Can someone please clarify the official ACMOC policy on reproduction parts, because those of us trying to save these old crawlers need parts that we can no longer buy from Cat, so I've had quite a few parts made for my own tractors over the past 10 years and laid out tens of thousands of dollars, and hundreds of hours doing so, and offer extras to other members through ACMOC Chapter 19 here in Oz, as do other members of our local group, yet surely other folks Stateside and maybe the British Isles, Europe, New Zealand, etc., are making new parts too, other than the few I see advertised in the ACMOC Store, like the nice decompression cocks from "The Brothers" and the items from Stephen Sarkany in South Carolina.
How do we reach out to people in our 2,200 strong Club, to find out what parts might be available, and more importantly, what parts are needed, and get more of those reproduction parts into the hands of people who need them, to really help our members get their restorations back on track? Is it worth running a story in the next ACMOC magazine talking about this subject, because very few financial members use this forum regularly.
Making good reproduction parts takes a long time, and is very expensive, and it is crazy to think that 2 or 3 people in different parts of the world might be making the exact same part right now, and not know others are doing the same, that is stupid, when the size of the market for a part might be less than say 10 units, or maybe even just 2 or 3.
I spoke to Jim Zimmerman about 6 years ago about this issue, I was buying parts from him at the time, and he said he was getting out of making reproduction parts because too many guys would shoot their mouths off about wanting things made, but when he actually did go ahead and get them made, those same guys disappeared into the shadows with their big mouths, and money clips, and he was left stuck with thousands of dollars of parts he couldn't sell.
I know ACMOC recently made Cat 60 manifolds, and they were very expensive to make even though we were given the Logue patterns for free, I don't think the Club should be risking making any more expensive parts without first getting a 50% deposit from potential customers, but even then, I'm not sure the Club should be worrying about trying to make parts, when they lack the skills to do it well, and the Directors and Committees are all busy just trying to save the Club.
I want to see ACMOC helping members, and non members, by selling reproduction parts, but it seems to me right now the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing when ACMOC Chapter 19 has shelves full of good parts, like copper gaskets and brass fuel caps and crank handles that no ACMOC member outside of Australia knows anything about.
We have so many really clever folks in our group, scattered around the world, people who are possibly willing and able to help solve some of our parts challenges, can we please get everyone on the same page.
With respect as usual
Mike