Does anyone have a phone number or contact info for a company called Rare Parts. They make kingpin kits and other suspension parts. Their web site has been down and I need to contact them.
Depending on what it is, Kanter is an early stop for me when im looking for something. ive never ordered anything from this place, but FCRC Machine seems to carry alot of the Rare Parts stuff, maybe give them a call https://fcrcmachine.com/collections/rare-parts-inc
I'd be surprised if Rare Parts is a problem, been buying parts for eons from them. Last time was about 6 months ago. Although I will admit they can be expensive. I'd find what I want, use their part number and see if I could find it elsewhere first... ...
Rare parts is a brand that is sold through the likes of O'Reilly's I've seen the name pop up in listings from parts houses where the part is about 300% higher priced than it should be. I'd check Rock Auto if you haven't already done so. It helps if if you tell folks exactly what king pin you are looking for though. If it is your 46 Rock Auto shows t. They put king pins in steering rather than suspension though. Moog 8350B king pin set . Amazon shows them for 52.58 if you have prime https://www.amazon.com/Moog-8350B-King-Pin-Set/dp/B000HQ0Q4C
Check out pre sixties..... Shay is a Chevy guy and has all quality NOS and NORS parts... I use him extensively ..... https://www.pre60s.com
My understanding is Rare Parts went in and bought warehouses and large parts stores going out of business inventories. This was how they acquired "old & Rare parts". I know on several occasions thru the years working on old cars that they were the only source for many of them and most of those parts we bought were Moog. The drag links on many mid 60's gm cars come quickly to mind. Bought one for my 66'GTO and 68' firebird years ago from them as they were the ONLY place that had them. With many places branching out over the years they might have somebody producing newer parts for newer years now or just rebranding the boxes these parts come in... ...
I have the Rare Parts king pin kit that the owner supplied. Before I take the front end apart I want to make sure the kit is correct. When I mic up the king pin it reads .812. When I mic the bore of the Clevite bushing #02738, it measures .790. If my math is correct, I need to ream the bushing about .022 and that sounds like a lot. I'm concerned that I will remove the grease channels inside the bushings.
It will be even more once you install it and yes that sounds right, you will have to ream a lot out. My guess is that at one time the bushings probably fit different applications by having it that size. This way the companies could build only 1 bushing to fit multiple kits. All that needed done was to ream to size to fit the multiple applications with 1 bushing. ....
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