some builders are better than others at this. Ford is notorious for not only letting supplies dry up on older cars that are not mustangs, but purposely destroying old stock when they are legally allowed to.
some builders are better than others at this. Ford is notorious for not only letting supplies dry up on older cars that are not mustangs, but purposely destroying old stock when they are legally allowed to.
GeddesB said:Head to the parts house and tell them you need parts for this:
Do they send you to starbucks?
Try to find a new crank position sensor for an SHO V6. I dare you.
All the oddball cars in my collection are 1:64, diecast and fit in a plastic container. I drive an appliance Honda Fit so I'll show myself to the door.
My wife DDs a car that while only 10 years old was only made for 2 years with a total production of 12,000 or so world wide. If it gets hit in the back there are no new tail lights and used ones are 1K ish each. Body panels are close to the same, but she still drives it. Whatever happens happens and life will go on.
mad_machine (Forum Supporter) said:some builders are better than others at this. Ford is notorious for not only letting supplies dry up on older cars that are not mustangs, but purposely destroying old stock when they are legally allowed to.
That`s just good parts inventory management, sad but true.
Once the vehicle is out of warranty, they are under no obligation to give a damn about it.
Really want to save the planet? Stop this planned obsolesence garbage and tell people that there is no reason a vehicle can't make it past 300,000 miles if it's maintained even hafway to what the manual says you should do.
My DD for the past 5 years has been an SW20, and some basic mechanical parts that are unique to the platform have been getting hard enough to find that I've pretty much sworn off cool "oddball" cars in the future. I'll admire them at car shows but let someone else live with them.
Mazdaspeed Miata has a number of parts that are NLA such as the exhaust heat shield, turbo drain, 90 degree coupler that connects to the BOV among others.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:Streetwiseguy said:I think the question that changes my answer is, "Is this a toy, or does it need to run every day?" Toy, finding odd parts, fabricating, or adapting something to work is part of the fun. If I need a new part to get to work, and the last ones are stored in a bunker in Beirut, not so much fun.
That's why I always play party pooper when somebody wants to buy a GM built Saab for a daily. You can find 99 parts. 9-3 or newer has weird stuff that can be really painful.
Two words: Ignition cassette.
Even as long ago as ten years ago or so, they were NLA and the aftermarket units were spotty. You could pay $300 for an aftermarket one and maybe the fourth one you got was good enough to last past the one year warranty period, or you could pay $500 for a used SAAB one that would work.
(It's actually a really neat setup: There are two capacitive-discharge units inside, like MSD units, one for each coil, and then they bias a low voltage across the spark plug to either detect knock or misfire, I forget which. But there's a lot of delicate circuitry in there that is unlike anything else other automakers were doing. I like to use it as an example of SAAB doing some really wild lateral-thinking engineering, that unfortunately didn't translate to a profitable enough company to stay solvent)
There is the classic difference between a true mechanic and a parts replacer. What broke? Can it be repaired, rewired, is there an alternate way to achieve its job? Sealed units can be unsealed and resealed.
I drive my old Sonett as much as I can. I've got a bunch of spare parts, but if I don't have any body parts or replacement glass. Those parts are going to be hard to replace if I have an accident.
Although I generally own quite rare cars (ranging in total production between 70 and 2000 or so) none are a huge parts issue. I can usually find old parts to recondition or something from a similar model to adapt (the MGA Twin Cam race car is probably the hardest as too many bit the dust in the old days).
What scares me are the modern cars where they use custom electronics that we won't be able to find - BMW 850s with 4 ECMs whose replacement cost when they kack is more than the running car is worth, assuming you can even find an NOS part.
In reply to frenchyd :
Like frenchyd I have my TR250 and parts are pretty available but the pries are going up.
In reply to frenchyd :
It's not something you can "open", like a turn signal switch or even a canister type oil pressure sender.
If there were an easy option, people would beat a path to their door.
newold_m (Forum Supporter) said:Mazdaspeed Miata has a number of parts that are NLA such as the exhaust heat shield, turbo drain, 90 degree coupler that connects to the BOV among others.
Yeah, but that is how old now? Once out of warranty period, they have no obligation to stock anything, and just-in-time manufacturing means there is less oversupply to use as parts inventory.
Wish I could remember what they were, but Mercury Marine built LT5s had some parts that were never available. Head gaskets, I think, or maybe ignition coils.
In reply to wspohn :
I've seen all sorts of fixing/ modifications/ changes and updates to keep old cars running.
My approach has been to scout the junkyards.
I've found countless good working parts for modest prices. Get them when they are just old cars and haven't started to appreciate yet and you pay modest little price for those. Then stuff them up on the attic of your garage. Having a nice selection of spares provides both you and any future buyer with confidence.
Pete. (l33t FS) said:In reply to frenchyd :
It's not something you can "open", like a turn signal switch or even a canister type oil pressure sender.
If there were an easy option, people would beat a path to their door.
Read my answer above. But yes somethings can be fixed taken apart and fixed. When there are cheap available options we don't do it. But it is an option.
frenchyd said:Read my answer above. But yes somethings can be fixed taken apart and fixed. When there are cheap available options we don't do it. But it is an option.
Many things can be taken apart and fixed, provided someone can figure out how the thing works internally and source any components that need to be replaced. However, there are the occasional items where the circuit boards are potted, or otherwise sealed in a way that you can't get the thing apart for repair without destroying it.
I've got a '67 Mustang and a '93 F150. Parts scarcity isn't really an issue for me.
Dad's VW camper, and Porsche are a somewhat different story, not in availability but quality of parts. That's also why he has a Toyota Pickup, I guess
By quality I mean; for the VW he has replaced the brake booster three times since he owned it (bought when I was 2 or 3?) First one to go was a stock VW unit, lasted 15-20 years? Second was of similar quality, the third one lasted two years.
For me yes to some extent as far as deciding whether to purchase a car, especially the cars where people have hoarded parts and are selling them for insane prices, or when stuff that you know will break or wear out often (like windshields) are completely gone. For a car I already have, not as big a deal because what else are you going to do with it if you don't use it? I think the idea of restoring a car to as good as new ended with 70s (and maybe a few 80s) cars though. Anything newer than that the best you can hope for is to collect enough used and NOS parts that it will look good as long as you don't touch it.
I've got a '91 C1500 Silverado and a '91 Infiniti G20, my son has a '99 Isuzu Rodeo.
I can get just about everything for the Chevy except some interior trim pieces that are NLA, but some of those (like the door armrests) are coming back in stock at the dealer.
The Infiniti (Nissan) and the Isuzu suffer from 90's Japanese car parts availability. Suprisingly the Isuzu is harder to get parts for than the Infiniti, even though they made hundreds of thousands of them during the model run (1999 to 2004 i think) as the SUV craze was in full swing and they were popular, especially in my neck of the woods because they were a less expensive SUV option. It doesn't help that the Isuzu is the 4 cylinder 5 speed manual model. Everybody wanted the V6 so the 4 cylinder manual transmission models are thin on the ground at the yards. And, a lot of the parts listings at the FLAPS are incorrect, so you have to physically have the part in hand when you order it or buy it online so you don't get the wrong thing. Isuzu actually still stocks parts, but what isn't NLA is $$$$ because no one else has it. It's been fairly reliable though so he's going to keep it until it dies because he's cheap and i'm done buying cars for children.
frenchyd said:Pete. (l33t FS) said:Streetwiseguy said:I think the question that changes my answer is, "Is this a toy, or does it need to run every day?" Toy, finding odd parts, fabricating, or adapting something to work is part of the fun. If I need a new part to get to work, and the last ones are stored in a bunker in Beirut, not so much fun.
That's why I always play party pooper when somebody wants to buy a GM built Saab for a daily. You can find 99 parts. 9-3 or newer has weird stuff that can be really painful.
Two words: Ignition cassette.
Even as long ago as ten years ago or so, they were NLA and the aftermarket units were spotty. You could pay $300 for an aftermarket one and maybe the fourth one you got was good enough to last past the one year warranty period, or you could pay $500 for a used SAAB one that would work.
(It's actually a really neat setup: There are two capacitive-discharge units inside, like MSD units, one for each coil, and then they bias a low voltage across the spark plug to either detect knock or misfire, I forget which. But there's a lot of delicate circuitry in there that is unlike anything else other automakers were doing. I like to use it as an example of SAAB doing some really wild lateral-thinking engineering, that unfortunately didn't translate to a profitable enough company to stay solvent)
There is the classic difference between a true mechanic and a parts replacer. What broke? Can it be repaired, rewired, is there an alternate way to achieve its job? Sealed units can be unsealed and resealed.
I hope you aren't suggesting Pete and I are parts replacers. Unless you mean looking at a pinout, tracing printed circuits and replacing broken relays inside modules.
Dad's VW camper, and Porsche are a somewhat different story, not in availability but quality of parts.
TBH this is getting to be a problem with replacement parts for 60's cars too. I had to go through 3 starter solenoids on my '67 Falcon before I found one that worked. The first two were junk!
Same issue with the voltage regulator. First replacement did not work straight out of the box, so it took a return trip to the FLAPS to get a second one, which finally did the trick for a few weeks then also failed. I finally switched to an internally regulated alternator rather than take my chances on a third one.
These days I go out of my way to look for NOS parts (or head straight to the aftermarket) not because I like to spend money, I just want the dang stuff to work!
In reply to Streetwiseguy :
That's indeed the very definition of a good mechanic.
A parts replacer is someone who replaces a part to see if it fixes the problem. Lacking that part the car is junk.
Nothing is impossible. Hell i sourced the only available hood for a 1 of 11 65 year old car last year. If I cannot find it i can make it or know someone who will. Working on a 57 chevy has me spoiled currently though because you can literally build a new one from a catalog. They make everything.
In reply to Patrick (Forum Supporter) :
As pointed out upthread, how well do the repop parts fit?
One of the last things I did at my previous employer was a window regulator on a '78 VW Bus. Yes parts are available new, but the new regulator required cutting and welding to be able to get the window up all the way, and the mechanism bound heavily because the guide tube that the weird screw-threaded cable rode in was heavily burred from one end to the other. I ended up using the new cable in the old guide tube, after making some brackets to hold the window in. It was a mess.
You'll need to log in to post.
