Unavailable parts...what have you run into?

[AKcharger]

I heard stuff that was common Like aluminum heads and some body parts are impossible to get now. I'm courious what else is out of stock and is this temporary or permanent?

[b5blue]

70 headlight relays. 70 door panel Charger script emblems.

[Nacho-RT74]

3rd gen quarter panels, skins and patches ( but 71 )

71/72 and 73/74 non exhaust cut out rear valances. and several other minor parts for 71/72

71 Magnum383 Hood emblem

It seems tuff wheels too.

Mopar Performance ignition parts and purple camshafts

[RallyeMike]

Lots of stuff, but the big one for me is 69 std dash bezel sets. Nobody has them or can give a timeline when they are even expected..... going on 4-5 months now.

[b5blue]

Wow really, I pitched a couple of rebuild-able sets last year.

[Challenger340]

Some STEALTH Aluminum Heads became available in very limited quantity..... but at $100 more each, which I think is still a bargain ?
Just say'in though....
even if/when supply does come back..... I believe we will see substantial price increases on everything

[Kern Dog]

70 headlight relays. 70 door panel Charger script emblems.

Why not do the Bosch 5 pin relay upgrade? I did it to both my cars. The relays can be found easily too.

[Mike DC]

     

even if/when supply does come back..... I believe we will see substantial price inflation increases on everything

Fixed it for ya.  
 

[cdr]

Ran over something & punched a hole in the sidewall of my Hoosier Drag Radial, ordered some new MT DR's, been 2 months still waiting, the entire summer the Charger has been sitting, No Hoosiers, No MT's, no M&H in my tire size. GRRRRRRRR

[Nacho-RT74]

70 headlight relays. 70 door panel Charger script emblems.

Why not do the Bosch 5 pin relay upgrade? I did it to both my cars. The relays can be found easily too.

I think he is not saying he wouldn't, but just saying the repro relay it is not available anymore.

Even is true that relay will fix it, if somebody wants something more less stock look, will spend the money on the "right" piece for the car

[AKcharger]

Well my fear is that our cars are coming to the end of their "restoration lifespan" and companys have moved on from making parts for our stuff

[b5blue]

Well my fear is that our cars are coming to the end of their "restoration lifespan" and companys have moved on from making parts for our stuff

Looks to be coming that way post Covid 19. I pressed hard on the budget to round up just what I needed and when I came back around to buy spares they were NLA. The good news is we have some stuff like the boosted brake and power steering that are upgrade at really good pricing just now. 

[TiMopar]

I've been waiting A YEAR for a pair of 68 Charger quarters from AMD...

[RallyeMike]

Well my fear is that our cars are coming to the end of their "restoration lifespan" and companys have moved on from making parts for our stuff

Looks to be coming that way post Covid 19. I pressed hard on the budget to round up just what I needed and when I came back around to buy spares they were NLA. The good news is we have some stuff like the boosted brake and power steering that are upgrade at really good pricing just now. 

The market is still there. Manf's are not going to let a buck slip by. The molds and tools are just waiting for people to come back to work and the raw supply chain to be restored.

[AKcharger]

The market is still there. Manf's are not going to let a buck slip by. The molds and tools are just waiting for people to come back to work and the raw supply chain to be restored.

hope your right!

[Mike DC]

               

Agreed.  The vast majority of the cost is the tooling.  As long as it exists we should be okay.    


Right now the biggest holdup is shipping problems.  Containers & ships in SE asia.  
               

[69bfan]

As being directly involved in the ownership and manufacturing of a number of products for the Mopar hobby, I am afraid that some items will never return or if the material supplier does decide to offer the material, then it will be at such a cost, that we will have to decide if it warrants the manufacturing and offering of the part.  Some of the materials that we were able to source were actually sourced from the OEM supplier.  During the past three years, we have seen one of the largest OEM supplier that we was able to use, being sold off.  The new owners have no desire to maintain that side of the product line and have decided to take the write off and trash the tooling.  So like any industry, you have to decide if the product is worth still keeping in inventory.  With so many concerns involving possible changes in the tax structure, capital gains, inheritance taxes, there is much concern within the industry.

We attempt to manufacture or purchase as much as possible from suppliers located here in the states.  It will be interesting to see how the supply inventories will change once the unemployment checks are coming to an end in September.  One of our suppliers which provides us with injected plastic parts has been unable to provide us product since May and they are telling us it will be possibly January to February before they feel that they can be up an operating at anything near capacity and they attributed the problem directly to the unemployment practices. 

We have been out of some of the various profiles for our Top Catwhiskers since November 2020.  We have actually decided to actually seek out some alternative manufactures of the raw materials, but they are a combination of metal and rubber subassemblies, so we are having to pay up to a 350 to 400% increase in cost on some of these pieces with the cost of the new tooling included.  We are not sure if we can justify such a price increase to the customer base before they decide to just say no.

We are already getting notifications from various vendors that we will be seeing a 15 to 20% price increase effective January 1st.  Years ago, we thought a 3 to 5% increase was unheard of, now that is just a drop in the bucket.  In talking with vendors who import container loads of product, the cost within the past two years has gone from less than $6,000 per container to slightly over $30,000.  To transport that same container from the port to the metro Atlanta area has jumped from $500 to $1800 during the same time period.

Most of the major players involved in the industry are in the 60 to 80 year old range.  I am hearing more and more of them talking of slowing down.  During Covid, most of us thought that sales would come to a complete stop.  The opposite happened in that people were at home and had the opportunity to work on the cars.  The stimulus checks also gave some people some extra play money.  We are just now starting to see a slight slow down, but sales are still very strong.  Being so heavily invested into the industry, I can only hope that things will continue for another 10 to 15 years at the brisk pace. 

Our view is that we hope to maintain our current product offerings.  You will likely see less and less new product coming to the market place.  Some of the items that have showed slow sells will be dropped.  The offerings for new product pieces will be limited to those pieces which cover a wider product range or year range.  Those pieces which are specific to a very small product range will not be brought into production.

None of us knows for sure the future.  Just enjoy it for what it is and support the hobby for what it has to offer.

[AKcharger]

Thanks for the insight 69bfan!

[RallyeMike]

I agree. Thanks for the perspective 

I also think that there is a good market for another 10-15 years...or maybe a bit longer, .....it's all the second generation owners who drove these cars to high school when they were cheap used cars. These people now are getting rid of their kids and are more likely to be near the top of their earning potential, and with more time on their hands. Let's hope we're right.