NLA list grows.
 

The NLA list is growing like a weed as of late. Here is the latest item. Tried to buy a few yesterday, but no luck. Turbo tail base, part number 930 512 901 01. Same for the full kit, part number 930 512 3 901 01. Keep in mind that this is the same tail base that was used in the 964 turbo that was around in 93.

So if you have a turbo, go easy when closing the decklid since those factory bases crack if you just stare at them hard enough. I might just have to start buying everything I can in order to have a lifetime supply of whatever I will need. Good thing I bought two new shrouds last year. If this keeps going this way, in a few years, all that will be available will be alternators, brake pads, bearings, suff like that. If it's not a mechanical part, forget it.

Meanwhile, over at BMW, the Mobile Tradition department keeps adding parts for old cars like the 2002 every day. At Ferrari, you can now order a new engine block for older Ferraris where the original engine isn't in place any more. All part of the new Ferrari Classiche division. For a price, obviously, but Ferrari has become very interested in preserving their history as well. They see this as something that has to be done even though there aren't too many units of each model. Sadly, Porsche isn't doing well enough financially to produce some parts we need in limited quantities. Or maybe we Porsche owners are too cheap to pay for what we need.


http://www.classicdriver.com/uk/magazine/popup_print.asp?print=true&lPageID=3300&id=13060

http://www.businessweek.com/autos/content/dec2006/bw20061228_441948_page_2.htm

Mobile Tradition 2002. Watch the upholstery section in part 2. Very interesting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m26S0zrEd8&mode=related&search=

Porsche wants us to buy new Porsches, not preserve old ones. Tradition doesn't pay the stockholders.

Ferrari has always been a high dollar low volume exclusive brand. Basically all of their cars are collector cars, new or old so it's all business to them. They can make a profit re-issuing these high dollar parts in limited amounts.

BMW on the other hand is high volume company as is Porsche as well these days although maybe not quite in the league of BMW but not too far behind. I think the difference is that BMW is making a long term investment in their marks history because they are aware of how it affects the perception of the mark in general. Selling vintage parts could hardly be considered profitable to BMW in and of it's self. It's the image that they are concerned with and as Agassi says "Image is everything". :)

Porsche has such a great image already maybe they don't think they need to invest here. It's a shame though when you consider that it's these old cars that contributed so much to that image.

I think we'll see more and more aftermarket parts for the CIS and Motronic cars because Porsche made enough of them that it'll be profitable for some entrepreneurs to reproduce.

From what I understand (talking with a Porsche Dealer parts guy once), some parts will occasionally be listed as NLA. It is possible that they will never be produced again. Other times it is only temporary and after a few months/years they begin to manufacture those parts again. I don't get what is behind this thinking though.

I've actually seen this myself with a part I was trying to get a hold of and it becoming available months later.

As an old Porsche owner myself, I hope you're right. But I haven't seen it yet. Porsche differentiates between No Stock (still an active part number, but no stock in the world and no ETA on when more will be produced) and NLA.

Hey..

I think Porsche is missing the boat on this one...

BMW Mobile Tradition started small and mushroomed as they realiazed the demand for older parts was actually there. They saw the aftermarket taking dollars out of thier coffers in reproduction parts.

Porsche should realize the same for thier models up through 89. It'll be a toss-up down the road for 90 thru 97 models.

Historically, Porsche has been more of an automobile assembler than a manufacturer. The production of parts was done by various other companies. Much more so than other makers.

I don't happen to be worried about originality. In a way, I'm glad I don't have a 916 or something. So, there will always be enough parts to make my car go. Demand will create an opportunity, and somebody will step in and make those profits. Plus, there are donor cars. Indeed, there are probably hundreds of turbo tail bases in the rafters of peoples' garages.

Porsche Inc. for some years now has been all about resting on its laurels - hyping its heritage for marketing effect while doing very little to honor it. Hopefully someone at the company will get wise to actually helping those of us out who choose to preserve the tangible elements of that heritage.

I've bought a couple of those and seen plenty. Mostly cracked up or as brittle as an eggshell from old age. Usually just the act of removal and reattachment for paint will bring on the cracks. Tail bases are one of those parts where the fiberglass aftermarket version does not even begin to look like the original one underneath. Most don't even have the right curvature at the top. And you can forget about attaching factory baffles, screens and shrouds underneath with anything approaching original fit. It will be an drill and epoxy job at best. After the ton of money I spent restoring my 930 with original parts, it's the sort of thing I'm picky about.

I was ready to buy a few a couple of days ago and had no luck. When I told this to a buddy of mine who is into 2002s, he was surprised. He figured that it's not some obscure part that isn't seen from outside the vehicle. Besides, 964 turbos from 1993 used them. That isn't too long ago. The day before yesterday I talked to Dave Bouhain at MS Road & Race and he said he could get them all day long. Yesterday he called me back dumbfounded by the fact that they are unobtainium new in box. He agreed with me that the aftermarket ones aren't worth it on an otherwise perfect car since they even come close.

At this point, I would like to know if they intend on producing a batch in the near future or not. I did leave an order for four. I need to know what their intentions are because, if they don't produce them, I am going to try to reproduce them by laser scan in order to make an almost exact copy in a more durable material. Simply because the fiberglass ones I have seen just won't do. And certainly not a few years from now when the serious restorations on 930s really start. It will probably cost me thousands and I might not even make any money, but I'll do it if they never get produced again. Only because I love these old Porsches as much as BMW loves their old cars and somebody has to do it. Right now I'm talking to some scanning and prototyping guys to see what can be done. If anybody knows about this field, any help would be appreciated. The original ones almost look injection molded. Except that the material seems to have been a poured mixture of chopped fiberglass impregnated polyester. The shrouds were done the same way. Porsche themselves solved that with the much improved 3.6 shrouds that last forever and don't crack around the holes.

I think you guys are talking about the current leadership of Porsche, not the old management that ran Porsche like a family business. We have to give them some credit for saving Porsche from near death in the early '90s. On the other hand, they left major racing after '98 and started suing "mom and pop" parts houses for selling coffee mugs with the Porsche crest on them.

Porsche is now one of the most profitable car companies in the world in terms of unit profit. They could afford to race, but it doesn't make money. They could sell parts for the older cars, but there is not much money in it either.

Sometimes. The markup on parts is much, much higher than a new car.

Seems like domestic dealers sell cars so they can service them. The service dept and the used car lot are the real profit generators followed closely by the parts dept. A new car dealership w/o a bodyshop and/or service/parts dept would never make it.

However, when the normal sales invoice is nearer a hundred grand than fifty grand, there has to be some cubic dollars changing hands at the Porsche dealer.

It's not unlike banks that don't want to lend small amounts because it's not worth the time. They'd rather lend large amounts. Less paperwork. Less overhead.

That's why parts are so expensive. Look how many people have to get paid just for a small screw to get from point A (manufacturer) to point B (in your hand).

Bobby's correct on this. For instance, the driver's door broke on my Mountaineer. It just plumb would not open. Something inside the latching (i.e.: blah-blah-blah-) broke off. Time to fix said door: 30 min. End cost to me $600.

I should have stuck to the Bo and Luke Duke way of entry/egress. :rolleyes: