nos vs repop's

-
rbkt65

rbkt65

FABO Gold Member
FABO Gold Member
Joined
Dec 25, 2017
Messages
2,613
Reaction score
2,053
Location
jerseyville, illinois.
i was looking thru some of the stuff that a buddy has and we were discussing nos vs repop. part in discussion is the fender penta star, 2785540. he says that the bill rollick is just as good for 12.00 as one he was looking at on ebay for 95.00. this is only 1 part we were discussing. he has a list of different part numbers. but what is the general thoughts?
 
Depends on the manufacturer, I have yet to buy a repo that was identical to the OEM, the closest I have bought was a positive battery cable from classic Ind. And it was an inch or to shorter then OEM
 
Last edited:
Bill Rollick sells great, correct looking looking parts with true tolerances. Certain Re pops will do If your not trying to re-create a 100% original car.
Other re pops just do not fit and look like the old "JC Whitney 1 size fits all".
 
The repop pentastars I've seen have the points of the star blunt and rounded. The points on the originals were sharper. It was definitely noticeable. Bill's may be different. I've been happy with the stuff I've bought from him.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Depends entirely on what the part is.
Click to expand...
I agree. Trim items, and interior parts as repops are usually fine, and in some cases are better than OEM. Case in point armrest bases. The OEM as vacuum metalized "chrome" that you can remove with ammonia and water, or leave spots on if it gets hit with windex. We all have seen this "chrome" worn off and the raw plastic showing. The repops are actually chrome plated much in the same way that a plastic pickup truck grille is chrome plated. That plating holds up to the elements pretty admirably. The repop gage bezels dont fit perfectly, and require a bunch of fiddling with to make them work, but also have that exterior type of real chrome plating. It will never fade or yellow. Legendary repop door panels, and upholstery are top notch. Plus where are you going to find that stuff as NOS anyways. I find that the repop emblems tend to be chromed better and finished to more of a jewel like quality compared to the OEM stuff which may have rough edges and not really finished 100%. I have held both in my hands at the same time to compare the 2.

Back then, these cars were not made to the highest quality standards. They had a 10 year life span. The word quality never even entered the picture until the japanese started beating the hell out of them. TBH I like the higher finish quality on repop trim and emblems, interior parts etc, and would take them over a triple the price OEM that almost looks like a "second" run part but resides in a tattered OEM box.
 
So my $0.02.
Chrysler had many manufacturers for many parts. Always beating each other against the other for better prices. So one car made 3 months later than the first car could have different parts- same part number. So what you are stating is “oem” against aftermarket is a tough call because even the quality of Ma MoPar from say a side fender light on a 72’ Dart to a 76’ Dart could have been a major quality or manufacturing process- same part number. Both OEM.
Then companies once they had the “build sheet” for a part reproduced that part for years after as a parts counter part. They (the manufacture) got sold and resold and the part lost something when bean counters got involved during and after each sale of the company. Look at Fram filters and how the quality dropped from Fram to who ever owns them now.

my long winded point is- even the brand new 45 year old part in the box with shelf wear may not be as good as the original 46 year old part that came on your car.
Let alone the eBay seller that takes a OEM part out of the OEM box for their car and drops in a “copy part” and sells as OEM. PCV and gas caps are notorious for that swap and sell move.

Buyer beware, ask before you buy. Make sure you agrees with return policy. Check references. Let’s face it- most aftermarket re-pops are at best clones. BUT there are some companies making better that original parts. Syleng1
 
Correct, nos may not be identical to oem. Repops can be a crap shoot with quality varying a lot.
 
When my dad & I were doing his 67 gtx he bought a lot of new "repops" chrome & nothing fit right. So when we did his other 67 gtx he sent everything out to get rechromed.
 
With doing distributors, I stay with NOS/NORS points and condensers. Now vac advances I send out to get rebuilt. Issue is the rubber diaphragms. Really depends how they were stored over the years. Nothing like buying a $200 vac advance and the diaphragm is bad. You really cant send it back even from a known good suplier like AMS or Arizona. To me really depends on what the part is. Caps and rotors the new stuff is pretty terrible.
 
Other than interest i don't see spending for correct restoration on A bodies.They just don't get the value or respect.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top