Reaching a Milestone

[Midlife 814]

My harness refurbishment business just reached a major milestone: 500 underdash harnesses have been refurbished and sold to customers.  When I started out in March, 2008, I thought that there might be sufficient need to make this a hobby business, defined by the IRS as having no consecutive years of making a profit.  As of 2011, I had to register as a business, as the demand for these services was greater than I originally thought!

 

I started out thinking that the distribution of harnesses by production year would largely reflect two factors: how many Mustangs were built and the cost of reproduction harnesses.  Mustang productions peaked in 65/66, declining all the way through 73.  Reproduction harnesses start out at ~$500 for the earliest years, growing to ~$1000 for 1970.  No reproductions are available for 71-73.  I expected a reasonably flat distribution from 65through 70, with a bit higher demand for the later years.  What actually happened was much different:

 

 

The biggest surprise is that 1969 dominates all other years, accounting for 26% of all of my work.  The next highest year is 66, 67, and 70, each running about 13%.  1968 accounts for about 10%.  I think this data is telling me that 1969 is by far the most popular year Mustang, and that the 71-73 demand is much lower than other years.  We’ll see if this changes over the next few years. 

 

Thanks for reading!

[69RavenConv 286]

Congratulations, Randy! Folks like you are the grease that keeps this hobby going. Interesting about the '69 model year being the biggest seller - I would have bet money it was 1965-66.

[RPM 1,190]

Congratulations Randy on a fine product and service you provide. The way I see those numbers is like this, we're not only smart enough to buy the best looking Mustang ever, we're smart enough to buy the best/economical wiring for our Stangs.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

If i can find it i have a 70 Mach1 harness ,it was air and tack also .I will send it to you ,69s are my thing . I have several 67-68 harnesses ,most in usable shape i think ,i have them bagged up in plastic trash bags and probably buried in one of my buildings .

[Midlife 814]

If i can find it i have a 70 Mach1 harness ,it was air and tack also .I will send it to you ,69s are my thing . I have several 67-68 harnesses ,most in usable shape i think ,i have them bagged up in plastic trash bags and probably buried in one of my buildings .

Most excellent!  I need all of these years for cores, regardless of their condition.  I pay $50 each plus shipping for each underdash harness core.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

My brother said he thinks he knows where it is ,i will check tomorrow .At one time i must have had about 20 harnesses ,mostly 65-68 that i had parted out the cars .The 70 was a CJ Q code .

[Guillaume69 150]

I just wanted to add for those who might not have noticed that you have expanded your business overseas as well: there are now a few Mustangs in France that have your refurbished harnesses and all owned by very happy customers!

 

Out of pure curiosity, do you have any statistics on your overseas sales?

 

Congrats for a job very well done Randy.

 

G

[Midlife 814]

No readily-available statistics, but I do have a healthy clientele in Great Britain, France, Germany, Australia, Canada, and India!  My guess is that about 35 to 40 underdash harnesses have been shipped overseas in the past 8 years.  Many are repeat customers.

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

Looks like i found another 68 so i think there is three of them HAHA. I will try to send them out after Christmas .Looks like i will be busy right up until Christmas day . I am pretty sure the 68 convert harness is in runable condition ,the 70 still has the fog light switch .

[Midlife 814]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKUOB8MN4Kc

[Drive fast 9]

Just got my '69 harnesses back a few weeks ago! I'm very happy with the results; sounds like I was close to the 500th...nice job Midlife.

[Midlife 814]

Looks like i found another 68 so i think there is three of them HAHA. I will try to send them out after Christmas .Looks like i will be busy right up until Christmas day . I am pretty sure the 68 convert harness is in runable condition ,the 70 still has the fog light switch .

You have an e-mail!

[Ridge Runner 1,112]

You have an e-mail!

Got it .

[Midlife 814]

Last day to receive harnesses is May 23; I will be down until November/December timeframe.  I'll post when the business is backup and running. 

Sorry for the inconvenience, but I do have to get the house and garage repaired due to damage from Hurricane Michael, which requires everything removed from the dwellings.

[Cantedvalve 128]

Pfft. Real men make their own tires and don’t stop fixing wiring harnesses just because their roofs are missing!!

[Midlife 814]

You calling me a Sissy?  You talking to me?  Dang, CV...you should know better than that.

I stop fixing wiring harnesses whenever anyone offers me an adult beverage, which is about as good an excuse as any!

[69ShelbyGT350H 61]

Taint no big deal, just go back to work.

https://redshost.com/andrew/Andrew2/

Oops, what happened to work?

[EastYorkStang 63]

That link is not working.