I thought about guys who buy out the old "mom and pops" independantly owned auto parts stores and haul their stuff around to swap meets , but , is there any of you guys that make living selling these "new old parts" at prices that are fair and not "selling rare parts?" Seems I cant find a master cylinder for my '52 Oldmobile 88 anywhere , but , if you go to "egay" , there are people selling them for $139.99 !!! , I think that's outrageous , so I know theres people out there buying this stuff up , where are you , and I need to buy some stuff from you guys...
I think $139.99 for a new master cylinder that you can't find anywhere else is a good deal, no? What about a rebuild kit, maybe you can save the one you have?
If the car in your avatar is what you are looking to get an MC for, perhaps adapting a newer MC would be a good idea. If you are non-power and all drum, go with a drum-drum Mustang MC from around 1970. Just a thought ....
Thanks , but , that is my Chevy Fleetline in the Avatar , the one I'm looking for a m/c for is here.... and I know that it is a hard cylinder to find , I just can't bring myself to put out that kinda cash for something that can be rebuilt for less than $20.00 , I'm a cheap ass I guess...lol...BTW this m/c bolts under the car , not on the firewall , bolts to the frame.
Well why don't you buy a kit and do it yourself? If the bore is all pitted and gouged then you will need to send it out and have it sleeved and 139.99 probably won't cover that cost. I'm a tight ass too but I usually buy a new M/cyl for all of my builds. I rebuilt my latest M/cyl project because the brakes were working well at the time. If this is a build with no time restraints, I constantly search for NORS parts at cheaper prices. So many guys just have to have it right now and don't shop around. I needed a new gas tank for my 56 Ford and I saved almost a hundred bucks on the same part from a different supplier.
Why not replace it with a safer dual master cylinder that splits the front and rear brakes? If you go cheap on a single one and it fails you crash your ride.
take a look at industrial stuff.when i needed one for my 38 lasalle someone suggested that i get one from a forklift,exact same part.35.00 brand new on ebay.that was last year,still works fantastic.the guy warned me don't hit the anchor too hard,yep he was right!my was not the same as yours but i have seen your type good luck,jack
Is this discussion about NOS, or a master cylinder? I worked for Gardners Auto Parts & Machine in Nashville several years ago. The business was founded on buying up NOS from parts houses around the southeast to make what was called " The Biggest Little Parts House in Dixie ", and the Gardners and his employees, all made a very good living from it. John Sr. prided himself with the fact he had cataloged and boxed inventory that went back to the teens and 20's. The building still exists, but I understand a lot of the inventory was bid off to swap meet vendors described above. Tom S. in Tn.
Well, the reason I haven't done that is the leg bone conected to the foot bone to the toe bone syndrome..... the m/c is mounted under the floor , which means the pedals go thru the floor , if I change the m/c , then I change the pedals , then I change the pedals , and I have to change some of the wiring for the brake lights , and so on and so forth , this is a car I am trying to flip , and keeping the cost down keeps the price down so that more people looking to get into an antique car can afford it , not that I am not wanting to do it right , mind you , I am just trying to keep price down on my part so I can keep asking price down on the next guy...
NOS/NORS places still exist, but a lot of searching or asking local antiquers. We have one sort of nearby in southern Mass.
Whats the name of the place that sleeves'em, White Post Restorations? Something like that way up north in one of them yankee states, mebbe new york
I have a couple of friends who both make their living buying up NOS parts from parts stores and auto dealers that go out of business. They follow a lot of leads (many of which don't pan out), travel great distances and pay very large amounts of money to buy the stuff that they then resell on eBay. They are investing their money, not yours, and they are taking all the risk, not you. They have both done this for over a decade; they know what stuff sells for and price it accordingly. They are not in business to sell you NOS parts at a low price; they are in business to get a decent return on their investment in order to provide food and shelter for their families as well as find and buy more NOS parts to sell. If you don't like their prices, someone else will come along shortly and buy it instead. Now, when you flip the car in question, are you gonna sell it really cheap to someone who doesn't want to spend a lot of money on a car, or are you going to try to get as much as you can for it?
True. Also, the guys that buy bulk lots of n.o.s. parts always end up with a certain percentage of stuff that no one wants, and it eventually goes into the scrap heap. It's not all profit. All I can tell you is, that if you want a smokin' deal on one, learn to identify one by sight and/or the casting number and hit the swap meets. That's how I bought a n.o.s. water pump for my 303 Olds engine for $5.00.
If $140 is going to throw off your profit margin in this car, you may want to look at something else to do. That is the way car projects go...NEVER as cheap as you think!!
I can see what you mean about the m/c - it's definitely a different animal. But, necessity is the mother of invention they say .... White Post restorations used to be in Virginia but I thought/heard that they closed down/moved or something happened .... BTW, have you tried any of the Olds forums?
Considering the brakes are probably the most important thing on your car I rekon $140s not such a bad deal
have you tried NAPA? and regarding the fantasy parts store you are suggesting...well, do you now understand? it is a simple function of supply and demand, which is one of the most basic rules of economics. I just ordered a upper steering column bearing for a 1966 Chevy truck...$32!!!! but it is a special part that only one company seems to stock. I bet they sell very few each year. I had to have it and I paid the price. Just part of the hobby.
Before you buy a NOS/NORS master cylinder, checkout Fusick Oldsmobile. They have brand spanky new master cylinders for $135 and rebuild kits for less than $25. Seems like a pretty good deal to me!
its the popularity of the hobby thats driving cost up. 15 years ago a hand full of people wanted that part and it was probbalbly 15 bucks. give it 15 more years and it'll prolly be back at 15 bucks. Thats why I use what I can afford when building something. You can adapt anything to anything else with a little time and ingenuity!
I looked all over for a m/c for a 50 Chev last year and $135 is not bad. NAPA had them for over $200 and most everyone in the old car business was in the $150 range. Take yours out, clean it up, and if it's pitted, throw it away and get a new one. If not, buy the kit and rebuild it. The alternative is to search swap meets until you find someone that has a new one they are selling cheap, and who knows if that will ever happen.
Hey, I use this fella for NOS parts, he buys out stock, has tons of original parts many still in oem boxes, hits Carlisle and Hershey. Mobile Parts "The Antique Automotive King" Craig Studnick 516-485-1935
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