What VF parts are you stockpiling for later use?

[Stuey81]

I've been buying up some new OEM spare parts for my 2016 VF2 SSV Redline over the last month or so (when i can afford it) for later on down the line when they will be hard to find. So far i have collected the following NIB (New In Box) items:

HSV GTSR flat bottom leather steering wheel with red stitching (pretty much exact same as my redline steering wheel, but with red stitching, a spare new wheel is a must have for anyone intending to keep the car long term, being a high wear, high touch item like that. Also if you can find one now new while they are still around, its cheaper than getting one repaired)

HSV GTSR W1 Alcantara gear knob with red stitching (this is a really nice rare piece, and its finished in a piano black as opposed to our silver top ones. I have owned my car from new, its done 77k and the silver top manual knob is really scratched up and worn. The boot and other leather parts of the knob are fine, but it was a good excuse to splurge on this rare piece! )

Push to start button assembly (Mine has the smallest piece of paint that has come off of the left hand LED on the face of the switch, looks like the beginning of it starting to flake ...appears im not the only one)

And today's purchase was a genuine new set of windscreen moulds. Anyone thats ever owned a VE will know these just perish overtime, and while my VF ones are still good, i thought having a set of these tucked away wasn't a bad idea.

Other items on my radar include a set of roof moulds....these don't seem to do to well with age and the aussie sun, and maybe a set of floor mats before they go extinct.

What items are others storing away for a rainy day?

 

[Skylarking]

Just the wear items alone are a huge list... everything you touch including but not limited to start button, steering wheel, indicators stalks, wiper stalks, headlight & hud switches/buttons, window buttons, gear knob, sports foot pedals, HVAC buttons, remote key fobs, seat bolsters, seat backs, glove box, boot release button, back seat pockets, seat switches, etc, etc, etc, etc... Where do you stop as it can be a never ending story and never ending headfcuk...

And quite separate to touch surfaces/controls, there are other things like seals and bearings, for example on a diff, which I heard on a USA YouTube video that diff rebuild parts are getting harder to find in the USA. Question is going to then be will this be common issue for other seals & bearings (for say gearbox or engine)... Also saw on the same video how diff mounted ABS sensors almost always break when being removed (probably due to salt induced corrosion related to its use in ice mitigation). Such ABS sensors are common but what about other the other 100 or so sensors, will or won’t they be common in say another 15 years? What sensors, throttle bodies, accelerator pedals will even exist (if at all as we go driverless) that we can adapt to work so we can keep our cars on the road.

And that’s ignoring specific items like door.ocksolenoids, Windows glass motors or side window replacement glass Ask is, I’ve already read on the forum that a HUD windscreen has kept a car off the road for a crazy time while being sourced? And many VFs still have almost 5 years of warranty left...

So it’s really the million dollar question as to what you’ll need down the track and whether you can get it for a fair price or not... The other part of that equation is how much of a prick Murphy will be.... if you have spares sitting on a shelf, cause my experience has been that if you have spares those part never breaks.... only the parts you don’t have break (trim pieces included)...

It may be easier to simply have a spare car parked on blocks in your garage, probably more cost effective than buying for most eventualities as well

Who knows, maybe @losh1971 ’s kid or grandkid will be on some Holden forum having all sorts of issues with aftermarket parts, mechanics knowledge and quality of workmanship issues while trying to keep an old ute on the road (a joke Losh as I admire the work you’ve done to date)

 

[Stuey81]

Just the wear items alone are a huge list... everything you touch including but not limited to start button, steering wheel, indicators stalks, wiper stalks, headlight & hud switches/buttons, window buttons, gear knob, sports foot pedals, HVAC buttons, remote key fobs, seat bolsters, seat backs, glove box, boot release button, back seat pockets, seat switches, etc, etc, etc, etc... Where do you stop as it can be a never ending story and never ending headfcuk...

And quite separate to touch surfaces/controls, there are other things like seals and bearings, for example on a diff, which I heard on a USA YouTube video that diff rebuild parts are getting harder to find in the USA. Question is going to then be will this be common issue for other seals & bearings (for say gearbox or engine)... Also saw on the same video how diff mounted ABS sensors almost always break when being removed (probably due to salt induced corrosion related to its use in ice mitigation). Such ABS sensors are common but what about other the other 100 or so sensors, will or won’t they be common in say another 15 years? What sensors, throttle bodies, accelerator pedals will even exist (if at all as we go driverless) that we can adapt to work so we can keep our cars on the road.

And that’s ignoring specific items like door.ocksolenoids, Windows glass motors or side window replacement glass Ask is, I’ve already read on the forum that a HUD windscreen has kept a car off the road for a crazy time while being sourced? And many VFs still have almost 5 years of warranty left...

So it’s really the million dollar question as to what you’ll need down the track and whether you can get it for a fair price or not... The other part of that equation is how much of a prick Murphy will be.... if you have spares sitting on a shelf, cause my experience has been that if you have spares those part never breaks.... only the parts you don’t have break (trim pieces included)...

It may be easier to simply have a spare car parked on blocks in your garage, probably more cost effective than buying for most eventualities as well

Who knows, maybe @losh1971 ’s kid or grandkid will be on some Holden forum having all sorts of issues with aftermarket parts, mechanics knowledge and quality of workmanship issues while trying to keep an old ute on the road (a joke Losh as I admire the work you’ve done to date)

HAHAHA that was me waiting over 6 months for the VF HUD type front windscreen glass, and when they eventually got it in, they broke my forward facing collision avoidance camera......it goes in thursday 11th for the new camera (that took almost a year to source btw).

Lots of those other parts you mentioned i dont touch tho, for example my lights are auto, the HUD controls never get touched as they are set where i like them, same as the mirrors. But i think the parts i have bought are definitely parts that will require replacement...heck the gear knob needs replacing now, steering wheel starting to show signs of wear and getting thin/shiny towards the top, that push to start button as mentioned.

Luckily we have many choices in the aftermarket when it comes to the LS department. Sensors and stuff, yes agreed, that's going to be a concern for sure.

 

[Smitty]

parts... ?? arms rest, HUD display and leather cover
console armrest and sides, windscreen side strips,
door belt external seals, instrument panel (cheapie that one)
HSV steering wheel with correct stitching, both column stalks
all push button dash switches, CD player (yup on GenF they were)
seat base electric switches, wiper and washer motors, HSV
driving spotlights, HSV grille, rear tailgate hinges, rear tailgate
switch plus stainless chrome strip, rear tailgate camera
and
the original HSV gearknob has been replaced by a Momo CF unit
(and placed in safe storage) and a full set (5) of the HSV specific
tyre pressure senders plus the matching EDI

finally one of all the HSV decals and stickers

I started this the day I bought it.... it is a keeper!

 

[Stuey81]

parts... ?? arms rest, HUD display and leather cover
console armrest and sides, windscreen side strips,
door belt external seals, instrument panel (cheapie that one)
HSV steering wheel with correct stitching, both column stalks
all push button dash switches, CD player (yup on GenF they were)
seat base electric switches, wiper and washer motors, HSV
driving spotlights, HSV grille, rear tailgate hinges, rear tailgate
switch plus stainless chrome strip, rear tailgate camera
and
the original HSV gearknob has been replaced by a Momo CF unit
(and placed in safe storage) and a full set (5) of the HSV specific
tyre pressure senders plus the matching EDI

finally one of all the HSV decals and stickers

I started this the day I bought it.... it is a keeper!

door belt mould rubbers, good call! - Recently did these on the wifes SS wagon. I'll add these to my stash list now. I'm also going to add the arm rest - another sought after item as the years go on (now impossible to get for some of the pre VE models - unobtainium) .

 

[Stuey81]

Wowee, the chrome door belt mould rubbers are crazy money!

 

[crew chief]

Just toilet paper, wont need to find so much stuff and will trade for the parts I need

 

[vywgn]

Basically have a whole dash, centre console, door cards, door/boot/fuel door actuators, park sensors plus a heap of other stuff. Slowly building it up but most of it is good 2nd hand stuff

 

[Smitty]

Wowee, the chrome door belt mould rubbers are crazy money!

naaah... not really (about $180 the set of 4 chrome ones from memory)

don't know what they are worth these days, but I saw a 'black' chrome set
on eBay from an auto parts place... $299 the set of 4, bit exxie!

 

[Smitty]

Basically have a whole dash, centre console, door cards, door/boot/fuel door actuators, park sensors plus a heap of other stuff. Slowly building it up but most of it is good 2nd hand stuff

good 2nd hand stuff is ok....

I did not mention above but also have the 4 door armrest switches
inc the drivers one, from a low km wreck... the 4 were $100 delivered
(and they look new! so are wrapped in bubble wrap on a shelf in the shed)