Hot Rods An observation about obsolete intake manifolds

I have noticed that out of production and obsolete aftermarket intake manifolds, both advertised for sale here and on Ebay and other places are at extremely high prices.
I see a lot of them asking over a thousand dollars for them. Which begs a question in my mind. If they are that valuable, why don't the manufacturers bring them back again?
I may be wrong but I would think that a company that used to cast them at a profit could cast them again and sell them cheaper than the current prices being asked for the old used units.


I clarified the last statement which might have been unclearly stated.

 

The guys who are selling them only need to find one sucker to pay that much...a company that would produce them needs to sell a whole bunch to pay off the setup cost. The more you sell, the less $$$ you can get per piece.

 

Are they just rare, and needed for a period clone car? But perhaps more important, are they any better than the newer stuff? Gary

 

Some companies are doing that. Edelbrock for sure, they are now making the block letter heads and intakes again, and thet brought back the 6X2 cross ram that hadn't been made for decades. But that's Edelbrock, they are def making more money than some companys because they have continued to evolve with the market, giving them the ability to bring some of these cool old obsolete parts back.

 

Offenhauser is repopping a lot of their old stuff, at least the most popular stuff.

It is hard to make a new one look like an old one they use a different aluminum alloy these days.

here is an observation that I have made about old intakes, most of the time the runners are very small.

On a side note I was at a swap ans shop the other night an an old fella there had a stack of vintage SBC intakes, none of them for more than 75 bucks. 2x4s and singles eddys, offies, and Weiand. The only ones he wanted big bucks for were a pair of Weiand tunnel rams and who wants one of those anyway.

 

A lot of the whole deal about pricing this stuff started when the Wall Street musclecar flipper whores needed that one final part to finish a car that cost less than 5K new and ask 100K for it. Our "hobby" will never be the same again.
Now try to find magnesium Halibrands or Americans for less than a grand each.
Crazy!

 

Don,I've noticed some astronomical asking prices but are they actually selling?

Old P.T. Barnum said it best," There's a sucker born every minute". HRP
"

 

What you see with the high manifold prices on EBay and sometimes here are guys suffering from head up the ass syndrome, AKA Barrett Jackson syndrome.

As far as re-popping things go, yes it would make it easier, but should it be easier ?
I had a hell of a time finding a 573 Edelbrock tri power manifold and a pair of finned script Edelbrock valve covers for my Y block but I did find them.
Would it be better if I could have just bought new ones ?
I have mixed feelings on that.

One advantage to new parts would be advanced materials and machining capabilities.

 

There is the 'asking' price and the 'selling' price when you are at a swap meet. On ebay the selling price is simply what the current market will bare and perhaps a better indication of the value for that particular part on that particular day.
If the intake manifold makers still have the original patters/molds then it is hard to understand why they don't make a small run to test the market. Offy, however, won't make any 'old' stuff unless they have a minimum number of pre-paid orders. Given that the patterns/molds are 95% of the manifold investment and no doubt paid for or written off a very long time ago then why do they sit on their hands?

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My thinking is that if they were any good they wouldn't have been sitting on the shelf.

 

How many guys on the HAMB wont run a new re-pop of an old intake...rhetorical question...

Personally, I dont believe in ghosts, if its correct, I dont care if its still steaming...

 

If you have to ask that question, you can't understand the answer.

 

The only reason I know of that an old stock intake would have any big value is to guys trying to restore a car that's worth big bucks in stock, numbers matching, condition.

 

Yes, real rare stuff does sell. You don't list it or expect it to sell in a day, but if you aren't starving, you can get the price eventually.

Really comes down to how bad the buyers need it. Are you building A car, or are you building THE car? If it has to be that correct, they will pay.

 

Hot rods don't have anything 'matching'......

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I bought one of the new Chrysler Power 4 BBL intakes for a 318 poly. It cost over $500 and took almost 2 years to get it. Believe me, it was an ordeal.

I wonder how Eddy Edmunds did it back in the day. He made heads and manifolds for many makes and models. I don't know how many, but I have seen Edmunds products for flathead Fords, stovebolt Chevrolets, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles, Cadillacs, Studebakers, and all kinds of Chrysler Products, to name a few. He did this in the days before computers, CAD/CAM, and modern foundry techniques.

What did he know that these present day guys don't?

 

One thing that's different is that hot rod parts cost a LOT back then...compared to other stuff. A typical intake in 1948 cost $40, today that's about $400.

 

That is more true than anyone can imagine. When I was born in the '50s my dad was working for Studebaker of Portland. He was a journeyman mechanic and he made a whopping 18 dollars a week. That was good money believe it or not.

 

Yes, thats true. Some of the asking prices are obviously fishing. But there sure are a lot of them listed close to the same prices, hence, I wonder.

Forgive me for being such a dumb ass and not nearly as intelligent you you are, your highness.
Shesh, what a tool.

 

Yep, one of my aunts showed me a early '50s letter from my mother where she was bragging about my dad making $1.50 per hour on an overtime job...

 

Isn't $400 what a new flathead manifold costs now?

 

I do believe that some of the high prices are made by some of the high rollers in the hobby. They were never really hot rodders because they couldn't maintain their reputation and play with cars now they have large funds and a mid life crisis.

Then there are the guys like me who have absolutely nothing to show for their life but a lot of good times and still building on a budget. We just hunt around until we find someone who isn't trying to make a killing on one part. High prices don't have much effect on us, we are patient and still having more fun than anyone else.

 

I'm not sure whether hes responding to you or me Don. Either way, we both understand the answer all too well, and thats whats getting his shit in a knot...

 

I sure wish Tommy Thickstun or Eddie Edmunds would start up production on their manifolds again. Then I wouldn't need to pay so much for one.

 

A good part of it can be blamed on the "flippers". Everyone knows who I mean; the guys with 150-200 intakes at the swap meets. Everyone sees those prices and thinks they can do it too. They mostly see it as a supply/demand thing; they may buy high, but they sell even higher, and if you absolutely have to have what they have.....................................Other than Edelbrock, even if the old companies were still around, and started making the old stuff again, where would they have it casted/machined, China; doubtful you could afford to do otherwise? Virtually everything comes from China now, and if it does't, then it's $$$$$$. Everyone wants to buy American, but for the most part, you can't, you just can't. Who's to blame for that? I am butch/56sedandelivery.

 

Yeah, to keep it around 400 bucks or so they probably would have to outsource to China.

 

I've been going to the GG Pleasanton swap meet two to three times a year for the last 30 years and I see the same guys with the same shit every time with astronomical prices on all kinds of intakes. I've passed on them and bought new for less. The one time I did buy a tri-power intake out of a swap the damn thing had been cut and couldn't be used.

 

I always find the most reasonable prices for hot rod parts at restorer's swap meets, non-car swaps and garage sales. The priciest piece I've bought was my early Olds 6-71 manifold. I figured I may never see another one so I bit the proverbial bullet. I'm guessing I could double my money at this point and still be giving someone a deal. But it sure hurt my wallet back then......
The guys with 100-200 manifolds have been showing up at the hot rod meets for years and with each event the prices go up. They must be finding at least a few suckers. The costs involved in this hobby have been getting more and more painful every year but there sure is some cool stuff available now if you want it.

 

Sorry to offend, rereading my answer did sound curt. The long answer is us old timer love to old stuff. True, the modern stuff is vastly superior, no carb system can compete with a modern computer TPI. Any rational person would go with the modern stuff every time if rational thought prevailed. But rodding is an emotional sport not a rational one. I would pay many times its 'value' for an Edelbrock TriPower with 3 Stromberg WWs, makes no rational sense. You have to have been there to understand. Hope that makes sense.

 

Damn it beaner you're a pal and all, but that was fuckin depressing!
You guys think hot rod shit is $$$, buy parts for a MK II Continental. License to bend you over without a kiss. There's Duesenberg parts priced less! On topic, make new old shit huh? Hey it works in the entertainment industry. Just sayin...