There are certainly a class of vintage car owners who aim for the “concours” appearance and accept only original equipment for their cars. One disadvantage here, though, is that such equipment might wear out over time so unless the plan is to keep the car only for display purposes, these kinds of efforts (and costs) are not really justifiable.
I own a '63 Ford Falcon (from which the Mustang is derived) and replacement parts for most major components are easy enough to find. I can even buy most of them at a chain auto parts store (and sometimes it’s even in stock!). My car is more-or-less a daily driver so expending a lot of effort to keep it looking pristine just wasn’t worth it because it would wear down so quickly. For example, I replaced the points with an electronic ignition which conveniently hides entirely inside the original distributor cap. This was a quality-of-life upgrade for me. I also replaced the original single master brake cylinder with a dual master replacement for safety reasons.
I recently looked into replacing an oven knob because all the numbers had worn off of it and I couldn’t tell what the temp was being set to. I think $60 was the asking price for it. I found a picture and used that to stencil in new ones on my existing oven knob.
My father in law was a spring maker by trade. He was made redundant along with several others in the 1980s and they used their redundancy payments to set up in business on their own account. Their specialty was vintage car springs and given the broken spring as a pattern, they were able to create a near perfect replica.
Springs are quite complicated. It’s not just the size and shape that has to be right, but the composition of the metal and the amount of temper used is critical.
Moving from a factory where springs of all kinds were produced by the thousand for fractions of a penny each, to a small business where they were making tiny quantities for hundreds of pounds each was quite a culture shock.
Wait, are you talking about suspension springs, or car seat springs? Either way, I had no idea that there was a market for replica springs, but if you’re restoring an old car, it makes sense that people might need replacements.
I am a little unclear on why the OP did not just buy 4 ea. generic replacement knobs @ 2.50 ea, install them & sell the 3 remaining original knobs online. Even if they only sell for $40.00, the profit margin is great! The cook top knobs are new & all match, plus cash in hand. What is not to like?
[quote=“a6ka97, post:15, topic:928425, full:true”]
Did you ever check at your localy owned (not big box) appliance store or appliance repair person?
Had the same situation as yours where a knob had cracked. The stove was already in the house when I bought it so I went to the local dealer who sold that brand. Like you, found out stupid amount of money for a new set of knobs and I just needed one. Considering I just needed one they brought out a big box of knobs from their service department and said to look through them. They pull the knobs (and other small parts) when they junk a machine out for to use machines missing one that they bring in on trade. Spent about 15 minutes digging through that box, found one and they charged me $2.50.
[/quote]A locally-owned appliance store does this, plus more.
Their repair center has boxes of knobs, handles, etc. The repair Manager sells them for cash only, typically $3-$5. Then gives you a receipt for that piece, with a note written a the bottom that says “5x Credit”. So if you buy a $5 replacement knob, it’s worth 5 times that, $25 credit toward a replacement for that old appliance, anytime within the next 5 years. And he tells you to tape that receipt to the back of the appliance, so you’ll know where to find it when needed.
Apparently this works for them, they’ve been doing this for many years, given out a lot of credits, and still survive in this tough business. But finding the knob you need for a bargain price leaves customers happy, and getting a future credit is even better. So they are likely to be your first store you look when you need to replace that appliance. (And given the age of it, replacement is inevitable.)
That assumes the generic ones would actually work, and that the other knobs aren’t faded/warped/cracked. I have an older Magic Chef gas range, one of the little 20" apartment size ones, and when I looked at some generic replacement knobs, they would turn the wrong way or be upside down. Whenever I’d see a range at the dumpster I’d swipe the knobs only to find they were always backwards from mine. Also finding a replacement for the oven dial is much harder than for the stove burners because that’s also where the temperature calibration is done, so it needs an adjustable number plate behind clear plastic rather than just having the degrees printed directly on the surface of the knob. Previous posters have already noted the cost to mass-produce these when originally manufactured with the setup costs already built-in. Even today though, the torque on these knobs can be fairly considerable where they mount to the spindle, so I’m not sure how well something 3D printed would hold up.
It’s possible; I use one or two burners far more often than the rest. So one knob could be worn out while the others are pristine. (OTOH, in that case I’d just swap the broken knob for one of the unused ones.)
I have had many bad experiences with generic knobs. In addition to the problems listed here by CookingWithGas - which are about the physical knob merely fitting onto the shaft correctly - you also have to be careful with how the knob is labeled. Some knobs have increasing temperatures from left to right, and others from right to left. And are the temperature in the right place, or are they a couple of millimeters away?
“Universal” stove knobs are like “universal” tv remotes - they can’t work right unless you calibrate them for the device, and I remember one stove knob where I had to write the markings on it myself.
I think that would be a miniscule part of the population. I can see people saying, “I won’t buy a generic knob because it won’t look right, but, it’s a 1995. After 25 years we are due for an upgrade.” Or, I can also see people saying that they can’t afford an upgrade, so they will keep that old grill working even if it is held together by bubble gum and rubber bands.
But I think someone who would both care about an OEM knob and yet not have the means to upgrade would be a sliver of customers. I mean, no disrespect to the grill, but it’s not a priceless piece of memorabilia or a collectors item like a '64 Mustang.
[quote=“UltraVires, post:32, topic:928425”]
I can see people saying, “I won’t buy a generic knob because it won’t look right, but, it’s a 1995. After 25 years we are due for an upgrade.”
[…]it’s not a priceless piece of memorabilia or a collectors item like a '64 Mustang.
[/quote]Exactly. If I have to spend $300 on just the knobs, I am going to replace the whole damn thing for 5-6 times as much.
