I polled a group of 68-69 peeps on FB and this is what was listed for wish list reproduction parts: 68-69 wishlist items Center console floor shifter Side dome lenses or sail panel light (no tri shield) GS Fan shroud Fenders Radiator core support Full radiator support Rear quarters Fenders Dash pads Chrome trim, exterior Bumpers Vinyl top trim Headlight bezels Tail light lenses Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The problem with almost all 68/69 model year specific items, is that volume doesn't justify the expense to reproduce, and the high resale price IF reproduced. The 68 rear interior courtesy lenses were made several years ago by Duane H, and it took forever for them to all sell. And we found the 68 housings were not even all the exact same specs! Some were shorter than the lenses that were made, so they wouldn't fit. Yes, it would be great if all these items were available, no doubt about it. I'm not trying to discourage it, but this gets kicked around every few years.
I'd like to find somewhere that also reproduces the '69 GS hood. A lot on that list can be found through OPG now. I have 1969 chrome trim I'm willing to part with, all but the drip rail moldings. But even those I saw in an OPG catalog.
Reproduction front inner fender wells would be awesome to find. especially the passenger side, given the battery issues we have.
Maybe this thread can help? http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/looking-for-68-gs-parts.362128/page-1#post-3118554 The rear wheelhouses appear to be available in a reproduced form.
As David pointed out, there simply isn't enough demand. 1. Fenders- if you're patient and willing to pay, you can find clean ones. 2. DS inner fenders that are rot free are a dime a dozen (LOL). Passenger side is very tough to find. 3. Thumb groove steering wheels- as these are also used in the 1970 models, may be easier to get someone to reproduce these. 4. Floor shifter- tooling costs, etc. Can one sell enough to make a profit? Probably not. The easier way to go would be machined aluminum or carbon fiber with chrome plastic plating. 5. There's a fiberglass reproduction of the fan shroud. It's "good enough". 6. Radiator support- demand isn't there. 7. Full quarters- since AMD had a hard time selling off their stock of full size 70's, no way on the 68-69's. 8. Dash pads... .... I can go on. I will say that if you're in the 68-69 game long enough, you WILL find ALL of the above parts along the way. Many NOS, many very clean originals, etc. I can say that even as of this month, I am still getting leads on NOS 68-69 parts, even though I don't own a 68-69....
I think the Dash pads are available. I have to also say that there is MORE available today then there was 30 years ago for these cars. Perhaps new manufacturing technologies will allow for lower cost reproduction of some of these parts in the future? Or maybe I am just dreaming.
There's a reasonably priced rust-free fender that's been on here for a long time & the guy is even willing to ship. Doesn't bode well for anyone repopping them... I sold a pair of rust-free fenders about 10-15 years ago and they weren't exactly an easy sell. Hector (@carhex) has had some '68-9 stuff for awhile now too... IMHO, core support patch, RF inner fender patch, and maybe rear outer wheelhouses/lips are the only parts one could even hope to make $ on reproducing. If anyone knows Eldon Gladfelter (he's on FB & belongs to at least one stepchild group on there), you could ask him how the repro '68(?)-9 BBB fan shrouds he was going to make are coming along? Ask him who he "borrowed" the perfect one from to use to make a mold and tell him I'd like to have it back someday - It's only been 30+ years. Maybe by now he's getting closer to makin' 'em, lol. Or, maybe it's the one currently installed in his car in which case tell him to f-ing pay me for it! Hope I never see his car in a show. Be a shame if something happened to that shroud (no, I probably wouldn't...). Gotta be worth what, $3-400 now? PayPal is sdjs1971@yahoo.com.
I will dream along with the rest of you. 1. Quarter panel pot metal chrome trim. 2. Trunk pot metal GS and Skylark trunk trim. 3. Shifter pot metal chrome and Black plastic handle .
I wonder how many were saved compared to the hood ? I have seen more 69 GS hoods on 68,69 Skylarks than 69 GS cars.
You saw 69 drip rail moldings in OPG catalog? I'd be suspicious that they might be for other years and they think it also fits 69. They advertised the 3 piece cowl screen inserts as 68-72. I called them up and told them while it might fit for 68 and 69 they are not correct. They didn't initially believe me. I asked them to go look at their own 69 on the showroom. They went and looked and were like "looks like you're right". How hard would it be to repro a stamped screen mesh? They've known about it for years now but still push the 3 piece insert.
Answer: probably not many. I know that when I located a '69 GS at a junkyard, and I removed the hood from it and bought it, I didn't even think about getting the hinges too. I now regret that, of course, because my original '69 hinges finally wore out, and when I replaced them with the hinges from my '68, I learned the dirty secret about the difference between the 2 years. I bet a lot of the guys who put a '69 hood on a '68 car--without also installing '69 hinges-- didn't realize that they could have prevented a lot of headaches, due to the '68 hinges not raising the hood as high as '69s.
