[T3] '73 FI harness

Tue Mar 12 16:16:40 PDT 2013

Ah ha!  Soaking it in lacquer thinner is what did it!
Do we have a chemist on the list to tell us why?  Id probably make more
inaccurate statements trying to explain it than correct ones.

One thing you DO need to remember when buying NOS anything is that often
these days, there is a REASON that this NOS item is still around, sometimes
its major, sometimes its minor, sometimes it's a showstopper like a bent
wheel or sometimes it's a muffler with a little hole in the stamping that
needs to be welded up.  Always examine the item with this in mind.

Keith

Top Notch Restorations
topnotch at nycap.rr.com 
http://www.a383ina68.addr.com/radiorest/main.htm
71 Squareback "Hothe"
65 Notchback "El Baja Rojo"
65 Squareback "Eggcrate"
87 golf "Winterat"
93 RX7 "Redstur"

-----Original Message-----
From: type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org
[mailto:type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org] On Behalf Of Daniel
Nohejl
Sent: Tuesday, March 12, 2013 7:01 AM
To: type3 at vwtype3.org
Subject: Re: [T3] '73 FI harness

The rubber boot I mentioned in my message was definitely NOS from a trusted
source. Maybe the cracks I've found though were already there but much
smaller and NYC weather has hastened their expansion? In terms of rubber, I
thought part of the rationale behind folks not buying NOS master/wheel
cylinder rebuild kits was that the rubber doesn't always behave well over
time. But truth be told, I only have 3 years of NOS parts experience to pull
from, so really most of what I "know" is what I've read. 

ISPWest is reproducing the air cleaner boot and has molded the part # in.
It's visible in several pictures in the link below. I guess for copyright
reasons they left off the VW logo:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=1330353

In fairness to old harnesses, when I had wires break on my "gently used"
harness (West Coast origin), it was in winter which is obviously not the
finest time to be handling old wires, but the overall deterioration in
condition was rapid. I installed it in July during a NY heatwave and it was
nice and supple. When I removed it from the car in January, some parts of
the sheathing had become so hard that I cut myself on them during removal!
Maybe I only got a temporary benefit from soaking in lacquer thinner but
either way, the journey from supple to brittle only took 7 months in my
case. 

Dan. 

On Mar 11, 2013, at 10:57 PM, Keith Park wrote:

> Im also impressed with the harnesses Joe makes, since he makes them
himself
> they are of MUCH better quality than any mass produced repro stuff out
there
> but Ive had my hands on maybe a dozen NOS ones and they were as flexable
and
> supple as new, they were however stored in their original boxes.
> 
> NOS rubber really shouldn't suddenly disintegrate, REPRO rubber however,
> often does.  A lot of folks mistake NOS for Repro, or buy Repro stuff that
> was advertised as NOS, the usual give away is that Repro doesn't have the
> part number molded in... correct me if someone has seen the repro stuff
with
> part numbers these days.
> 
> The FI harness in my square is approaching 400Kmi, Ive replaced about half
> the connector inserts from rough handling, and about half the boots have
> been replaced but the wire itself, including the insulation has not been a
> problem at all.  I do live in NY however, not Arizona or Texas.
> 
> Keith
> 
> 
> Top Notch Restorations
> topnotch at nycap.rr.com 
> http://www.a383ina68.addr.com/radiorest/main.htm
> 71 Squareback "Hothe"
> 65 Notchback "El Baja Rojo"
> 65 Squareback "Eggcrate"
> 87 golf "Winterat"
> 93 RX7 "Redstur"
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org
> [mailto:type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org] On Behalf Of Daniel
> Nohejl
> Sent: Monday, March 11, 2013 10:37 PM
> To: type3 at vwtype3.org
> Subject: Re: [T3] '73 FI harness
> 
> Well..I got a new harness from Joe and couldn't be happier with it. Sure,
> it's anywhere from $100-$150 more than a NOS harness but unless a NOS
> harness was stored at an ideal constant temperature and wasn't exposed to
> light and etc. then it will pretty quickly show its age. 
> 
> Over the summer, I installed a "lightly used" FI harness. It was mostly
> supple and a brief soak in lacquer thinner made it feel like new. A few
> months later and wires were brittle, some snapped, etc. Most recently, I
had
> a NOS intake boot on my oil bath. It was beautiful. After 6 months it's
got
> tons of cracks, and I've barely driven the car so it hasn't been through
> tons of heat cycles and I've removed it maybe only twice. Old rubber and
> plastic seem to respond pretty quickly to the elements. 
> 
> The extra money for a new harness is nothing to snort at, but if you're
> going to replace such a vital component of your FI system why not save a
bit
> and go new? New sheath, new boots, new connectors, and new wires all
labeled
> on both ends. 
> 
> That's my .05 cents.
> 
> Dan. 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> On Mar 11, 2013, at 11:49 AM, Mike Fisher wrote:
> 
>> Joe (JSMskater on the Samba) is building new FI harnesses to order for
>> about $400.
>> 
>> On Mon, Mar 11, 2013 at 8:44 AM, Gregory Cox <gregorycox1 at me.com> wrote:
>> 
>>> Any suggestions as to how to locate a '73 FI harness? Mine is very
> brittle
>>> and rather than patch, I'm considering a replacement. Do they exist?
>>> 
>>> Thanks!
>>> 
>>> 
>>> Greg
>>> 
>>> Gregory Cox
>>> 1973 Squareback - G2
>>> Huntsville, AL
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> 
>> -- 
>> Eugene, Oregon
>> 
>> http://s169.photobucket.com/albums/u236/mr_bojangles500/
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