Hey Guys, Here we go again? This is just my opinion, no facts. These 1966 NOS parts on eBay are being bid on some people that I don't think need them. The prices are being pushed up too high o No: . I just wish these people would not do this. It is not fair for the rest of us trying to put together these cars that have parts that are hard to find. I hope that they get stuck paying $500 for this part. Not the average good guy needing the part. It is too bad that I did not have a lot of money that I could buy these parts and resell them to people that need them for a fair value. Not for a driven up value. Sorry for venting but it makes me mad. Still looking for a few NOS pieces myself. Here is the link http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&category=33654&item=2426385063 Keep on Cruzing Bob:blast: Jerseysky66 1966 2 door Skylark Wildcat 375
Bob, I sympathize with you. Regarding the seller on that auction.. it is The Buick Farm that has all their stuff for sale on their own website. You can search it by year/model, and buy directly, instead of looking at ebay listings. Here's a link: http://www.buickfarm.com/index2.asp
Buick Farm Hey David, I thought he was not finding any new stuff and semi-retiring. I have dealt with Buick Farm about five or six years back. I think I bought the last good NOS trim piece off him for my car. It was the back panel for the 66 that says Skylark. The piece was nice but it has a small ding in it. He did not let me know this. I did not make a big deal about it because I knew it was a hard piece to find. I called about about another part. I did not know the part number. I tried to describe what part I needed (a gasket for a 4 barrel Cater made out of asbestos,carb to intake manifold). The old guy started yelling at me because I did not know the part number. I guess he was having a bad day. Dave if you know how hard it is to find NOS stuff for a 66 Skylark, then please tell me what hard to find stuff Buick Farm has. I can't find NOS hood molding and the small emblem, NOS tail light bezels, NOS other pieces of trim on the back end, no NOS head light bezels, and no NOS grills, and last no more NOS back panels that say Skylark. So how does he come up with a NOS hood molding???o No: Bob Jerseysky66 1966 2 Door Skylark Wildcat 375
... Bob....its not easy.....its called supply and demand... imagine haveing the last 2 bottles of coke or last 2 packs of cigarettes.....my reserve would be in the millions..and they would hit the reserv....ou:
Well, I don't know Bob. I've only dealt with them (Lois) on internet purchases, and I have a 68 parts book, so I know the part #'s of what I'm looking for. I just did a search of 66 Skylark parts on their website, and there are a lot of them, maybe half or more are engine parts, but I did see door edge guards, and wheel well moldings, and other assorted parts. While there's no excuse for the guy there going off on you for not having a part #, it's a fact that there are thousands of parts for our cars, and it certainly simplifies things if you can provide a part #. Is there any chance of you picking up a 66 parts book on ebay or elsewhere? My 68 parts book was one of the best buys I ever made, for about $35 on ebay a couple years ago. If you haven't seen it, I can email you the page of 66 parts they list in stock.
supply & demand rex is right, its all about supply & demand. bob, i dont know the other bidders, or who you meant, but new1966 is a fine person to deal with. a very honest, dyed in the wool buick fan & i think maybe a bb member. i assure you he is a good guy doing a nice car. paying top dollar is never fun, but it is fair. its just a question of who wants it bad enough to pay a price higher than any of us think it should be. it will only bring what someone is willing to pay. in some ways ebay is better for the hobby overall than say buying from a publication such as hmn, heres why. items in hmn sell to the first serious caller and may wind up on a show car or a pos done wrong. whereas any parts that bring top $$ on ebay will no doubt wind up on a nice GSX or stage 1. a top $$ fender or coolant reservoir will go to a nice GSX or s-1 & not be wasted on a rusty four door lark as can be the case in the publications sales. i have read on this board that ebay is ruining the hobby, but i submit that it actually helps the hobby in that i could not have ever found the parts to do my stage 1 without ebay. i'm sure this is the case for many other bidders. did i pay more than i wanted to ? you betcha, but i got em & thats what matters. it makes the difference of restoring this s-1 or not. one nice thing about ebay is, i can cruise the whole country in 2 hours & never burn a drop of gas or pay for a motel room. no $3.00 lemonade or parking & adm charge either. just point & click and a few days later here it comes in the mail. or i get outbid & somebody improves their car. the prices are often brutal but its really just capitalism at its finest. or its worst, depends whether your buying or selling. its expensive, but it beats the future, which is no parts at all. side note: the good parts are drying up awful fast folks, i have noticed that the good nos items that were on ebay just 1-2 years ago are not showing up at all at any price now. my advice to all is, if you need it, get it. in a few more years this stuff wont show up at any price ever again. after 20 years of cleaning out old dealerships, i can tell you this stuff is at the end of the line. what doesnt get reproduced will just be gone forever. that goes for all brands, gm ford & mopar just dont go bidding on any 70 parts, i want em. :laugh: henry white 70 GS 350 70 GS 455 70 STAGE 1 four speed
Bidding on eBay So when an NOS item comes up for my car I should bid on this item even if I all ready have it because it may never come around again. I just don't like the idea that when a NOS piece comes up this person bids really high on the first day. It is like he is bidding to raise the market value on parts, because I know he sells parts. Most people that know eBay know they should bid at the end of the auction. I know he has the right to do this. Maybe the rest of us should do this to make a profit off some sucker I know a lot of people do this on eBay on other stuff for sale.; I'm just venting. I guess when the parts I need show up on eBay, he will bid again on the first day even if he does not need the part for himself. I know someday someone will reproduce some of the hard to find parts because like you said it is getting to hard and expensive to keep going like this. Bob Jerseysky66 1966 Skylark 2door Wildcat375
Don't bet on reproductions.....tha'ts how he's betting and if i was a betting man.I'd bet he is gonna win the bet.The reproduction market is never going to be big enough to support making the hard to find(and make)diecast trim.Thats why NOS brings what it does....... Good Luck and Peace WildBill
Chrome Plating I wonder why someone out there doesn't chrome plate trim pieces in a large bulk capacity almost like what the bumper boys do with bumpers. I know there is a lot of this pot metal pieces out there waiting to get plated. I could come up with 10 to 12 pieces when I finally decide to take them off my car. Is this too expensive to for someone to do this as a business. Bob Jerseysky66 1966 Skylark 2 door Wildcat 375
Hell I thought I was going to see prices in the hundreds, $ 120 hafl a day into the auction doesnt seem unreasonable to me..Try bidding on an NOS 70 of 71 hood trim and see how far $120 goes?
Re: Chrome Plating Bob, I'm acquainted with a person in Florida who has a pot metal rechroming/restoration project ongoing. He's been collecting/buying old pieces for most years of our GS/Skylark cars, then made a deal with a pot metal restoration business to restore the whole lot. I do know that this is not an inexpensive source for trim pieces, but at least they are available. I believe many pieces are currently done. He also has a trade-in policy if you have restorable pieces to ship to him, he will ship already done pieces to you in exchange, for a lowered price. He is a reputable person on the Buick Performance Club email list. Not the BPG, it is a different internet email group. If interested, I can email or PM you his name and email address. Tell him I referred you.
Hey David, You have been a great help to me please send me his information to finds2002@excite.com. Now as far as this auction goes Chris you miss my point it is always the same person driving the price up. Is it always the same person starting the bidding and making it go higher on the 70-71 stuff? It is always the same person for the 66 Skylark stuff. If it was a Chevy than we all would be able to buy a hood molding for $120. And the worst part is the value for a Chevy is higher than most Buicks but the parts are a dime a dozen. Thank you, Bob Jerseysky66 1966 Skylark 2 Door Wildcat 375
Ahh. The fundamental reason that nobody should be into Buick GS cars instead of Chevelles. We need some parts. Not enough to repro and not enough to save all the used ones. Not enough made to start with either so the supply of musty NOS stuff is small too. We end up with a car that isn't "completely" popular so it has a lower value on top of the parts issues. It is then restored with very expensive parts that are harder to find. From a logical, fiscal and practical standpoint we are not smart to do this. Unless we like Buicks, enjoy how unique they are, how rare they are and how well they run so much that it makes us throw the rule book out the window. Which I do. I know it is frustrating some times. That is the price we pay for individuality. good luck!
Chris, I would LIKE to say that is the reason I bought my car mostly finished a couple years ago, but at the time I had no idea how hard it is to find Buick parts, new or used or NOS. I simply knew it would take me forever to take a project car and restore it, or cost too much to pay someone else to restore it. I loved the 68 GS styling from when my big bro owned one many years ago, and have never considered buying a different make. Now that I know how expensive and frustrating it can be, I would still make the same choice. Although if I knew more at the time, I may have waited for a decent 70 GS455 to come along. That would be my 2nd choice. I've seen the frustration push a couple guys to dump their Buick projects the past couple years. Tough choice to make.
David, I buy parts cars/projects with an alarming frequency(so my wife says) . About half are projects that have demoralized the "casual" musclecar fan. I bought a 71 GS 350 coupe that a guy disassembled. You can guess why he dumped it off cheap to me instead of finishing it. GRILLE, front bumper and a bunch of trinket items were missing or destroyed. Add all the stuff that already needed restoring and you come up with a very negative number. You HAVE to want to keep the car awhile. I try to put parts together and get these cars into "saveable" condition, but some never get there. If you can do it yourself and the major items are intact, Buick's are just as likely to be a great option for a musclecar to restore. Good luck if it is really rough or incomplete.
Time running out. The auction has very little time left. How high will it go? Does anyone know how much it would cost to chrome plate a hood molding for a 66 Skylark? I'm just curious. I was lucky and found an Nos hood molding 5 years back. I'm only looking for a couple more pieces and think it will be cheaper to chrome plate. I have never had any pieces plated and know nothing about the cost or quality. What do you think? Thanks, Bob Jerseysky66 1966 2 Door Skylark Wildcat 375
NOS does not always mean perfect but for $225 it was reasonable.Plating one might cost that much.I for one have always used NOS in my restorations because all the replated diecast that i have seen did not look "crisp" enough for me. Don't let the next one get away........Peace WildBill
