Replacement Parts - Rational Strategy?

[Adam Wright]

Some of my best customers for NOS and original stuff like date matched wheels are guys who buy a fully restored car that is covered in repro parts. I think in order to make it feel more like their car they decide to make the car more correct by adding original parts back in place of the original. And yes, there is a decent amount of original and NOS pieces around, and there usually isn't too much trouble selling said pieces. But you have to decide how important it is to you. For example, when people call me about wheels I can always tell the guys who it is important to and guys who it isn't. The guys who really want their car to be correct with original wheels are happy to have found the dates and buy them, the guys who complain about shipping, and restoring, are probably just as happy with wheels made in China. I tell them, date matched wheels aren't for everybody.
So you have to decide on the direction you want to go with your car. My rule is usually if I have to replace something to try and source an original. For example, I broke one of my rear bumperettes on a curb so when I went to replace it I did it with an original one. My car will never be 100% original, but every little bit helps. You will find that the cars that bring the most money over time and hold up the best, will be carrying lots of original parts. That's one of the big problems with repro, even if it's done right and fits well, it still wasn't done as well as an original part, for the most part, so over time it will show.

[Bruce Smith]

I’m one of those guys getting a set of wheels from Adam, making the short road trip from Rochester to Ravena this week to pick them up. I have these on a ‘should be like the originals’ list, together with some other date stamped parts I’ve gathered like seats, Zenith carbs, and a BR18 distributor. I’m hoping to be able to media blast the wheels, true them, and rattle can paint them along with the dated spare that came with the car. The T5 door cards were replaced long ago with pretty good ones from a later C. It’s nice having arm rests so I’ll keep those as is. I’ve replaced the 1970’s radio/cassette with a very nice Blaupunkt, but settled for a one from a few years later than what the original would have been. I like the look of the reproduction baby moon hubcaps that the previous owner bought years ago so will keep those instead sourcing the correct style for the car. The carpet was also replaced in the 1970s with the best square weave of the day, which was pretty good but not quite as close to original as what’s sold today. It’s broken in just fine so I don’t see a need to replace it either. The convertible top is too far gone to save so it’s off to Autos International this winter for a full restoration. Then there are the parts where new replacements just make better sense. For example, I swapped out decent looking original rear lights that were pretty corroded inside with brand new replacements and have more light in the back end of the car than I’d ever get from trying to make the old ones work. I’ve replaced beat up front and rear overriders with vendor replacements at a fraction of the cost needed to restore the originals. This car will be a mixed bag of original parts, original replacements, and reproductions. But like I said, if the next guy wants to change it, that can be his project.

[Neil Schlabaugh]

You make the comment that the project is becoming overwhelming. I understand completely, restoring a old Porsche is not for the faint of heart!!! These projects consume massive amounts of green, even if you are doing a lot of the work yourself. All of the suggestions you have received are good. I like Dan Macdonald and Greg Bryan's post, get the car done first then worry about finding NOS stuff later if it bothers you. There is a million things to do/worry about restoring these cars that its easy to get overwhelmed and say Forget it!, I am putting it up for sale! Or worse its a stillborn project stetting in the garage for 20 years. Ask me how I know....