What Old Car Parts Should Be Put Back Into Production?
All classic car owners have at least one part that evades them. What’s yours?
Seeing automakers wake up to demand for old parts and reboot productionthereof, gives many of us hope that the cars and trucks we cherish will survive into the future. Or at least, it gives hope to those who own supported models; the rest of us are just sitting here on dollars we'd be glad to spend on reproduction parts for our own beloved vehicles.
So, to give a voice to others in the same boat as us, we'd like you to tell us: What old car part are you begging an automaker to put back in production?
As a Toyota MR2 Turbo owner, I'm desperate for Toyota to bring back either the factory five-speed E153 manual transmission or merely its synchromesh rings. It's a common problem on MR2s for their synchros to wear out, making shifts notchy and compromising the driving experience of an otherwise delightful little mid-engined car. Replacements have been unavailable for years, though, and even whole used transmissions are becoming hard to find, not to mention expensive. I'd shell out for new synchros in a heartbeat, but Toyota seems deaf to my and other MR2 owners' plights.
Sure, I get it, it makes more sense from a business standpoint to cater to 2000GT, Land Cruiser, and Supra owners. Those were more expensive vehicles to begin with, so their rarity combined with their newfound popularity has made some owners see them as assets—and factory reproduction parts as investments. MR2s by contrast are more common and have only recently been treated as valuables, so there isn't as much demand for all-factory examples.
But I think I speak not just for MR2 owners when I say that my car ticks boxes for me that nothing else can, and I want to drive it at its best. And if that means shelling out a little extra for authentic reproduction parts, so be it.
Got a tip or question for the author? You can reach them here: james@thedrive.com
