Reproduction parts??

Topic: Reproduction parts?? (Read 5327 times) previous topic - next topic

Reproduction parts??

Reply #30 – April 13, 2007, 10:23:04 AM

They will never, ever, be cheaper then Mustang lights.

Reproduction parts??

Reply #31 – April 13, 2007, 12:09:47 PM

Well I know THAT...most of those are made in Taiwan or Korea or China now anyway.

If they were good quality lights that didn't leak, and they weren't more than $50, I'd probably be interested. That's why I said reasonable.

Reproduction parts??

Reply #32 – April 13, 2007, 12:16:44 PM

Why not try to find an intact FMS kit for the cars? I'm sure someone would want an original style kit for on the cars. I'm sure this is WAY out of the question

Reproduction parts??

Reply #33 – April 13, 2007, 12:41:25 PM

$50 a light will not happen. $150 for the pair of corners will be more likely.

FILA, I've tried but getting a complete set-up is hard.

Reproduction parts??

Reply #34 – April 13, 2007, 02:01:43 PM

Is a whole set hard to find or just all the peices? I'd like the whole thing minus the grill. Or even design out your own style of body kit.

Reproduction parts??

Reply #35 – April 13, 2007, 02:44:48 PM

I meant $50 a pair. $150 a pair? **** that, I don't want them that bad.

Reproduction parts??

Reply #36 – April 13, 2007, 03:19:26 PM

HAHAHAHAHA!! Mustang ones are $40 and you expect TBird ones to only go for $50?!?

http://www.latemodelrestoration.com/iwwida.pvx?;item?item_no=LRS-15201CL%20%20%20%201&comp=LRS

Reproduction parts??

Reply #37 – April 13, 2007, 03:46:38 PM

I swear I bought a set for my '90 Mustang for way less than that. Like $20-25, when the hell did the "regular" ones get so expensive?

The "crystal" corners are like $15 a pair on ebay but I can't really find any regular ones, except one pair for $46. *shrug*

Regardless, $150 is more than I can/would want to spend on clear corners especially after I just finished cleaning up mine.

Reproduction parts??

Reply #38 – April 13, 2007, 05:17:27 PM

How about head lights? For people who have yellowed ones (I don't) it's getting harder and harder to find good used ones. As time goes by it'll only get worse......

Reproduction parts??

Reply #39 – April 13, 2007, 06:33:47 PM

Yeah, the yellow headlight problem would be a real pain then. Some nice repo headlights would be wonderful...and tailights too.

For 87/88 Tbirds btw.

Reproduction parts??

Reply #40 – April 13, 2007, 06:56:46 PM

Are they limited to exact duplicates or can they also do customizations? For instance, for my cupholder mod I dremeled out a cutout in the lighter panel but others might appreciate a panel that's cupholder-ready. Another idea might be a panel for the area to the left of the steering wheel with a similar cutout as the TC panel that goes over the ride control switches. That would open up a really nice moddable area (tach, anyone?)

If they can handle customizations then I could probably think of some other stuff, too.

Reproduction parts??

Reply #41 – April 13, 2007, 07:10:59 PM

how about map pockets for TC-style doo panels, those are hard to find in good shape. Probably not feasible though, since they're kinda "padded"...just a thought though,..

Reproduction parts??

Reply #42 – April 13, 2007, 10:00:07 PM

Quote from: Red_LX;139864

I swear I bought a set for my '90 Mustang for way less than that. Like $20-25, when the hell did the "regular" ones get so expensive?

The "crystal" corners are like $15 a pair on ebay but I can't really find any regular ones, except one pair for $46. *shrug*

Regardless, $150 is more than I can/would want to spend on clear corners especially after I just finished cleaning up mine.

And now you know why nobody makes anything for these cars. Anybody who has tried to sell a part for them (I'm sure you can agree, Mike) knows that the owners of these cars are cheap. We all want the world but expect it to be free, or close to it. People restoring other cars will spend thousands for a part that shouldn't be worth more than $50. We gripe about paying $50 for parts that should cost hundreds. Until that changes we'll have to stay used to the fact that to 99% of the population (including many members of this board) these cars are beaters.

You've got to remember, Mustangs are far, far more popular than our cars ever were. In its worst year the Mustang probably sold more units than all of 83-88 T-Birds and Cougars combined. Add to that the fact that Mustangs were marketed and sold to enthusiasts, while our cars were marketed and sold to people that think of cars as appliances. People modify, and aren't afraid to spend money on, their Mustangs. Finding a 100% stock Mustang is almost as hard as finding a modified T-Bird/Cougar.

All of this leads to economies of scale. A company that makes, say, clear corner lights, for 87-93 Mustangs might pump 100,000 of the things out. They'll sell so well that several other manufacturers will come up with copies as well as other styles.

Conversely, somebody like Michael offers to make not just aftermarket-type parts, but stock replacement parts as well. He might pop a few hundred (I'd be surprised if it was that high). Of course he's got to ask more for them. And the so-called "fans" of these cars will all but ensure that he wasted his time anyway by fighting and dickering with him every step of the way.

What I can't understand is why somebody would pay upwards of $350 for a FMS 140 MPH speedo, something that does absolutely nothing to help the performance OR appearance of the car, but yet something that people can actually see, such as an aftermarket clear corner lamp, has trouble getting $150.

I dunno, Mike, you have more patience than I do. If I was offering to make impossible to find parts for these cars and people were offering to pay junkyard prices for my efforts I'd pull the plug on the whole idea. If it wasn't for the fact that my sequencer kits also happen to work in plenty of enthusiast-type cars (Mustangs, Firebirds, Camaros, Grand Nationals, etc) and if I had to market them to Thunderbirds and Cougars only, I'd have gone broke 7 years ago.

Reproduction parts??

Reply #43 – April 13, 2007, 10:55:48 PM

I wouldn't even pay $100 for a 140 mph speedo.

Also, besides the popularity, I don't think it's a fair comparison to compare the '87-93 Mustang to the '87-88 Thunderbird. The Mustang had the same body style for SIX years. The '87-88 bodystyle birds were made for, well...two. Even if the car was popular, that's a pretty niche market for '87-88-specific items.

And hey, if I was loaded, I might pay $150 for clear corners. But I'm not, I'm on a budget, so the majority of my money goes toward performance stuff. Plus the outside of my car is pretty rough at the moment anyway.

Reproduction parts??

Reply #44 – April 13, 2007, 11:01:30 PM

I totally agree with Thunder Chicken. Our cars are low-run compared to Mustangs and our parts are rare by comparison. Rare + new/custom = expensive. That's simply a fact of life. As always, what things are worth to us varies by what our needs or desires are (I have no use for a 140mph speedo so I wouldn't buy one, but I might be interested in other things). I don't think the expensive part is going away, though. With a niche market like ours I don't know if a business is really viable, unless maybe the product offering is broad enough to make it worthwhile for the seller.