http://www.ebay.com/itm/1955-Cadillac-Trunk-Crest-Emblem-/261582509183?pt=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item3ce788547f&vxp=mtr
Price is $205 on eBay and $195 on McVey's site. I searched Beaulin and it is the holding company that McVey's uses to import their crests from Taiwan. Using McVey's site itself will save you a few bucks.
https://www.importgenius.com/importers/beaulin-enterprises-inc
Well now, isn't that interesting. :o
Strange also that the ad states 'Make in the USA' shows just about everything comes from China.
Any guesses on what it costs to make these? 35¢?
I would imagine that the cost increase is to pay for the EBay charges for listing an item.
I just purchased from mcveys, and the items I received are very good, not crests but interesting that some items are from Taiwan, I hope mine were not.
I avoided making disparaging remarks about Chinese parts because some pretty good tech comes from Taiwan. Anybody with a high end computer probably has some Asus parts in it. I just searched for whom Beaulin is because I want to know who's selling me parts and hadn't heard of them. McVey's has a good reputation and I only posted that to save people money not hurt a respected vendor.
I was sitting beside Lynn Steele at dinner after the Carnival of Cars meet in Detroit in 1965. We were discussing his 1941 Series 62 stone guards. He told me that he had invested twenty thousand dollars in them before he got a nickle back. He found out from doing these not to make an EXACT copy when he did the ones for the 60S. He didn't include the shaped metal base part which probably saved him about half the cost. Mine went on the car nicely though.
I like what mcveys has and will buy from again soon.
I just like to give my money to American made for our economy first, before abroad.
That's all.
I was ready to place an order with Steele a few months ago and just before I called I noticed some of the items on ebay placed by Steele with free shipping. There were several items I needed not on ebay. When I called and placed my order I asked about free shipping onthe ebay items. The order taker was like the "cat that ate the mouse", she very quickly agreed for free shipping. It pays to look around before ordering from most of the vendors. Harry
I think a good portion of the price goes to GM licensing.
Cheers, Pat
Steele Rubber Products weatherstripping set for 1959-60 convertibles comes in a package marked "Made In China" and the parts did not fit my car. Specifically the rubber on the sections over the door glass and vent windows that curves around onto the top front header were not formed correctly and the rubber was thick and hard as a rock.
When they were installed the top would not close due to the shape and hardness of the rubber on these parts.
I put the old original worn out stuff back on and hunted for a different source.
Convertible top specialists from Florida sells them on their ebay store site at a reasonable price with free shipping, but most importantly, they fit perfectly and had soft pliable rubber that fit the contours of the top correctly and gave me a great result.
Just my 2 cents, as I always thought Steele was the best and the other guys were cheap copies, but I was wrong.
Brian
I've gotta say Steele is hellishly expensive. The full kit for a 53 Eldo cost about $3000. And still have the problem of hard rubber and not being able to close doors. . . And similar problem with conv top.
Quote from: 76eldo on November 19, 2014, 10:44:56 PM
Steele Rubber Products weatherstripping set for 1959-60 convertibles comes in a package marked "Made In China" and the parts did not fit my car. Specifically the rubber on the sections over the door glass and vent windows that curves around onto the top front header were not formed correctly and the rubber was thick and hard as a rock.
When they were installed the top would not close due to the shape and hardness of the rubber on these parts.
I put the old original worn out stuff back on and hunted for a different source.
Brian
That is seriously bad news considering the prices of their stuff!