How the Cavaliers will die. - Second Generation Forum
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Many ways for a car to die. And this problem may bring many to their untimely death.
PARTS AVAILABILITY!!!
I was shopping for new struts, planning to being work on my 94 sometime before long. I always liked the KYB struts. Well, KYB has discontinued struts for these cars. I put in an order for two sets at one site. Got a call from them today saying they only had one set. Of course I accepted that set, so that is at least one set I'll have. I've got another order in for 2 more sets from another site, but have not gotten any confirmation, yet. In a panic I did buy 4 sets of Gabriel struts a little while ago. I'm not a big fan of these, but it is something I figured I'd better get anyway.
We all know many OEM parts are discontinued and no longer available and haven't been for years now. Thankfully some aftermarket manufacturers have decent replacement parts that can still be had. However, as these cars get older and older, some necessary parts may not be there when we need them. Some things we may be able to fabricate ourselves (as I did with the rear spring seats and the 21mm swaybar bushings). But lets face it, their will come a time when something we badly need to keep the cars going, just isn't to be found. I don't want to resort to stripping one to keep another going. I hope it doesn't come to that.
I've been stocking up on things. Ever looking for items I think I may need down the road. Switches, sensors, anything I can think of. I don't have hordes of stuff, but I keep adding to the pile, as I find things. Some things I'm sure could be replicated, bypassed, or some substitute found. But who knows really.... One little thing that is vital to the life of the car, may be nowhere to be found in a few more years. The current administration (along with their brainwashed supporters) would like nothing more than to see the ICE powered cars gone for good. It is a silly idea of course, but many think (without thinking) that it would be the greatest thing since man learned to walk. However, facts show it is not such a great idea, if one weighs in all the factors. They don't like to talk about those. Anyone unaware, do some research on it, you'll find plenty.
My humble advice to those that have older classic cars, BUY UP PARTS NOW.
If you feel like it, please list things you think we should be buying now.
Someone posted on jbody facebook page looking for loaded struts on a second gen which there was only one at Rockauto, someone told him Beretta ones are the same...
Doug in P.R.
92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!
Makes me reconsider the number of parts I might pull off of the 87 cavalier 4 door I have as a donor car for my 87 Z24.
Guess I need to see what all can be used and take it all.
I'm noticing the same thing. From what I seeing from different corners of the internet it is affecting all different makes and models. Even parts available for late models are defective half of the time.
Not to get too deep in to conspiracies - but somehow the governments of the world are probably going to have to figure out how to ween ordinary people off of personal transportation in the future. If this isn't invention then the current state of affairs sure seems to help lead efforts in this direction.
On a personal level I went through labors and pains to obtain a new pair of 2nd gen phase 2 headlights assemblies. Surely if 1 thing would take these OBD1 era vehicles off the road it would be inspection rejection for bad headlights. Now , having obtained the unobtainable , I am going through the same problem finding new side marker light assemblies.
I also have a 3rd Gen and while parts are still available it will soon be the same thing with them too.
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Might try to find some that are "close enough" from a more popular classic vehicle.
I found some parts for my 87 on Monte Carlos from the same time frame.
Right now there are a lot of things unavailable, even for new cars, due to most things coming from China. I just got air dryers in from SKF that I ordered back in October. Even common rotors for Toyota trucks aren't available, even the dealer can't get them. I needed belts for Metro North and Gates gave me a delivery date of December 27.
I recently came across an article that just might be a happy ending for many loved classics and antiques. Seems a fellow in the UK has been doing his homework and figured out how to convert just about any car to electric. Not new, but his twist has been to figure out how to use parts that typically come from crashed EVs, such as Teslas and Nissan Leafs, that have been written off by insurance firms but have motors and batteries that are not damaged. The range sucks at this time but I'm sure there will be improvements as time goes on.
Maybe one day we will still have a chance to keep driving and smiling long after the drive train has went into cardiac arrest.
Here is the article
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A company in California will convert any car to electric using Tesla wrecks as doner parts cars. Was featured o
92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!
Sorry couldn't edit, the company was featured on the Saturday tv show " Car Fix" a while back, there is also a company in California the sells kits to convert to electric with all brand new parts .
92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!
Let's add Radiators to the list of unobtainable items.
I need one and can't find a single V6 radiator anywhere. The 4cyl ones are around, but nothing for the V6 cars.
Try to find and see what you get.
Recore ? Old school way..... Or aluminum?
Doug in P.R.
92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!
The plastic tank is cracking. At one time you could buy the tanks and shops could replace them, maybe still can, I don't know. I've got at least one I think is good, but was just going to buy a new one. Their ain't none!
Might find a high end aluminum one the correct size but it likely might not be a simple drop in replacement. May require something odd to get one in (trans lines, hoses, tank seats lower and upper, etc, etc.).
Anyone know of a upgrade radiator that installs using factroy hardware?
I found one on eBay.
Reach Cooling 41-768 Engine Coolant Radiator in Hialeah, Florida. They have 3 more left.
Good find, glad you found one...
Doug in P.R.
92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!
Thanks Doug.
The brand is Reach. I've never heard of them before. Hopefully it will be okay. It should fit, looks like the correct one for the car. It is supposed to be here Wednesday.
I do fear that sometime, somethings are going to be impossible to get anymore. For example, go on Rockauto and look for struts. They don't even have Struts listed anymore. I've got the last set of KYB struts anywhere (that I could find). I bought 4 sets of Gabriel struts and I'm glad I did. Those too are getting very hard to find. Gabriel is no longer making them either, it appears.
I saw at v6z24 that someone is in need of a backup light switch. We (I've help search) can not find one anywhere. This item isn't a real problem though, as I'm certain a switch could be mounted on the shifter to activate the backup lights. But I still think sometime soon, we are going to need something that no longer exist and can not be easily fabricated.
I really should start buying up every 2nd gen Z24 I find in junk yards. Currently, I've just be getting parts off of them for a backup supply. But I certainly don't have everything on hand that I may need someday.
I've been seeing a lot of stuff on the internet about the Tesla Giga-factories being a major disruption in the automotive field. There has been mention of the possibility of the extinction of the Big 3 in the same way the Ford Blitz wiped out the independents in the mid- 1950's.
I'm no expert , but if the the Big 3 go down I imagine the whole parts supply industry for them will go too.
One example I saw was the Nokia Phone Business and how it was a major player till the IPhone came along in the late 2000's . In 5 Years Nokia went from one of the top sellers to nothing. Things seem to happen very fast in this day and age.
This decade is going to be one for the history books........er, um well books don't sound right now either, come to think of it.
.
Key reason I have a LOT of oem parts used and new.All those junk yard trips in my past were well worth my time and cost just for this reason!Even went as far a a spare 2.0 ohv with a actual 4speed manual trans as back ups right out of a type 10 like mine.I could list all my parts but ,that would take way too long.
That was very wise Ron.
I hope to keep adding to my stash. I've got some stuff, but really need to focus of getting the things I don't have. I know things are still somewhat not yet back to normal. I wonder if parts supplies will ever be back to normal (for older cars). There likely will come a time, maybe sooner than we might think, where nearly nothing is available for these cars. After all, there is the anti ICE scam in government we have to look out for. I don't know.... Will we still be able to drive our cars another 30 years?
This is going to sound dumb, but what's the difference between 2nd and 3rd gen struts? Is the knuckle mount different?
Or is it the sway bar pickup? If that's the case, what would be stopping me from connecting it to the control arm like in the 3rd gens?
Supposedly Beretta struts are the same, check part numbers on Rock auto...plenty available.
Doug in P.R.
92 Pontiac Sunbird LE, 2.0, AT, Red / Black with Grey 155K miles. Hurricane Maria Survivor ! ( It takes a licking and keeps on ticking ! ).....in Salinas, Puerto Rico!
Been a long time, but thought I'd chime in...
I had discovered like you did that Grand Am (same as Beretta) look the same, but if you compare them side by side, I think the thread length is a little different/shorter. Should be easy enough to make them work I would imagine.
For my 88 Sunbird project car I ended up hacking the top off some old struts and putting an insert in, using 3rd gen cav upper mounts (after slotting the strut tower) and 3rd gen lowering springs. I figured I could always adapt various inserts down the road. My point is, parts availability only matters if you're trying to stay oem for whatever reason, but that's going to get increasingly difficult. If you're determined, things can be made to work. Maybe not easily, but as for me I'm going to keep things rolling with whatever I can...
• 86 Skyhawk wagon : 2.0SOHC swap, Megasquirt, 20SEH cam
• 93 Sunbird sedan : 2.0SOHC, Microsquirt, ported head, 10:1
• 88 Sunbird coupe : 2.0SOHC, turbo project car, giant tires
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