Instrument Panel Bezels: Interest Anyone?
Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2013 2:28 pm
Good morning all,
A while back I started looking for replacements for my beat up beauty ring bezels, PN 0412487-3/-4. I was shocked (though, why should I be...) to find the cheapest price for this half-ounce piece of aluminum is $98 (Chaparral), average price $164. This nears the cost of an ounce of gold.
On another forum, the Int'l Cessna 120-140 Association, I found a gentleman posing the same question I am about to. I contacted him to find out if he had any luck, but none so far.
I have finally found an individual who lives between Indiana and Guam, who manufactures hard-to-find vintage parts for Aeronca Champs, J-3's, Cessna, etc. I asked him about this bezel, if it would be hard to make, how much it would cost, and so on. The parts are manufactured in Guam and in the Philippines, so made in the USA, for the most part.
The question is: How much interest in these bezels is there? How many 170 owners would like to replace their bezels, how many would one need and what is a fair price for them? I'm not selling anything here in The Hangar, just trying to get a pulse of how many of us could benefit from the production of these. If there is enough interest, I'll continue talks with him.
As I said, I approached him with my idea, for these bezels. Does anyone have another hard-to-find part that doesn't necessarily need to be PMA'd that would be a good candidate for production?
A while back I started looking for replacements for my beat up beauty ring bezels, PN 0412487-3/-4. I was shocked (though, why should I be...) to find the cheapest price for this half-ounce piece of aluminum is $98 (Chaparral), average price $164. This nears the cost of an ounce of gold.
On another forum, the Int'l Cessna 120-140 Association, I found a gentleman posing the same question I am about to. I contacted him to find out if he had any luck, but none so far.
I have finally found an individual who lives between Indiana and Guam, who manufactures hard-to-find vintage parts for Aeronca Champs, J-3's, Cessna, etc. I asked him about this bezel, if it would be hard to make, how much it would cost, and so on. The parts are manufactured in Guam and in the Philippines, so made in the USA, for the most part.
The question is: How much interest in these bezels is there? How many 170 owners would like to replace their bezels, how many would one need and what is a fair price for them? I'm not selling anything here in The Hangar, just trying to get a pulse of how many of us could benefit from the production of these. If there is enough interest, I'll continue talks with him.
As I said, I approached him with my idea, for these bezels. Does anyone have another hard-to-find part that doesn't necessarily need to be PMA'd that would be a good candidate for production?