VCCA Home Forums GENERAL DISCUSSION New User Forum Steele Rubber Products

Howdy to everyone. I am new here and have a question to ask. Am I going to find what seems to be outrageous pricing on some products due to the rarity of available parts? I just got a book from Steele and the price for the wing window 4 piece kit is $208.79. I called and asked what the justification was for the pricing and was told in a haughty tone that it took hundreds of hours to produce this. Is this what I'm going to be running into or are there more reasonable places to go to get parts at affordable prices. Thanks for listening and for any help that you can provide...Old Geezer on a fixed income...David

Yes that sounds normal not sure what year you have but if your talking about the wing vents there is a difference in quality and how well they fit.
I know from experience.

Sometimes you can find the same Steele products from a vendor that specializes in certain year vehicles. When they purchase they most likely get a "dealer" price and a discount for a volume purchase that they MAY pass along. It requires a lot of research and sometimes it pays off but there are no guarantees. The Steele product is excellent and they have a great reputation.

You will encounter unexpected pricing as you search for parts for these classic Chevy’s. It is really the same with any vintage vehicle. The reality is that pricing will be much higher than comparable parts on newer vehicles.

The market for these parts and services is really is a textbook example of the economics of supply and demand. The volume is low so the start-up costs (engineering and tooling) have to be recovered by the sales of a relatively low number of parts.

Pricing for tires, wiring harnesses, radiators, rubber parts, etc. will shock you. Wait until you start looking for interior and trim parts. Finding running boards and especially running board rubber covers is almost impossible for some models. The minimum cost to rebuild a lever arm shock is $200 each.

And you really have to be cautious about the quality of what you get. A $200 wiring harness might sound like a bargain until you spend 20 to 30 hours making it work and fit in your vehicle.

I am under the impression that they have the best rubber products available.

I’ve replaced most of my rubber products using alternative makes and design, I wasn’t interested in making mine a show car so originality was not a priority. The only original rubber seal I used was the front moulded quarter opening windows on my 38.

Yeah their stuff is a bit pricey but the quality is very good and you can pretty much depend on it fitting correctly. There is also the convenience factor. There are some better deals out there just takes a little research. And if you get a wrong part, even if you ordered it, they will take it back and give you credit.

Doing my 3rd full restoration.
My 37 pickup is going fine for past 25years, the 52 panel for the past 8 years and now working on my 50 coupe........I've bought only one thing from Steele, the windshield gasket for my 37 and it was not a good one! Wasted my time driving up there. Not vendor bashing by any means but "other" vendors goods are weathering very well and I saved lots of $$$

Man that's a toughie. I've had rubber parts crumble and fail in a couple years while sitting in the original packaging so had really hoped a higher priced product would last longer. There is a lot of questionable rubber items produced overseas these days. I bought a wheelbarrow tire that I could smell for two years from 30 feet away in my yard and it didn't smell like rubber; more like chemical waste. It was nasty. It crumbled and fell apart.

My thinking was to use higher priced rubber on the "hassle to replace parts" like window gaskets and then use the cheaper where it could be easily replaced if it failed, like the clip on weatherstrip around my doors. Figured this would balance the cost.

An experience like Achipmunk's concerns me as none of this is cheap in parts or time/labour to replaced.

I had bought the rubber stuff from Steele some years ago for the 41 cabriolet project car. I threw all of it in when I sold the car to a gentleman in AZ. He knew it was expensive because he had done his research.

You will find that you can get the rubber pieces cheaper from other sources than Steele but if you want it to fit right, last a long time, and look good months and years later, then you can't beat them. They have the best quality products bar none.

Then again, if I had a 37/38 then I would go for the cheaper stuff too. To use a Steele product on a 37/38 will trigger the joke about putting lipstick on a pig. Will too!

So David, let me just say the best thing is to bite the bullet and go for it. And, I'm on a fixed income too and have a beer budget with a champayne appitite. Go figure.

Best,

Charlie

BTW: I was just kidding about the ol' 37/38s. You can always slap a fulton on one to make it look better. Right?