Reproduction vs. old car parts

[redsarrow]

how do these parts differ in prices and how do they affect the total end value of a car when it is restored?

I realize that is a vague question... but car dummies have to start vague    Reading through previous posts I am not sure whether buying reproduction peices would benefit us in the long run (my hubby doesn't want to sell it....but knows he ought to sell it, but he doesn't want to sell it and greed wins over need 

So... it will probably take us the next 20 years to get this car looking and running like he wants it too... but I want to start off on the right foot... so...which is better in the long run for a car that will get driven periodically, not for car shows and/or competitions.

I think he just wants to be able to say "I have a 68 charger and I restored it myself"... so I figure I can help him along with something easy... the windshield wiper container

or at least i thought it would be easy... but now I have to worrry about this repro vs. original thing.

[694spdRT]

Welcome to the site.

On reproduction parts the quality can vary from good to horrible. The main problem is that nice original parts are drying up fast. Some items are not available yet in the aftermarket and nice original pieces bring large $$$.

With my resto I used a combination of repo and original. Depending on the condition of your car's body you will probably end up having to use a lot of reproduction panels as originals are non existant. FYI Front fenders are not available in the aftermarket and bring good money used.

Interior items like seat covers, carpets, etc will mopst likely have to be bought from the aftermarket...stay away from the repo dashpads for now as they are junk.(I know)

Most of the repo stuff I bought is of good quality and IMO will not affect the value of a "driver" type car.   

[Silver R/T]

NOS is way to go if you want to make big bucks once the car is restored, repro parts work for me though

[hemigeno]

NOS is way to go if you want to make big bucks once the car is restored, repro parts work for me though

IMHO, adding NOS parts significantly increases the price of concours-quality, high-demand cars only.  Even though you can spend thousands on NOS parts to restore /6, 318 or 383 cars to a very high level, there is a limit to what they would be worth.  On the other hand, a collector-type car is looked down on if it has a bunch of reproduction parts.  For those cars, you're better off refurbishing old/used stuff than using repro parts if NOS isn't available.  You have to look at what you're restoring first, to see if it makes sense to dump money into NOS parts.

694spd is right - for a fun-field show car or any driver-level car, quality reproduction parts don't hurt the value at all.  Also - If people don't use the repro parts that are out there, how can we expect the suppliers to make some of the other parts we would love to see made?

What I see is the price of good used parts creeping up as the supply of NOS parts rapidly dwindles.  When the used parts market gets high enough, the highest-demand parts that arent' being repopped will become more and more lucrative.  Sooner or later someone will invest in the tooling to take advantage of the market's demand.  Econ101 at its finest.  My only hope is that when people jump into re-making a part, that they take the time to replicate the original parts AS CLOSELY AS POSSIBLE.  If the manufacturers would only put out good/high quality repro parts, the car guys wouldn't look down on them even on high-end restorations.

[/rant]