Re: Do it yourself parts?

Posted by BH On 2012/3/31 15:44:46

Quote:
Seems to me that the problem with the 55-56 ignition bezel only reared its ugly head within the last decade or so. Yet, after 75K miles, my dad's Exec still has the original bezel in place and unbroken. I'm not sure what you mean about about the trunk latch, but I've seen failures with pot-metal release mechanism parts on other brands. I'd bet the life of those parts exceeded expectations of any engineer - let alone an overwhelming majority original owners. The fact is that no vehicle or part is designed to last forever; that would be self-defeating to the industry.

Regardless, don't throw the baby out with the bath water. The problem may simply be a matter of different material or some other small improvement that's needed (thanks to years of hindsight). For example, did you ever notice how many '57 Chevies there used to be with the plastic grille emblem missing? About 20 years ago, a savvy vendor looked into the problem and had new tooling made for the grille bar - but with a subtle improvement to keep the plastic from falling out.

Whether you use new technologies to produce a part directly or tooling to make that part is of no difference to me - as long the resulting part meets or exceeds OE quality. However, I will give preference to quality parts made in America by Americans - provide the price is reasonable.

Meanwhile, the art/science of the photogrammetry process actually dates back to 19th Century, but things really took off with the advent of digital imaging and rendering. About 15 years ago, I read an article, in Cars & Parts, about use of photogrammetry software for desktop computers to take make bucks (if only as checking fixtures) to hammer out new panels for pre-war vehicles.

Heck, I had a broken molar repaired a few years ago with the CEREC process which uses a single, IR digital photo to custom mill a piece of ceramic material, on-the-spot, to perfectly replace the missing portion. I'll take that any day over a porcelain crown - though cost is slightly higher. However, even that space-age material is only guaranteed ten years.

I fully expect these technoliges to continue to evovle at an accelerating rate. However, the primary limiting factor is one of demand/volume - if the market is too small to provide sufficient profit, no vendor will ever make an attempt.