paul2748 (11/14/2020)
I think a "fair " price is subjective. For a hard to find piece that is desperately needed any price is is a fair price if lack thereof can stall a project forever. In your case, a fair price would be the same as what it would cost you to have the piece fabricated, assuming the part is in as good a condition and is as useable as the piece you have to have made.
When I got my 56 TBird, it was missing the factory jack. While I could have done without it, I wanted it to have the full equipment the car originally came with. I was willing to pay what was asked because they were not easily obtainable
That is my take. Others may differ
Thats the same boat I am in on the jack. I have the base and the handle I think but not the actual jack itself. I got the part number and I am just keeping an eye on ebay for it, but body wise the panels themselves such as this dont have a part number as they are part of the body and doesnt bolt in.
I have to talk to some body shops and find out how much they would charge to fabricate the piece cause the reply I got back today was that the pieces were $325 per side so that is $650 for both sides I have to email them back and see if that is for the whole pillar or if that is for some 6-7 inches from the bottom which is all I need. I dont think the price is bad considering from what I can tell the arizona cars they got that are mostly 4 doors seem to have no body rot on the sides. Shipping I need verification on if that is $111.87 is per piece or if that would be for both pieces since I would need both sides. So I need to check with some body shops if it would cost more than $761.87 which I believe it probably would be to fabricate the pieces from scratch twice over. That is if the $111.87 shipping is for both pieces and not $111.87 per side if thats the case then that will put me at $873.74 which I dont think is a horrible price but I am thinking if I could find a decent rust free '56 4dr parts car to get the pieces from for less money. If I could then I could rob more parts and then sell the rest.
Thats the things I am weighing right now, just have what I need fabricated from scratch if its not too pricy, source a 4dr parts car to buy or source parts from a vintage car junkyard like this one I found that has those pieces. For me the last option seems to be the best option for me as it removes the need of picking up and moving a parts car and then having to be stuck with getting rid of what remains. Then I would be tempted to try and build the parts car up itself which isnt a good thing either.
1956 Ford Fairlane Town Sedan - 292 Y8 - Ford-O-Matic - 155,000 mi