NOS Wiring Harness? Are they available?, Or does everyone just preserve the original harness? Options

[stevegm]

I am preparing my '71 914-4 for restoration. It has come to the point to make a decision how to handle the wiring harness. Are they available for sale NOS? Or does everyone reuse the original one in the car?

I read that one of the builds used an NOS harness and NOS fuse-box. It said - "both courtesy of Mr. Sager." Although it was a six (Mine is just a 4).

Here is the link:
http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?showtopic=78492

Thanks,
Steve

[JeffBowlsby]

Thought I should chime in on this.

The chassis harnesses are well protected from engine bay heat and contaminants unlike the engine bay harnesses so they are, all things considered, in better condition than the others. But why is it that some people still hack into these? PUT THE CUTTERS DOWN PEOPLE. There is never a need to cut wiring, ever. The damage can be difficult to fix. I have been restoring original chassis harnesses as I have the time, but it’s a time consuming process and that makes it expensive, but still cost effective by far, than building new. The interest in new chassis harnesses has been increasing from year to year.

I have been doing the upfront work on making the chassis harnesses as I have time, but it is a monumental task. The chassis harnesses are extremely complicated! Each model year USA 914 chassis harness is unique and not interchangeable with other years, so there are 7 for the 914/4 and as far as I can tell at the moment, at least 2 if not 3 for the 914/6. See the comparison chart on my harness website and below for details. They are different in their circuitry and connectivity requirements at dash switches, gauges and lighting, the relay board connector and by their changes/upgrades from model year to year.

Building them can only come after documenting their circuitry, connectivity and layout, which is where I am at currently. I have acquired 1 or more of each model year 914/4 (except the 1971 914/4 – SO MEPSTEIN CAN I BORROW YOURS TO DOCUMENT?) and am in the process of designing the tooling. Each harness is different than the other, but their similarities include that that have about 70 different combinations of wire gage, base color and striping color, combined to make about 170 different circuits. I have most of the connector terminals but others need to be sourced. I have roughly priced buying the bulk wire and to get the correct colors/gages and striping, will cost about $1000. for each harness, and that is only when buying in bulk quantities for discounts, that initial cost would be at least $5000. as of a year ago. Does not include the terminals, outer casing, or labor to fabricate, or the upfront design and tooling fabrication costs. Easily these are $2000. items to build new, each. These are in no way comparable to the $99. Beetle harness from JC Whitney or Painless. One fabricator that I know of charges $2,295. and they only offer one model year of the 914/6 harness on a custom order basis so that is a reasonable price. $2,295 is more than the value of some 914s, so you can see your car better be pretty valuable to justify this expense, as much as we would all like to have new chassis harnesses.

Seriously, I could use some help with building these 914 wiring harnesses so if someone in the SF bay area is genuinely interested in dedicating significant time and committing to consistent, ongoing effort to making 914 wiring harnesses as a long term endeavor, for pay, please contact me to discuss.