Hot Rods Hot Rod Supply Chain

I’m afraid that since some of the old independent companies have been gobbled up by larger corporations, we’re going to see small quantity production parts disappear and more quality and delivery problems.

 

We maybe ALL doomed. Seriously , It is a horrible situation, very tough and stressful on us guys that race our cars. I have not had a good nights sleep in two years.

 

I gotta sympathize with our Canadian cousins. They have been getting the shaft and little attention during the last couple of years. Talk about being taken for granted and shut out in the cold (no pun intended)! Not to make this political, but I've never figured out why our neighbor and friend gets treated this way, while we kiss the asses of the rest of the world!

 

Really hard to make proper comments with out getting somewhat political, as regards to the US. But I think it’s safe to say many were better off by not going to work if the opportunity arose for them.

How that factors in today? Not a clue. You’d think we’d be over that by now, but maybe different opportunities were given to those who had some time off?

 

You are spot on here.

 

Here's a whacky idea...............

Viral pandemic forces people into a more isolated way of life. More time at home. Wary of going out to shop.
Thus, a large increase of online shopping, flooding the freight and logistics systems, both international and internal.
Current freight volume is too much for the current system to handle, causing delays and backlogs.
Some prioritisation has to take place, making delays on certain items deemed non-essential worse.
Larger corporations, such as Amazon, have a market position with enough presence to demand service.

Result - It could be a while before your hot rod part gets to you...........

Solution - With online purchasing here to stay, and growing, the freight systems need to catch up. The virus caused a huge increase that no one was ready for. It will sort itself out, it will just take some time. Ain't Covid great.......

Stay happy and healthy guys.

 

The only fault in that logic is if you order something from say Amazon as mentioned earlier in this thread it shows up in a couple days! AND it was made overseas.

 

I did mention where packages come from, but there are so many auto parts that come through. Many/most I don’t know from where, front locking hubs, etc that have fallen out of packages. But I did spy the other day packages from Gates, “made in China “. Or maybe it was GoodYear, I’d expect the small nook that the pre-EFI crowd that’s here on the HAMB isn’t a priority

 

Have another read. I think I covered it. You just missed it............

 

You guys... complaining about your parts taking so long to show up when my brand new Lamborghini is burning at sea.

 

Plenty of gold chains at the hot rod store aka "classic car dealership"

 

I just bought a set of Torque Thrusts for my car, got two from Jegs and bought two off of eBay. Why from two places? They were the only places I found the sizes I wanted. A few weeks ago, everybody had stock, had I ordered then I probably could have gotten all of them from the same place. Almost overnight it seemed like everybody was out of the sizes I wanted. And I was sweating the delivery, both shipped on FedEx, which I never have good luck with. The two I ordered from Jegs got sent 100 miles south of me and had to come back, while the valve stems that were ordered the same day, same time, came straight here a day earlier! How screwed up is that? The two wheels I got off eBay came straight here, only two days later than the ones from Jegs in OH, and they came from CA.

If a place doesn't show what I want in stock, I'm not ordering from them, period. I'll look elsewhere until I find it, or I'll find something else that will work. Lots of different vendors out there to give your business to if you look around.....

 

To build on this a bit.

These small hot rod part manufacturers that were either bought out or the owners just plain retired....Kind of sounds like a good opportunity for anyone who wants to get in the parts business and figure out how to make a go of it. As long as you can get the raw material to make parts with. That being said....Buyers aren't going to be able to expect to pay old prices on this stuff anymore, Im afraid to say. With 3D modeling and printing...pick a part, make a quality part and theres plenty of buyers it seems.

 

Why does it have to be new parts?When I was a young lad I prowled the yards and bought used to get things up and running. Still do today.
Wrong parts get ordered,projects get stalled,somebody didn’t see the green bananas get ripe,etc. I sometimes think we get so insulated buying online a lot that we dont use the biggest resource available. People. Networking,talking to people and scrounging.

 

It`s time we, as a nation get off our asses and get to work. That`s the only way the problem will get resolved. I have been working between 50 to 60 hours a week. And have been for quite some time.

 

Same here. I usually work every Saturday, just too lucrative to pass up. I had one job where I was working 65+ hours a week and going to college in the evening on the company's dime. Did that for several years until corporate closed the place. As my grandfather (a byproduct of The Great Depression and WWII) always told me, "Never turn down an opportunity to work".

 

Suburban Tool came through for me on a set of 123 blocks that I ordered; told me it would take 8 to 10 weeks to receive but it only took two and a half weeks and they are made in Mich.. I have dealt with some other USA companies and they are doing well also. But I know that it's getting harder to get 40 Ford parts anymore.

 

Steel my parent's business uses was $8-$8.5 a ft. last year. This year it is $24-$26.50 a ft. People are complaining about our raised prices but the steel alone cost more than what we were charging. Had to raise prices.

Friend priced out a prefab house last spring, $80,000. Decided to wait til this year. Not happening, found out last week the same prefab house is $130,000 now.

Another friend ordered new truck parts, was quoted $250 a month ago but when it came in this week they are now $500. Had to buy it, needs his truck back on the road.

What gets me is they say inflation is something like 7%. Be great if that is all it went up by at the consumer end but prices I see out there are double or triple. I feel like I hit the lottery when I see something only marked up 50% from a week ago.

Another buddy has a used car lot and I hear stories in town how he is taking advantage of the situation and marked his cars up but in reality he is paying more for his inventory to get cars on his lot and he isn't making more than before. He wishes the prices would drop at the dealer auctions so he could drop his prices.

 

Every time I place an order the prices increase when compared with their catalog as much as 30%. So my choice is to suck it up or go back to the way we built cars in the 60’s and that’s what I‘be chosen. Safe, functional, home engineering, junk yard treasures, low buck, driving work in progress, definitely not a trailer queen and 10 times the fun!!!

 

A shift back to the "do-it-yourself" ways of hot rod building. Not a bad thing. Some cool and unique stuff will come out of this. Off the shelf can become repetitive and boring at times. Hand-built is where it all began......

 

Amazon has figured out which items customers purchase most and, therefore, stock these items. Those huge warehouses that are popping up all around us are filled with the top selling junk people order from the site.

Amazon buys in bulk, which gives them a lower price. Then the are able to get it out to their customers so they are happy. The vicious cycle continues.

 

It can be done by anyone. A great example is that company I helped start. But, compared to say an Edelbrock they are/were smaller and more nimble. By all rights the last two years should have put a small locally owned International mfgr under. But, they saw the writing on the wall and planned ahead. Bumped orders, added warehouse space. NONE of what has transpired should have been a surprise. I was sitting at a brewery with some VERY successful business friends at the end of 2019 and vividly remember the conversations. The only thing we did not nail down was the length all of this was going to take to play out, although I did relate that 1918 lasted 2-3 years to finally run its course.

 

Agreed. Those companies that were not able to pivot or were not able to project issues from a supply chain backlog got caught.

I do think what separates an Amazon from other businesses is their credit and liquid cash on hand.

A small operation simply can't over extend or have the capital to have that much stock on hand. Eventually, the bill needs to be paid and if the influx of cash is not there, fiscal problems start to happen.

I also have a friend who is one of the biggest names/chefs in prime meat. He said for the first time ever, shipping cost more than the product. He was very smart and created his own supply chain years prior to COVID and is very fiscally conservative, so he was able to not only ride it out when restaurants were not customers anymore, but pivoted to other products and other markets.

Sadly, not a lot of business are like that.

 

Agree 100%

 

I know we can't talk about politics on this thread, so does anyone have any other ideas about why this is happening?


I think the solution speaks for itself.........

 

We all fell into the comfort zone of 1-800-build-a-hot rod. As others have stated, it’s time to get resourceful. The entire cult/hobby started by our predecessors repurposing parts that were available. The current situation just might be an opportunity for some of us to learn new skills.

 

And in my area there were more than a dozen shops within half hour driving range.

 

I hardly ever buy new stuff. If I can find a used piece that is in good usable condition then I'll buy it. I shop around before I buy.You never know what is out there until you find it.
There are some items that have to be bought new and this is where the non availability crunch comes in to play.
Damn them!

 

Junk yards? Between recycling and the price of land, junk yards are a fond memory in many parts of the country. Put up an offer of two very desirable four banger heads two weeks ago and got nary a peep. When it comes to swap meets, the overpriced crap is justified with, "A widget just like this sold on line for twice what I'm asking". I've been following this industry since the late fifties and what and how we built cars in the past 65 years has changed dramatically.