<VV> Reply to recent wiring harness prices post

[NicolCS@aol.com]

Well, actually there are many vendors for wiring harnesses - I buy from  
multiple vendors for my classic car re-wiring business "Racers Inc."  At  $300, 
the Corvair underdash harness is near the bottom of the price scale  for 
underdash harnesses.  Most are around $400 to $450, that's why I  usually repair 
them.  Generally the under hood harnesses for a front engine  car are $80 and 
$125, the underdash is $450, and for the rear lamp harnesses  figure $100+/-. In 
addition there are usually a bunch of sub-harnesses at $10 to  $20 each.  My 
catalog for one of the vendors list 184 different harnesses  just for Corvairs!  
You are buying a service more than just wire and  plastic.  Imagine the 
research required to insure that each of these 184  harnesses is exactly the same 
as the original, considering all the  variations.  Then imagine sourcing all 
the little connectors, wires and  sundry so that they are the same as original 
even as GM changed techniques and  suppliers over the years.  Now there's the 
whole factory aspect that  manufactures these with zero defects (in my 
experience having purchased  hundreds).  Did I mention the cost of marketing and sales?
 
Another service available from these vendors: Custom harnesses.  I can  order 
an underhood harness for an engine swap, an alternator in a generator car,  
HEI in a points car and on and on.  These people that run these harness  
companies do us a HUGE service!  Ford wiring isn't modular like GM's.   Ford 
restorers, except for the most popular models, are stuck with "repair &  patch" or 
completely non-stock rewiring (Like a Ron Francis kit) which runs  about $450 
and requires 5x the labor to install. ($1000-up installed)
 
No, we have it good.  We just aren't calibrated to the "world out  there".  
Craig Nicol, Racers Inc.

<snip>If there is no alternative to the sole Corvair harness  manufacturer, 
then I am suspicious *his* price is based more on there being no  competition 
than on the cost of parts and complexity of manufacturing.   Consequently, I 
choose to hold my money as long as possible, if necessary  until someone starts 
selling these harnesses to our vendors at a lower  wholesale price to begin 
with <unsnip>