Chrysler executed the interior and exterior styling. All other elements of the car such aswheelbase, track, engine, transmission, chassis structure, suspension components, are shared with the R170 platform.[19] An example of this is the engine bay of the Crossfire, which is virtually identical to the Mercedes-Benz SLK320 on the R170 platform. The seats from the Mercedes-Benz SLK320 would bolt directly into the Crossfire chassis. The dashboard layout, controls, and instruments are also similar to those on the Mercedes-Benz SLK320.
As before, the only part that was contributed by Chrysler was the âstylingâ, the rest was supplied and built by MB and Karmann in GermanyâŠ
I have a tendency to stock parts for things going obsolete or hard to get. I try not to go overboard though and many times the item gets replaced before needing the parts.
When tecumseh went out of business, I still had and have a blower, so I bought a carb kit, gasket set, etc. I gave the parts to the guy that bought the one blower but it was like the deer in the headlights. I said just give it to the repair man. Heâll know what to with them.
So I have on hand common repair parts for my other engines so I have them if I need them without waiting. Ya gonna order a couple breather gaskets or just use the ones in the kit?
So Iâve got a spare side mirror on hand after killing three of them. Plumbing and faucet parts, spare led garage lights that appear to have gone obsolete, cabinet hinges of four different varieties, door latches, and more.
That way I can fix something right away and search for the replacement at my leisure. For car parts though I draw the line at mirrors and filters. Iâve never owned a ford or Chrysler though or I may have stocked more.
A confession. I too used to be something of a hoarder for parts for my '52 classic, spending 30 years buying up spare parts that I was certain wouldnât be available in the future. Then a couple of months ago the car got âT-Boned and Totalledâ destroying the chassis, the one part that couldnât be replaced.
End result was that after 30 years of buying and storing the accumulated clutter I find myself stuck with a bunch of obscure parts that almost nobody wants or needs so now Iâm faced with taking those âpriceless treasuresâ to the dump.
Bottom Line - Save yourself the cost and clutter and accept that every car, unless itâs a priceless LeMans winner, etc,. has itâs âexpiration dateâ when itâs no longer practical to repair it, which in the case of my Crossfire will be when it sustains significant body damage.
One more reason not to stress about stocking parts is the ability to search world wide for them when you need them. Rockauto, Amazon, EBay, car-parts, user groups, there are so many options that didnât exist years ago.
Offer them up on Ebay first, who knows?, somebody might need something. I purchased a used clothes washing machine transmission for $35 from an ebay vendor. I doubt there were many people needing one, but that one came in very handy for my purposes.
The only car parts I save are parts that can be fairly easily rebuilt, starter motors, etc. Photos of Rayâs Boston well-organized shop suggested they kept a stock of used parts on hand.
Appreciate your thoughts / suggestion but the problem with âstocking up on parts that may become unavailableâ is inherent in the questtion.
The reason why you would âstock up on partsâ is because new, rebuilt or used are now or will shortly become unavailable.
The primary reason these parts become unavailable is because thereâs insufficient demand for aftermarket suppliers to create new parts or recyclers to inventory these parts.
So with only 76,000 Crossfires sold world wide youâre looking at a very small market for vehicle specific parts and an even smaller, tiny, market for any specific part, say a right front fender.
So to quote Ben Franklin, âExperience is a hard school but a fool will learn in no otherâ.
Never stock up on vehicle specific parts unless youâre reasonably certain that it will become unavailable AND that you will personally need the specific part in the future.
In the event that you donât need those parts youâll probably find it unlikely that anyone else needs them.
And generally, if youâre considering a âhobby carâ youâll be better off from the parts perspective starting off with a high production vehicle. Tons of parts available new and used for early Mustangs, Camaros, Pickups, MGBs and even Miatas but good luck finding anything for a low production Subaru XT or a Bertone X1/9.
