What's the longest a backordered part has stalled your build?
Posted by TimkiP__@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 24 comments
My project has been sitting for weeks waiting on a component that was supposedly available when I ordered it.
At this point, the wait has taken longer than the installation itself would have.
What's the longest a backordered part has kept your car off the road?
lilbrumby@reddit
I waited for months for valves and springs from JHPUSA, that company sucks, terrible communication, customer service, and they just drop ship everything, never again.
VG30ET@reddit
I'm at 3 months so far, need to replace a front spindle that has been out of production for 30 years, looking at swapping in suspension from a different car at this point.
TimkiP__@reddit (OP)
Three months is about the point where you begin questioning whether finding the original part is worth it. I don't blame you for considering a suspension swap. Sometimes adapting a more supported setup ends up being easier than chasing a discontinued component endlessly.
derSchwamm11@reddit
I waited 10 weeks for a Mazda part to ship from Hokkaido, Japan to the US on a boat. I was just happy I found one and was willing to wait. I’ve had to order from Perth, Australia too but they shipped by air at least!
TimkiP__@reddit (OP)
Honestly, ten weeks doesn't sound too bad when it's a rare part and you actually know it's coming. The worst waits are when you're stuck in limbo with no ETA. Ordering from Australia and Japan really teaches you patience when you're trying to keep a project moving.
Opening_Cake5246@reddit
What did air shipping from Australia cost
derSchwamm11@reddit
I don’t remember but it wasn’t insane. This was literally the last windshield trim set brand new on a shelf anywhere in the world for my RX-7 and no aftermarket options existed, so I was basically willing to pay whatever it cost. All in it was less than $200
Opening_Cake5246@reddit
That's not bad I figured 200+ just for shipping lol
stokerfam@reddit
Waiting on a dry sump from aviaid right now. Going on 4 weeks. Not a big deal because I'm at the top end of my budget and couldn't afford the next thing right now anyways.
Expert_Mad@reddit
18 months. Brake booster early version for a 1966 Thunderbird. A part that’s apparently so rare that even the speciality shops can’t rebuild it. Ended up finding 2 at the Irish parts store and buying both.
jayfactor@reddit
It’s wild you say this because I almost ran into the same problem for an 88 Mazda, but NAPA has been saving my ass
TimkiP__@reddit (OP)
18 months is brutal. At that point, it's not even a project delay anymore, it's a whole chapter of the build. Smart move grabbing both when you finally found them.
Spotttty@reddit
So it didn’t really hold up my build but when I ordered my wheels I wanted billets from Boyd Coddington. So we put in the order and pay for them since they are custom spec. A couple weeks go by, Boyd passes away…. I figure no big deal, it’s a large company, I’m sure the factory will still be working. I was wrong. I think by the time it was all said and done it was about 18 months before they showed up! I was happy I got them and my project was super long term so I wasn’t that upset. But that was by far the longest I had to wait for something.
FalseRelease4@reddit
loads of smaller businesses are like that, theres one dude micromanaging every step of the process and if something happens to him then its a disaster
jayfactor@reddit
Man I’d start crying at the 6 month mark lol you’re better than me for sure
Ghost17088@reddit
We had a transmission that had a 48 week back order when I was rebuilding an E-axle on a transit bus. We were still waiting on it when I left the company.
ZeGermanHam@reddit
When I was restoring my GTO, I placed an order for a pair of reproduction ram air manifolds and waited, and waited, and waited, and waited. After a year and a half, I cancelled the order and bought some nice tubular headers instead.
It didn't slow my project down since I was restoring the rest of the car at the time, but dang. I also waited a year for a set of aluminum pulleys, made by the same company.
jayfactor@reddit
Currently 40 days for “made to order” coilovers, so painful lol
Zyncon@reddit
Just had a heater core take 6 weeks for our 69 Road Runner
71 Cuda seats. Ours are a rare option from factory. Got quoted 2 years from Legendary Interiors for covers.
Door panels for 72 Demon, I finally canceled the order after the distributor pretty much said “yeah. i don’t know. you’ll get them whenever we make them” when i asked for an update. Same with weather stripping.
I’m currently 1 month in waiting for 72 Demon sway bars. Just contacted them and they said another 3 weeks.
None of that totally just blocked a car off from being driven/used, but was very inconvenient lol.
EC_CO@reddit
6 months during the covid parts shortage for a simple 392 Hemi camshaft
largos7289@reddit
LOL a set of trick flow heads for a 350. I wanted those heads crazy good. I ordered them through summit and i waited like 4 months for them to come back in.
weasel5134@reddit
A Holley terminator took over 7 months to show up. That really put my build on ice
Ambivadox@reddit
About 3 months, Like DerSchwamm, I had to wait for the boat.
mbardeen@reddit
6 months. But I live in Chile, and have the option of paying $$$ for delivery and getting it quick, or paying $ and getting it eventually. I chose the later and paid for it by not driving the car for ages.