repro hubcaps

[Guest bkazmer]

The 40-41 caps are now available from 2 sources, both places I've had good experience with in the past and well known Packard purveyors. The prices are similar. Can anyone comment on how the offerings compare?

[Guest imported_Speedster]

Did you check if Both suppliers were maybe getting them from the Same manufacturer? If so, maybe you could contact the manufacturer and get more Info and a better price?

[tbirdman]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Speedster</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Did you check if Both suppliers were maybe getting them from the Same manufacturer? If so, maybe you could contact the manufacturer and get more Info and a better price? </div></div>

In this old car supplier business, it usually ends up that one supplier gets a repo part manufactured. That supplier will them sell that part to the retail market and sell wholesale to the other suppliers. So in many cases the parts you get from multiple suppliers are the same.

The hupcaps I got from Hirsch from my 32 were of good quality. They were unpainted.

I sugest buying from the supplier that supports you the best.

[Guest bkazmer]

well then, to be blunt, are the Hirsch and Kanter caps off the same tooling? Since we have people with inside knowledge on this board, I suppose we can find an answer. Both of these suppliers have served up Packard parts for a long time - I'm not trying to knock either one. Is this like Steele rubber parts which are also sold through others, or different?

[Guest imported_Speedster]

Hey, Blunt always works Best around Here!

I would call both Hirsch and Kanter and ask them, 'Who makes your Hubcaps?'. Usually they will tell you, if they Know.

If that don't work, you can call Hirsch and ask who makes Kanter's hubcaps, and visa-versa. I bet they will know that for Sure.

[Restorer32]

Very likely the caps are made on the same tooling, owned by whoever advanced the money to have the tooling made. I believe that would be Bill Hirsch, others simply resell. Likewise, with antique tires there is usually only one manufacturer of a particular size, regardless of whose name is on the side of the tire. Way too expensive for more than one set of tooling/molds to be designed and produced. We did work for a local snack food co which frys and packages 250 brands of tortillas, everything from Tio Sancho to the store generics, absolutely no difference in any of them except packaging. Steele Rubber gives their dealers a substantial discount but they must spend a minimum $2500-5000/yr to maintain their dealership status. Isn't it amazing that Steele can actually provide all the rubber parts they do given the very limited call for many of the items they catalog and inventory and the very high cost of tooling?

[Guest bkazmer]

thanks for the inputs. BTW, although it is amazing for some of Steele's parts, most of their tooling is extrusion dies or compression molds which are much cheaper. Look at Yesterdays Radio Packard dash plastic which is color matched material and injection molded! (Don't worry Jerry, I ain't talkin').

Because the tooling recovery is so difficult on small volume parts, I do like to do business with the person who took the risk. I can see that the tooling on the hubcaps takes advantage of the 90% commonality of the different series' designs

[Owen_Dyneto]

Last time I had occasion to compare Max's and Bill's caps for the 33-36 Eights and Super Eights, they were approximately identical on the exterior but manufactured entirely differently with regard to the cap, the shell, and the clips.