Supply and Demand

My experience with getting parts made has been hit and miss. The 21-4N engine valves MOQ was 800 and I still have about half left, many of which have cosmetic issues so I’m in the red. First cam pulleys broke even eventually, second lot (round tooth) will make money if I sell them all— about half gone, air injector plugs nearly finished and positive, rod bushes moving very slowly so negative. Next up will be the big brake kit and 308/328 wing mirror brackets in 7075 aluminium (a friend needs one but MOQ is 20.)

3D printing is still more expensive and weaker than cnc solid materials but it’s getting closer fast.

 

What is the complaint here?

That parts should only be sold to bona fide owners, instead of professional restorers or flippers?

It sounds like door window switches are hard to find, or expensive? These were never inexpensive cars to own, I remember paying bunches of money for parts from Ferrari, back in the mid 1980s, for my car. I think some parts, are less expensive, now, than back then.

Doug

 

Allow me to preface my comments by saying that they are not targeted to one specific person but a general observation from being in this hobby for a while. I'll offer my observations in point form to make my scattered ideas easier to follow

- Requests for greater organization and better parts help/support normally are not requests for help with an active venture but rather an attempt to have someone else do something that the original requester could later take advantage of. If you are unhappy with the current state of affairs then do something about it rather than complain or even worse ask someone else to do something about it.

- Rapid prototyping is awesome but still miles away from making production quality replicas. What most people overlook is that even if you have a perfect piece to model off of and if you had a perfect prototyping machine capable of perfect resolution, that the creation and refinement of the drawing file is almost an art in and of itself requiring a LOT of skilled hours to produce.

- Because the volume of cars Ferrari produces is so low relative to mass market cars, any attempt to make parts will always be for an incredibly small market. I have personally gone through the whole process several times and, even making minimum runs, you are left with lots of inventory that is difficult to sell. Not counting the tons of time it takes to get to production making a profit is very very difficult and can take ages to achieve. Of the various parts I have made and sold none of them are anywhere close to being profitable. It is totally a labor of love.

- There are a number of great people in the community that make NLA parts. Verrell at Unobtanium Supply comes to mind. His parts are hugely labor intensive and his value is not a cheaper option but availability when originals just are not anywhere to be had. Places like Superformance are a Godsend to DIY people and have allowed entire generations of owners to affordably own these cars.

- NOS parts are always going to bring the big money because they are the real deal and in finite supply. This is why time capsule cars generally sell for much more than even the most perfect restored cars. It is all about its rarity that trumps function, quality, or value. It is not rational it is emotional which is why we own these cars in the first place.

 

Andrew,
you talk about a perfect world. Unfortunately that's not the world we live in.

Best
Martin

 

While it is never as nicely organized as anyone would like the archives of F-Chat accessible through the search function are a treasure trove of service tips and parts cross reference resources. I have used them countless times and have made by best effort to contribute to them when possible to keep the circle going.

I agree that these cars are filled with parts sourced from other cars and it is the mission of all DIY owners to endlessly look for where parts can be found cheaper. It has been my experience that when these sources are found that people are quite liberal to share this information rather than keep it as a secret. Personally I am happy to do this regardless of how it impacts the value of any parts I have on the shelf; sometimes you win sometimes you loose.

 

I have throught on the subject and have remanufactured some parts initially for my own car. I finalized three different projects parts with a very small production.

First via 3D print but the result was very poor. After several months I found a solution and guy who can help me. I'm pretty proud of the result but I am little disappointed by the lack of demand and/or interest from car owners. I read and heard many request but not lot of involvement.

I have another project in progress but I don't know if I will go to the end ….

For your information see pictures below with 3D print prototype vs final part via molding
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Bertrand,

lack of demand was probably caused by the fact, that the parts were already done by others.
And the lever housing is even available in sturdy aluminium.

Best
Martin

 

Martin,
I agree with the hood bonnet trunk and this part is OEM available ( with the handle ) but not for the others. I am really surprised but may be some need evidences or see parts by them selves ( what I can understand )

 

The hood lever housing is available even without the lever and made from aluminium, while the complete OEM-part including chromed lever you mention still has the plastic housing. (source: Superformance, UK)
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The dash vents are from the 328, or not? These are available too since some time. But I told you that already earlier. When you were in the process, developing them. (source: Verrell/Unobtainium Supply)


Best
Martin

 

Martin,
I agree about the hood lever housing. My Ferrari dealer don't know that one and I'm not sure it's OEM. Anyway that's could be a solution.

Concerning the dash vent, I didn't find an exact reproduction as I want. So I sought solution by myself and make this one :
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Thanks Andrew

 

The SF aluminium lever housing is of course not OEM, but one the the rare cases, when a reproduction is better than OEM.

Best
Martin

 

Andrew, I don't use 3D print. These parts are produce by "vaccum molding" ( "moulage sous vide" en Français )

 

Sorry Andrew, it is a secret

 

We injection moulding engineers do our best to prevent this with designing more and more multi-component parts

Best
Martin

 

I have been supplying high quality very exact latch housings since 2003. See this FChat thread:
https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/84-308-black-plastic-escutcheon-around-trunk-latch.7618/page-3

My process produces very precise duplicates: eg: If there's a fingerprint on a part the mold will reproduce it!

Could you please explain why you don't consider my 328 dash vents exact reproductions? (See Martin308GTB's post #38 above)

 

Verell,
I have no doubt about the quality of your product. I just reported that aluminium housing are not exact reproduction because OEM parts are made with plastic.

I already published photos of dash vent that I produced. ( post #39 ) Don't you see difference with yours ?

 

There's so much demand for no more obtainable parts. I really dislike the fact, that there seems to arise something like competition within our otherwise great community regarding identical parts.
But I repeat myself.

Best from Germany
Martin