Rubber Parts!

[dannyh]

Hi, I've been searching on the forums unsuccessfully, so I'm hoping someone can help me..

I'm 90% through an '85 911 Targa restoration, now at the point of ordering misc items like window seals, between-body panel seals, etc. I've been using mainly genuine Porsche items throughout, but this final bill for rubber/plastic parts is knocking on a couple of thousand, which could be almost halved with OE/non-Porsche items. I'm wary of non-original items such as windscreen seals etc, but has anyone got experience with these, as well as misc items like bellows, bumper 'smile', and the various 'between panel' seals, etc?

Bellows for example are around £45 for the real deal but £19 for OE, which x4 is a significant saving. A similar situation across all items really adds up. Are these inferior parts, or exactly the same thing just supplied in non-Porsche packaging?

Many thanks in advance. Dan.

[supersport]

I would use genuine parts for anything like this that is external and visible. I know how expensive they are having bought many myself. Some of them really can make you wince.

It is possible to get second hand of some but you have to extremely careful about them.

Sorry can't help about non or parts as didn't use them.

[996TT02]

I doubt there are many (if any) "copy" parts manufacturers of that sort of thing. Too specialised, low volume, relatively low cost items, not something the copiers are interested in.

From experience restoring an 83 SL, the non-official parts you source are likely to be coming from the same supplier factory as the official stuff. In my case all the suspension bushings etc just had the Merc emblem ground off... and were made by FEBI, no doubt the official supplier.

Since you mentioned gaiters however and these are high volume and plenty of interchangeability I would want to make sure that they are of OEM or equivalent quality, because the labour involved in replacing these compared to their cost is high, and there is a lot of crappy stuff around that won't last a couple of years.

I'm with you in not wanting to pay extortionate prices, but I will always do this with both eyes wide open, and in some cases OEM is the only option.

BTW - "OE" or "OEM" is original stuff. "Original Equipment Manufacturer"

Not copy.

[dannyh]

Many thanks for your replies. Good point about the original items not being worth copying. I note that a couple of well regarded Porsche restorers mention use of OE parts on their websites, so this does seem the way to go.