Dear V-8 Buick interior decorators, I'm reasonably certain it happened before we moved into this house in 1980. Therefore at least 32 years ago, the rubber petal on the parking brake started to come off. Therefore my Dad made a quick "temporary" repair. He glued the rubber to the metal. Darn it Dad, don't glue it so well . . . I had a horrible time taking it off - this morning!! :grin: Yes, the time had come to repair that parking brake pedal and upgrade the brake and accelerator pedal too. You see, Original Parts Group had a free shipping offer last week and . . . . I didn't quite reach the minimum purchase. Cruising around in their catalog I noticed that they had a kit to replace all the rubber pedals in a 65 Buick: http://www.opgi.com/p/interior-trim/673/92/PK1200.html That got within a dollar of free shipping. So, given that this parking brake pedal - really - needed fixin' . . . . how could I say no? :grin: Of course, the fact that I could get the fancy disk saying my car had disk brakes didn't hurt either. As far as I know, this wasn't available on 65 Buicks. However, considering that disk brakes weren't available either - what's the surprise? However, my trusty wagon does have front disk brakes. So she deserves a brake pedal that sez so - right? Well the order arrived Wednesday night and I finally got around to installing all the goodies this morning. Here is the car with the original 47 year old pedals: For you originality eagles, here are the OPGI reproductions next to the original parts: The only part that really looks very different from the OEM part is the accelerator petal. It doesn't have the same ribbing pattern and is made of a modern plastic. The parking brake pedal also has a "flaw." The original doesn't have the word "Park" on it. :grin: I suppose only the top of the line Buicks had the parking brake petal saying "park" . . . Here is what everything looks like installed: It took me an hour to do all this because I went very slowly, did some cleaning along the way, and of course took the pictures you see here. If you are focused, it won't take you 1/2 hour. It is a a neat and simple upgrade. Especially for folks that have done a disk brake upgrade, there is something nice about adding a period-authentic reminder of your improvement to the car. The OPGI kit is expensive: $30 on sale now, normally over $50! :shock: However, if you need to repair these pedals, it is certainly a classy way to do it. Besides, I just - had - to get free shipping - right? :grin: Cheers, Edouard :beer P.S. . . . And exactly what would have the shipping cost if I hadn't splurged on this luxury item?? Never mind!! :rant: It ain't polite to ask a question like that to another member of da' Buick brotherhood!! :laugh:
So how much more did you spend over the original shipping cost to get free shipping? Its been my experience with OPGI that nothing is free. Why have to spend 250+ to get free shipping when I only really need 100$ worth of stuff. I've called and argued the point with them and did get reduced shipping but not free.
It was their Columbus day "special." (Re: OPGI) Hi Briz and V-8 Buick victims of shipping policies, Your point is very well taken. In this case OPGI had a "better than average" free shipping deal for Columbus Day and I was buying a Grant steering wheel so I was really close. Still, this is an example where the car parts companies are really out of step. Experts at e-commerce like Amazon have very sophisticated software to pick the best shipping option. However OPGI, like many larger auto parts companies insist on having really bruising shipping rates instead of charging what it actually costs to ship something. I don't expect shipping a transmission crossmember to cost the same as shipping a set of key blanks. However, If really need a set of key blanks, it should cost me . . . . the wholesale cost of a padded envelope, a first class stamp, and 2 minutes of employee time. Companies like OPGI need to "grow up" or the cries of the disgruntled will only grow. :rant: Cheers, Edouard :beer
