Correct me if I'm wrong...but why in the HELL doesn't anyone repop the 682-c Guide headlights(and the J)!!!! They would make a friggin' killing, and howabout some other Kustom items, a decent Desoto grill. Yeah, I've seen a couple, two different individuals that I can think off hand. The one I've seen is a casting of the center tooth (x 11), and the other, is that one guy on Ebay...it's okay, but I'm talkin' about the real deal, with parking lights and everything. '51-'55 Desoto grills are used quite frequently, so you know they'd sell. I don't know, I just think if I were in the business of repopping I would be making all kinds of ****. Lets hear your item list, maybe the 'Repop Santa' will get a ****ing clue and do it!
55 Olds headlight rings , 55/56 merc wagon tailights in metal chromed not gl*** and 56 packard tailights and surrounding sheetmetal and a big hellya on the desoto grills
But then everyone would have the same ****.....I don't know....I understand the frustration of not being able to find the part you need, or the outrageous prices but sometimes the fun is in the hunt
I'd repop exact duplicates of mangeseum hailbrands. 15 x 4 and 16 x 8 and 10. then I wouldn't tell anyone and I'd sell them as NOS originals for $5,000.00 a set
Don't worry, if the market holds out long enough, someone will. The problem with the grille is that in order to tool up to make an exaxt duplicate (chrome plated pot metal) would probably cost so much that you wouldn't want to pay for that one either.
I hear you there. Finding decent Olds headlight doors and Merc taillights for my '56 Vic was a challenge. But if I'd just bought 'em as repops from Bob Drake, I don't think I'd be as proud of them.
When I get frustrated like this, I remind myself that half of the fun of building a traditional car is the HUNT... the feeling you get when you finally find that part you have been looking for for so long... the feeling you get when you find a part you didn't even know existed... Personally, I don't know that I would like this thing so much if parts were so easily obtainable. Enjoy the experience man... It's the best you can do.
http://www.fusick.com/catfile/490.pdf BACK-UPAND HEADLIGHT RIMS HEADLIGHT RIMS (Bezels): 1948-53 Headlight Rims are die-stamped stainless steel reproductions. 1948-53 Rims are complete with rubber seals and retainers. 1955-57 Headlight Bezels are Cast Chrome reproductions made using expensive high pressure tooling. Rubber seals around headlight bulbs are included. 5940756 Headlight Stainless Steel Rim 1948 98, 1949 All, 50 76-88, 51 88A 38.00 ea. 5938928 Headlight Stainless Steel Rim 1950 98, 1951-53 All except 1951 88A 42.00 ea. 924535 Headlight Bulb Chrome Retaining Ring (Stamped Steel) 1940-55 All 27.50 ea. 5945771 Headlight Cast Chrome Bezel with seal 1955 All 89.50 ea. 5946763 Headlight Cast Chrome Bezel with seal 1956 All 89.50 ea. 5947804 Headlight Cast Chrome Bezel with seal 1957 All 89.50 ea.
Re-pops should be ok. Then we can have another cl*** of haves and have-nots along the lines of steel is real and all that....
Guys, don't get me wrong, I Hunt to Kill...Kill to Hunt, buuut, there are certain parts that should have been made Years ago. Take the Ebay thing, there are dozens of guide headlights to go around, but $300 to $400 for headlights!!! (probably bondoed up, quickie $). It's just crazy, same with the Desoto dental, most are pitted up broken/frozen rusty mounting bolts, that you gotta doctor up then get hit in the face with a $1,700 chrome bill, plus he's sanded/buffed those puppies down to a 1/32", you know they won't hold up for long. Hey here's another for you Merc guys.....How about repopin' '49-'51 Merc side Trim! They're doin it for the ShoeBox guys...WTF.
I really could use a pair of those Guide lights. Most everything I found so far is pretty much junk. I have a pair of those cheap-*** Diezt replica Chinese lights for temporary use and the damn things are starting to rust already.....and it hasn't rained here since April!!
1950 Lincoln tail lights.Back then when I had my '46 Ford coupe I wanted a set and they were 400.00 for the pair and they were not that nice,needless to say a pair of '49 Ford lights worked just as well.
It's really questionable if any killing can actualy be realized when re-popping anything. So a part starts reaching unobtainium status, along with high asking prices. Then someone thinks they can make money by selling new ones for the same price. NOTE: this does not actually happen!! Here's what happens: the person planning on repopping spends anywhere from, say, $15,000 to $50,000 tooling up for doing the repop (this is VERY EASY to do!!!)-- then they do a production run and put it on the market... guess what... now that it is "readily available", people put off buying the item. It no longer is a "get it as soon as it comes up for sale" kind of item that makes people beg/borrow/steal in order to obtain it. They put it further back on the list of parts to get, now that they can run out and buy it any time. Then, there's the issue of "it's not exactly like the original, so I'm going to keep looking for an original" thinking. This happens very frequently. And what about the legalities/paperwork/costs of licensing and paying royalties? Do you suppose these factors play a part in whether or not anyone wants to invest HUGE money in making repop's? I do. Now, you gave DeSoto grilles as an example. They aren't impossible to get, just getting more expensive. I saw approximately 5 of them for sale at the L.A. Roadster's meet this year. As long as that continues to happen, I really doubt people are going to want to start repopping them any time soon. Maybe in another 15 years. But for now, there are still a lot of grilles available to re-chrome.
Keep in mind that most of the vehicles that used the Guide headlamps when they were new were medium duty trucks, so if you know of any old large truck burial grounds, go check them out. One of my buddies is a Brockway fanatic, and he sees Guide lights at the truck shows he attends all the time.
No way,that will NEVER happen .The only problem with alot of re-pro parts is that 90% of the time they are made "over seas"(China) and they dont always fit very well.Most of the time you are better off to locate and restore the part you need.
yeah ive been told they are exact duplicates but as i dont own either i cant tell you how good they are they are produced by Rod Hadfield the guy that built the lincoln v12 powered A p/u and the merlin powered 55 coupe ,im not a fan of the guy as a person but he Does make SOME pretty good **** ,he calls the wheels "Haddybrands"look up Castlmain Rod Shop
Some of my friends are into restoring old trucks. And BTW, they use up a lot of space! Anyway, I often drool over the hulks sitting around with yummy headlights - which they "have to use" for their restos. Damn!!!!!
Unless you do all the work yourself you have to deal with the underbelly of american labor. An interesting note: a friend and his wife who are in their 70's make speaker cones out of kevlar in their home. They were trained and then they get a box of material every couple of weeks to make a hundred cones, and then they box up the completed cones and send them in. They use a hubcap as a mold (hemi shaped). Maybe if you can find a way to equip old folks homes with a hydraulic press to stamp out headlight rims??
Probably one of the reasons that my 1927 rpu has been so long in building is that I really have had a lot of fun and have met a lot of great people searching for the real thing when it comes to parts.I am starting to think that it is my favorite part of a build.Since I am how on the HAMB things like vintage gauges and flathead intakes may be easier to locate and things might speed up a little! On my next build (a shoebox I hope) I probably will use some repops as I am not getting younger and dont want to spend 10 years on that car!
Re: repopping parts. The folks who are remaking lower rear quarters for 49-50 mercs at about $750 each won't be making them for 1951 Mercs. Not a large enought market.
That said...do you think Brooksville is going out of business soon? Nahhh, didn't think so. They have a waiting list you know. Just an example. There is a market for the items I described, wish I had the dough, I'd do it myself, but it sounds better for a company that is already involved in the business of reproduction components.
Yes, I see your point and agree, although, there is some good'ol repop stuff made in the USA too. I believe, that if it was made back then..Then it can be made again..and Better. I don't think these major repop guys are interested in making *****in' parts..just *****in' money. I hope they get an ear-full of **** for there poor craftsmanship thats done by China, but I don't think they care. Their too big now, (thanks to us) to make a difference.
Its all about the $$ the only reason bad repop stuff is getting made in China is cause somone in the US is paying for it and accepting a poor quality product when they should be having the manufacturer in china produce it to spec which I'm sure most of them could/would do...... so its all about lazyness and greed.
**** a wish list, start making the ****. 57-58 Plymouth bumper guards (bumper "wings" to a restorer) have been mega hard to find for years, and all the Christine guys have to have them. So me and another guy I used to work for are making them. Here's some pics We're not going to make a million of them, and we're not shipping the molds to China to have them made, it'll be a fairly short run. I'm hoping to learn more about how this stuff is made, then I can make stuff myself, maybe try to cater more to the custom car world. If you want to see something reproduced, don't ask for it, make it yourself and sell them. I do agree that the hunt for parts is a lot of fun when building a car, but at the same time, when something gets to stratospherical pricing, it takes the fun out of finding one if there's no way you can afford to buy it.
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