I've spent a lot of time on wiring the past few weeks.
I got a lot of advice from the engine provider, FFR, and input from this board; but in the end everything made sense and was consistent.
I also wired the dash, which was pretty straightforward (or at least I thought so).
Yesterday morning I planned to connect the battery and test the lights, blinkers, etc.
After I connected the battery I was looking at the dash and noticed smoke. I immediately disconnected the battery terminals and investigated.
I found that one of the three red wires that were connected to the solenoid was completely fried. I haven't figured out yet which of the wires it was (I plan to look at that tonight).
I see three possibilities of which none make sense to me.
1. It was the red battery feed, which leads directly to the fuse panel and should have blown a fuse if there was a short.
2. It was the alternator wire which leads to the alternator (single post) which is looking for a direct positive battery connection.
3. It was the ignition wire, but the ignition was not turned on and the key was not inserted (no possibility of error there).
I ordered a new harness, but am seriously thinking of having a local hot rod shop take care of the wiring. At $500 a pop, I don't want to keep frying harnesses.