What would you pay for a pair of high quality reproduction tail light frame/lens

Guys
I was shopping for repro tail lights for my Alfa 750 series spider, and asked an Alfa parts guy if his source of tail lights would consider doing a run of E9 frame/lenses. I sent him a bunch of pics and his source said they can do good repros of the frame/ lens or the whole thing. His tail lights for other brands of old cars is very good (good enough for a concours restoration). He would like to hear from us
(1) how much we'd be willing to pay per frame/lens assembly (not a pair)and
(2) how many sets we think he could sell in a year's time.

If you thing this is worth following up, please post your thoughts here.

John Feng
PS: this is all related to Stan's work on tail
Light repros

 

$500/pair?

 

I think it would be reasonable to pay 250.00 per side if we could get a group buy. Just my thoughts, no scientific analysis has gone into this comment-

 

$250 per side sounds about right.

 

John and I are both Alfa guys, as well as e9 guys. One of the more expensive parts in the Alfa world is the tail light lens for the roundtail spider (1966 - 1969 convertibles). It looks like:



These are smaller than the e9 tail light, but are similar in that they have chrome as well as red plastic (probably vacuum-deposited in the case of the Alfa). Repro Alfa lenses sell for $150 each, so $250 seems about right for a repro e9 lens. Sales volumes are probably similar (e.g., minimal).

Organizing a group buy tends to be a challenge - my guess is that sales would come in "dribs and drabs" rather than one, big buy.

 

John,

i would be in for a pair at 500 ... if they fit really good and the color + shape of the lenses are great
scott

 

You guys are amazing! $500 is my number too if the quality is as good as OEM.
The same reproducer makes tail lights for 1960's Mercedes and other cars similar to E9's (multi-lenses in chromed frames). I'll tell him $400 - $500 for a pair, and first year sales likely about 50 pairs.

John

 

JM, pic of my Alfa in the sports car digest gallery (pg 4) for last years Watkins Glen Vintage Grand Prix (#790).

http://www.sportscardigest.com/u-s-vintage-grand-prix-watkins-glen-2015-report-and-photos/4/

Did you read the 2 articles in velocetoday.com about the early racing history of the Giulietta? Won the first SCCA event when Lime Rock opened in 1957. Would have totally dominated small bore sports car racing but for the lack of availability in the USA.

Tail Lights: I'll bet this will only work as a group buy to cover initial tooling/molds.

 

I do get sportscardigest and went back to look at the photo of #790. Wow, a 750 series Alfa that has been races since it was new! That has to be a rarity.

Yes, 50 pairs @ $500/pair works out to $25,000. I have no idea what the tooling would cost, but would hope that $25K would cover it. The challenge is identifying who will bear the risk that there is sufficient demand to cover the costs.

 

i guess you are all too wealthy ;-)

it is ridiculous to pay such money for a taillight ! old E3 taillights (the ones with chrome surrounds) are available at 70 euro per side, and they are essentially same technology and bigger !

i think 100 euro per side is the Price to be paid IMHO

rgds

 

I'd pay $250 each

 

I would also pay $250/each.

 

Would they do a group deal if prepaid?

 

Oh yes and yes again.
Thanks John.

$500 a pair is much better that getting one since that is all you can find for over $1000. W&N.

I have thought about doing this but you are much further ahead with a know supplier.
Thank you.

I would pay even more if they are OEM like everyone wants.

Face it guys parts prices are going up pretty dramatically.
Be happy you can even get taillights if this can be done.


Gary

 

Great, can you help us find a supplier that can make an OEM quality reproduction set for 100Euro per side? If so, I'll sign up for 2 sets (2 pairs).

John

 

I have given the vendor feedback that $400-$500 for a pair of L/R assemblies is what we think the market will bear. I also said I thought we could come up with a group buy of 40 pairs. If the response is positive, I'll send him one of my used and slightly tatty tail lights so we can get a real quote.

Everyone, please note that I do not know who the mfg is. I only know a vendor of reproduction parts who knows the mfg. I would much rather deal directly with a mfg, but I don't know any in the USA who would be interested in our miniscule volumes. For example, I inquired about reproduction inner door panel trim strips. I was told that it could be made for about $6/foot, but the minimum order was 2000 feet + $6k for tooling and setup. I don't have $20k cash lying around to spend on a pile of trim that might take years to sell. Unless one of you rich guys (you know who you are), wants to go into the parts business, I think group-buy is the only realistic way we can get someone interested. If we were talking 2002 parts, it might be a different story as there must be 10x more out there being restored than E9's.

John

 

certainly i wont, dear john, i do not know where to start looking,...it is only my opinion

 

I am also in for 2 pairs at 500USD per pair.

 

None of us want to over pay and yes these parts are not that expensive to make in mass quantity. $200 for a pair seems reasonable to me, but I have not found anyone willing to make good reproduction parts for OE prices.

I worked w a guy to make repro Giulietta center grills in chromed brass, and we couldn't get the price under $225 (100 piece min order) because the tooling was $10k, and the fabricator wanted full payback on the first run. The tooling here is 2x for L and R