I've talked with the folks at Dennis Carpenter about some of their items that are out of stock. I'm thinking here of stuff that they make on original tooling...whether grill surrounds or various dentside trim or bottom rocker panel trim chrome etc.

The answer I get is pretty vague (actually completely vague) boilerplate on when a lot of stuff is going to be made again. Every once in a while I will see a quick 'blip' as an item comes back into stock and then is gone again, no doubt from pent up demand.

My question....does anyone have any better sense or answer on when we can start seeing them ramp up production on all that old tooling? And with that in mind, I remember someone suggesting (maybe here?) that some of that tooling is too old to do the job or is always down for maintenance of the like - basically suggesting it isn't ever coming back.

I have no idea on any of the realities here. Would be great to have a sense if their out of stocks are going to come back and if so, when. If someone has had more helpful conversations with them, or clearer insights, I'd love to hear it. Or if this has already been discussed to death, point me to a link, I didn't see one in a relatively quick search of the forum. Thanks John

 

It's always been like this. DC has a limited manufacturing capacity and high demand for their products. part of the problem is they make SO MANY parts, we only think of the 73-79 parts they make but these are just a small portion of their sales.

I waited for years to get some part, watching like a hawk and pouncing on them as soon as they were there. . often they sell out in a week and then you have to buy from the vendors before they sell out.

It's frustrating but here is the bottom line, they have no competition on most parts so you have no choice unless you can buy NOS. I've learned to live with it because I had to, and it was worth it.

 

well that is actually helpful. since i haven't owned one of these trucks until the last year or so, I hadn't heard about Dennis Carpenter before then, so wasn't aware of how their operation works or what is normal. i'm surprised they don't have a 'notify me when back in stock' option on their listings. i suppose it's part of the treasure hunt for things.

in the old land rover world, there was a guy who bought a HUGE amount of NOS material (1960's, 1970's, etc) out of the Philippines a number of years ago. And it was a big deal because all of a sudden all this stuff was available again through him. Evidently it had been sitting in warehouses over there for decades still wrapped in it's original waxed and oiled paper. Maybe we will hit a goldmine too! If not, then the wait continues.

 

Their customer service is somewhat lacking. I suppose they figure it's going to sell anyway so who cares who gets it.

You can call them and sometimes they can tell you if what you're after is scheduled to be made in the next few months so you can be on alert.

 

Possibly not being able to get people to work. This is a real issue I see in my job. Then you have the supply chain issue. I can't get parts for new vehicle. You should hear how bad people with a 100K 2500 diesel truck cry when we can't get a small part that is keeping that truck off the road. Strange times we live in for sure.