning my engine bay. I found this stuff after searching the web. I'm real happy with. It was easy to use and it just slips around your existing wiring, Cuts with a hot blade and you can remove it to clean with some soapy water if you'd like. I used all black in different sizes. I guesstimated how much of each size I needed and ordered from the second link posted.

http://www.techflex.com/product_picker.asp

https://www.wirecare.com/land_wraparound.asp

The original cloth was woven over the wire, not as a pre-manufactured sleeve.
Here's a wiring harness reproduction place with a picture of a braiding machine.
http://www.narragansettreproductions.com/wiring-harness.html

Call British Wiring. they're very easy to talk to, and will probably give you options on how to tackle the job.

I agree with what Jeff said --If it were me --I'd replace the front to back harness from British wiring and be done with it ....

I thought it worked similar to the chinese finger puzzle,pull both ends to make tight......puzzle

If cost is not an issue, I would go for a new harness. I agree with those that say, "Your harness is old", replace it with new and be at ease. You'll be glad you did. PJ

Thank you everyone for the replies. Based on what I was seeing on the harness as it currently is, It looked as though the sleeving was something that slid over the wires. From the research I've done based on some of the replies received here, it appears as though the braiding was actually woven onto the wires and not slid over.

I was actually going to make up a new harness over the winter as the cost of the coloured wiring that I would need wasn't going to be that much and would give me an easy little project to do while it's -25C outside with horizontal snow, so everyone can rest assured I wasn't just going to re-sleeve the old wires and connectors (thanks for looking out for me though!)

So in the end, given that I'm not likely to weave my own braiding and I do want the harness to be correct in appearance, I'll probably shell out for a new assembly. Supplier to be determined. Thanks again everyone.