Why Don't They Make That Part?

Story and supplied by Colin Date

One of the most common questions in classic Chevy car circles is: Why don't they make this for my car? As a supplier and manufacturer to the aftermarket for many years, we will attempt to answer this question and shed some light on manufacturing for the aftermarket and classic car market. Let's start with some history.

Originally, when Chevrolet manufactured parts for your classic car, these cars were not classic; they were just cars. For manufacturing, this means they were built for daily use and not for show. These cars were made in very high volume dies and were designed to be at the lowest cost to assemble a complete car to ship to the dealer. Parts were not made to the standards that the restorer now expects for his pride and joy. In many ways, the aftermarket customer now demands better quality than the original, as these parts are being used on cars for show.

With the values of some classic cars going into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, the quest for quality is at an all-time high. This creates an even more involved challenge for the supplier and manufacturer to develop parts that meet or exceed the quality, fit, and finish of an original Chevrolet.

Most manufacturing processes are designed for volume. We have worked with manufacturers that will not look at a project for under 10,000 units. Then others will run as few as 100 units. So volume is relative to the price the customer is willing to pay and the manufacturing processes used.

We're sure you've heard the stories of outrageous prices for parts that should only cost a few dollars. But that's what happens when an individual wants the part badly enough, and the part isn't being reproduced. The few examples that exist command outrageous prices. People get confused by these high prices on rare parts, thinking there must be a great demand for them. This is often wrong, because there may only be one person in the world willing to pay that huge price tag. Now there may be hundreds of people that would pay a high cost for a part they really needed (that wasn't in demand), but that still does not address the thousands of units needed to do a production run of a part of this type. Most manufacturers require volume in the thousands to be able to cost effectively produce a part.

The demand in the marketplace often times does not meet the volume requirements of a given manufacturer, which is often the case with classic car parts. This creates a dilemma for the aftermarket supplier in the classic car business. People ask us why we don't make a given part for their car. Well, there are a lot of steps involved to make a new reproduction part that to the consumer may look simple or cheap. We will explain some of the dynamics of making parts for the aftermarket.

First step is market research. This will determine the demand for the part and the value of the requested part. This entails researching the number of cars originally built, as well as the estimated number of cars currently on the road or still in existence. You may have a part that is really in need by a specific group of enthusiasts, but if there is only a hundred of those enthusiasts willing to buy the part, the demand is not sufficient for the cost or volume requirements of manufacturing.

Once it is determined that a part is in significant demand and should be reproduced, the tooling development can begin. The engineering time to replicate a part and then the hard costs of machining are extensive. A small part, like a radio knob, can be in the $10,000 to $20,000 range for tooling. The impression many hobbyists have is that the smaller the part is, the cheaper it must be. Not so in tooling; sometimes the smaller parts can be the most expensive to tool up due to the design.

To make most of these parts, there is an incredible amount of labor hours for the engineering aspect. Then you have the raw cost of the tooling steel or material, and then the machining time to create the shape and design of the part. After all that, there's the testing stage. This is where materials are tested, and a first article is made for fit and quality testing.

630-ton die casting machine used to make emblems.

Let's take something as small and simple as a hood emblem, for instance. It can take 6 months to a year to get that part to the market. There is a computer CAD designer who draws the part, then there is a tooling engineer to machine the tool, and a heat treating facility to treat the tool. Then it's over to the die caster. The parts are run on a 630-ton die casting machine, trimmed, de-gated, and cleaned. Then they head off to a chrome plater that applies the chrome finish. Once this is done, the parts are back in containers and delivered to the facility to apply factory markings and color. Then the part is inspected and shipped to you, the customer. The actual production of a small emblem like the one shown is very involved. A production run can take several months with all the handling required to make a superb quality part.

Another process used is metal stamping. To make a headlamp bezel, there is a tremendous amount of development cost. Because of the complex shape of these parts, there may be six to ten different dies to create the design of one headlamp bezel set. In stamping deep draw parts like a headlamp bezel, it's a lot like cutting your lawn. What we mean by this is that when the grass is tall, you cannot cut it down in one pass; you must make multiple trips to get it down to the level you want. The same is true with deep draw stampings. The first die does one part of the shape, the second die draws more depth and detail, and so on.

In stamping sheet metal parts like an inner fender, the dies can weigh as much as 10,000 pounds to make a small sheet metal part. Parts as large as a quarter panel are in the $50,000 range for tooling and require upwards of 1000 tons of pressure. This all equates to very expensive tooling and equipment.

Once a tool is built and tested, a part is made for test fitting. The part is then checked on an original car for fit and finish. In general, the most complicated and expensive part of the process is the tooling. After the part is tested and has been approved for fit, production can begin. Most manufacturing processes require volume for affordability. On aluminum stampings, there is typically a minimum run of anywhere from 1000 to 2000 units to be able to set up the job. If the quantity is less, the manufacturers who make these parts will not run the job, as there is too much setup involved to make less. If they are able to run less, the cost goes up because in most manufacturing processes, there is what is called a break-in or setup period. When equipment is first started up, the results can vary. Temperature, moisture, and material variations can all affect the finished part. So 50 to 100 parts maybe be lost just setting up and testing before parts are produced that are acceptable to the customer. Also, special material is often required for each order, which has its own minimum run requirements. The cost of doing all of this is significant. Because we can only sell so many of these parts (maybe 200-300 per year), we have the holding cost (for the manufacturing money spent), and the cost of the parts in inventory.

In the case of reproducing parts for a Tri-5 Chevy, where the sales demand is much higher than, say, a '72 Impala, there is a cost factor that allows manufacturers to run more parts in high volume and bring the cost down. Unfortunately, in many cases, the quality is not maintained in higher volume production, all in the name of lowering costs.

So as you can see, there is a lot involved in the manufacture of parts for your classic cars!