price of NOS parts

[Firebirdjones]

Originally Posted by CHROMAHOLIC

I will not buy anything after market....I do agree some of the prices for NOS are crazy. But aftermarket is junk, nothing ever fits right....if it's body parts you are buying...spend it on the NOS because the time you have in making the after market junk fit...you might as well of bought NOS

I agree with that, restoration and paint is what I do for a living and I definately see a difference in fitment and appearance.
What I'm saying is that I'm not going to do it with a pickup truck for those kinds of prices anymore.

The last time I restored a 77 pickup, all the GM body panels were still available straight through GM (about 10 years ago?? Been a while) AND they were CHEAP. Entire GM longbed bedsides just over $500, GM front fenders $150, GM hood $200 etc. etc...
So if anything had rust in it (which was most every panel) it was actually cheaper to buy a new GM piece rather than fix what was there. All in all with labor and new GM sheetmetal I had about $5k in it. Not that bad. But at that time the truck wasn't worth much more than that anyway, and they still aren't. So I can't justify doing another one now. The GM parts aren't available anymore, so it's all NOS and prices are ridiculous for a truck that in the end isn't worth the money it would take to do it all.
Different story though if we talk about a desirable muscle car.

Just my take on it.