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My friends and I just replaced the pinion seal on my 1940. When I removed the driveshaft, I noticed that the four lock plates were missing from the rear U-joint. Does anyone have a supply of these? I know Classic & Exotic Services in Michigan has them, but they list them for $10 each. Each U-joint gets 4. I have two driveshafts on my car. We're talking $160 just to replace the lock plates!!!

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I would try my local drive shaft place.

Good idea to try local place.

To give you an idea why a mail order seller has to charge $10, is that whether we charge $2 or $10 teh customer stikll needs the same number of lock plates. It costs us $30 to process an order, so if a customer orders 2 plates at $2 each, we lose $26. Some items are carried for the convenience of the customer and we make money on the large orders

I tried to source the locking plates locally. I was met with no luck and the strangest looks from the kids behind the counter.

I did try the local truck repair shop which handles the "Big Rigs". They recommended using Locktite Blue medium strength along with lockwashers and grade 8 nuts.

I have had no problem in the last 200 miles. Has anyone else used this?

Quote:

Fred
Thanks for the insight. I wasn't complaining. I certainly understand, and if Brian made those things from scratch, there must have been quite a bit of start-up cost as well. I was just hoping that someone here might have already gone through the search with success.

Like braspack46, I tried the local drivetrain shops, and big-rig shops. I wasn't met with blank stares, though. The guy at the drivetrain shop was actually an "old-car" guy, with a 40,000-mile 1941 Chevrolet two-door sedan in the back room that he's owned for 40 years.

Not really wanting to go the "lock washer" route, I think I may just make some... or at least try.

"It costs us $30 to process an order"

Why is that?

If we buy a cable for $3 and ship it here (we get free shipping from distributors for orders over a certain amount, so shipping to us is not an issue) and we then sell it for $6 and postage is, say, 7$ on top (because you know Kanter charges the customer shipping, and more than they're paying too) So on that order i've made $3 so far and maybe $2 of the $7 shipping. It took an employee let's say 5 minutes to do the order and at $10 an hour for an employee that just packs stuff, it cost you 83 cents to have the work done. Let's even throw in another 83 cents for the employee that had to order them for you in the first place How did you lose money by selling the plates at, say, a 100% markup instead of WAY more?

So far our total out the door is $6+$7 = $13. It cost us $1.60 for labor and we paid $3 for the part and $5 for shipping. We made $3.40 off a small part and shipping it. It didn't have to be $15 per cable, or $30 like some places charge. I bet those plates are, what, $1 for 4?

I think this is a situation like cables, ink, and accessories at best buy. They're making $50 bucks on the computer, but that $50 HDMI cable was $13 their cost, and that $30 USB cable was $3 their cost. They're making more markup on the little things.

Also suspect is charging shipping by order total, and not weight and shipping dimensions. Kanter's 15% policy is also suspect. If you guys sold a 10K diamond that cost you $10 to ship fed-ex, according to your policy, shipping would be 1500. An exaggerated example i know. So:

Let's try an ultramatic rebuild kit. I shipped something a similar size and weight and it cost me about $15 fedex ground. From kanter i paid about $60 if i recall. So Kanter makes about $40-$45 OFF SHIPPING ALONE.

I think the correct answer to the question "why does a seller charge $10 for a part they paid less than a dollar for" is "because they can, and because you can't find it anyone else, and because some are willing to pay it." It's definitely not "because they want a repeat customer"

The Blue Loctite method gets my vote unless the parts are for a high end job.

Loctite literature claims their product is superior to lockwashers of all sorts.

In the dealer service world those lock plates should be replaced each time the drive shaft is serviced. Ideally they should not be reused.

Cheers

In the business world there are a lot of hidden expenses that the customer doesn't see. The example of an employees pay is simplistic. Yes the employee gets paid his salary. There is also unemployment compensation insurance, FICA, insurance on the property and people. Don't forget mortgage on a building, property taxes, personal property taxes. Utilities and property repair and maintenance also has to be paid. There is still the initial expense of buying the parts and trip expense to get them home. I guess the point is some guy like myself selling parts out of his basement without any employees can usually beat a large business that is dedicated to making antique auto parts available. Don't forget tooling costs and the per piece cost of each item that has been remade. Going to a flea market like Big Kev does to stock up on spares works great for some people. I have a 30 year collection of "my spare parts" that are reserved for my own two 1956 Packards. When you look for something at the last minute, expect to have to pay the costs. A lot of people post here looking for items but rarely bother to post the Packard part number they need. Big Kev went through a lot of trouble to make the parts books available to everyone, use them. Vendors use the Packard part number and providing it would certainly get more replies because the part number doesn't have to be looked up or having to pay an employee to figure out what the the customer needs.

"Yes the employee gets paid his salary. There is also unemployment compensation insurance, FICA, insurance on the property and people. Don't forget mortgage on a building, property taxes, personal property taxes. Utilities and property repair and maintenance also has to be paid. There is still the initial expense of buying the parts and trip expense to get them home."



Trust me, i know. I'm in my 12th year in business. That standard markup, clearing 30%? It's to cover those costs. There's a difference between profiting and pirating.

What about using safety wired bolts? The type used on airplanes. You might want to try somebody like Aircraft Spruce.

If the bolts you have are soft enough you could drill them and use a fine wired. You probably could use a drill instead of a wire twister.

I see that Wicks (http://www.wicksaircraft.com/catalog/product_cat.php/subid=9262/index.html) has drilled bolts.