Maybe I am a dreamer or just dumb. I just sent this to Goodmark. Looks like we need to squirrel away all the fenders and doors we can find. Dear Goodmark, Years ago I used to understand why aftermarket companies only made parts for '57 chevrolets and Camaro's Now more and more companies, including Goodmark are making parts for the more obscure models. Do you have any plans to produce door skins and fenders for '70-'72 Buick Skylarks? Do you have any set criteria for selecting new products? (ie. if we had purchase commitments from X number of people at X price we reach the point where it becomes a good idea for Goodmark.) Here is their reply: Steve, It is a lot like that but really it is simple. If we had our phones ring down everyday with phone calls looking for those panels we would make them but as it stands maybe once every two weeks and sometimes that doesn't even happen. But if we could sell 300 to 500 pairs we would rethink our decision. As of right now I don't think there are that many car out there left to find that many people needing them................Goodmark
Door skins I would purchase a couple pair of skins. I have two pair of NOS fenders and a pair of NOS quarter panels. :Brow: Has the tooling for this been destroyed,or is it just lack of interest?
A flaw in their reasoning, is that a lot of Buick guys already know they don't make these things, so they don't bother calling to inquire. If Goodmark has an email address, maybe board members here could bombard them with requests to repro?
Goodmark E-mail Here is the address: info@goodmarkindustries.com .....and they monitor it because they replied to my e-mail in 4 hours. As for whether the tooling still exists I have no idea. The theory that we know they don't have them so we don't ask is probably correct. Can't hurt to bombard them with requests. Maybe they are making Chevy truck parts because Chevrolet guys buy a truck an wonder why they can't get parts like they could for the Chevelle????? I decided to ask because when I see aftermarket parts for Early '70's trucks and Mopars being made I figure Buicks must be worth doing at some point. A '70 Chevelle Fender direct from them is $329.......
Goodmark I just emailed them asking Goodmark to visit the board and place a thread asking if everyone if they would be interested in seeing these parts being reproduced and told them i think they would be overwhelmed in the number of responses they would recieve.I think everyone that reads this post should e mail them. It cant hurt anything maybe we can get them thinking about it and that there's is a market for it.
And I e-mailed them this morning asking about the possibility of correct repro convertible quarters......they responded in about an hour and a half with this Cole, First thank you for your e-mail. The problem with making Buick panels with us in the industry. Is that we under the impression that there is not enough Skylarks or GS cars out there to be able to sell the numbers of the panels to break even much less make a profit. So yes I think it would be a great idea if you could get as many people out to e-mail us and let us know what the demand is out there. As of right now our sales numbers just dont indicate that this would be a profitable venture. So if you Big Torque junkies can let us know other wise, BRING IT ON. Goodmark
Mee too and I kissed up by complimenting the '70-'72 trunklid they DO make :grin: Somebody put this on the bench, w/ a sticky???? This is critical..........
I just sent them this: Hello. My name is Chris Blair. I have been a Buick enthusiast for 15 years, ever since I bought my 1970 Skylark Custom convertible in July of 1989. Since then, I have made a GS455 convertible clone out of it. One of the biggest problems for Skylark/GS owners is the lack of support from companies that make reproduction sheetmetal for our cars. Demand is always cited as an issue for manufacture of the parts in question. I used to run a production shop for a US Government Contractor, and I apprciate these concerns. However, I am also a member of the Buick Performance Group, a club made up of Buick enthusiasts like myself, and I read a reply from your company to a member in my club, concerning this very issue of demand for Skylark/GS sheetmetal, with much interest. Quote: "(Name with-held), It is a lot like that but really it is simple. If we had our phones ring down everyday with phone calls looking for those panels we would make them but as it stands maybe once every two weeks and sometimes that doesn't even happen. But if we could sell 300 to 500 pairs we would rethink our decision. As of right now I don't think there are that many car out there left to find that many people needing them................Goodmark" This confused me very much, especially the "I don't think there are that many car out there left to find that many people needing them" part. I cannot guarantee the sale of say, 500 fenders, partly because you indicate no time frame to sell these in, but as far as thinking there are not enough Skylarks or Gran Sports left to find folks that need to get these parts, that is sheer conjecture. In my business, we explore markets, we do not dismiss them out of hand because of what we "think". Take the 1970 to 1972 Skylark/GS for example. This is most likely the most popular body style. Many people who own these cars, myself included, have fairly respectable fenders in usuable shape, with one problem: a factory defect that affects the contour of the tops of the fenders. These are GM replacement fenders, that had a slight misalignment during manufacture, resulting in a strange 'pinched in' effect on the tops of the fenders. I know from personal experience in 15 years of being involved with the restoration of these cars, that original, correct GM fenders are expensive to say the least, and that many owners have this problem I would pay for a pair of steel repros, but have no source. These fenders, however, would sell. Repros of things such as tail light lenses and grilles are being undertaken in limited production runs as I type this. Hundreds of units are already sold out in the limited production run of GS grilles, to members of the GS Club of America, and the run just started. The reason that more are not being made is warehousing problems! I urge you to explore this market, the Skylark and Gran Sport owners. Far more than a few of us are out here. If you like, pleae contact me and I will inquire as to what we need to do as a group, to convince you that it is worthwhile to produce such things as Skylark/GS fenders, inner fenders, door skins, and the like. I wonder if you could look up in your records, how many folks buy things like Chevelle floor pans from companies like yours, but who don't own Chevelles; rather, they install these parts in the Buicks Very Sincerely Yours, Christopher K Blair BPG member # 1447 1970 Buick Skylark Custom convertible
You know willwe are on this subject we need to e-mail them about a filler panel for them(70-72GS) . Ithink everybody would get one,especaily if you have a vynyl top.
I know they'll never make any Riv stuff, but here's what I sent them: Whether or not you guys realize it, many of us have gotten so discouraged trying to find parts for our Buicks, we don't even bother asking anymore. The sad truth is what chevy parts we can make fit we use, and when that happens you guys think you just sold another chevy part. I think the aftermarket companies such as yours are missing a huge sector of the market by being afraid to take a chance on this brand. All you would need to do is make a run of one most popular size part as a test and you would see for yourself. Sincerely, Joe Naab chebbies ou: :bglasses:
