[b-man]

I seriously doubt any of these requests have been seen or considered for quite a number of years now.

With the transfer of the retailing of Performance Years items to AMES I think this thread is pretty much dead now.

If I’m wrong and I hope I am perhaps a representative from AMES will reply here and tell us otherwise.

[mrgto69]

Originally Posted by b-man

I seriously doubt any of these requests have been seen or considered for quite a number of years now. With the transfer of the retailing of Performance Years items to AMES I think this thread is pretty much dead now.
If I’m wrong and I hope I am perhaps a representative from AMES will reply here and tell us otherwise.

B-man... I have to say,... you are not correct. Max Performance is still making items. With my help, they just made the 1969-1970 & 1971-1972 Grand Prix vinyl top moldings and the 1970 Grand Prix fender plate.
You have to understand that every request they can't say YES to. If they make it, it has to be affordable for the hobbyist AND profitable for them. There were some projects that were duds... Now a days companies have to be careful of what they do. Every request is considered, so please don't think it's being ignored. Mike

[242177P]

Originally Posted by mrgto69

B-man... I have to say,... you are not correct. Max Performance is still making items. With my help, they just made the 1969-1970 & 1971-1972 Grand Prix vinyl top moldings and the 1970 Grand Prix fender plate.
You have to understand that every request they can't say YES to. If they make it, it has to be affordable for the hobbyist AND profitable for them. There were some projects that were duds... Now a days companies have to be careful of what they do. Every request is considered, so please don't think it's being ignored. Mike

Aluminum hoods. 65-67 and 68-70 GTO. 70-76 and 77-81 Trans Am. I doubt it would be quite as simple as slipping a different sheet into the pile, but they're already stamping steel ones. Ah-loo-min-E-um.

[turbo69bird]

Originally Posted by 242177P

Aluminum hoods. 65-67 and 68-70 GTO. 70-76 and 77-81 Trans Am. I doubt it would be quite as simple as slipping a different sheet into the pile, but they're already stamping steel ones. Ah-loo-min-E-um.

Someone should know the answer to that since Pontiacs did make alluminum parts for cars previously running steel.as did other makes. Can’t be that hard or they wouldn’t have done it .

[mgarblik]

Originally Posted by turbo69bird

Someone should know the answer to that since Pontiacs did make alluminum parts for cars previously running steel.as did other makes. Can’t be that hard or they wouldn’t have done it .

From what I have read about the aluminum pieces for the early Pontiacs, it was a difficult process with an extremely high scrap rate. The parts were stamped usually on a Saturday, first shift, by the craftsmen with the most experience operating the presses. The aluminum required different techniques and pressures to avoid tearing and to still get the crisp feature lines they needed. The dies used were for the steel parts and did not have the features in them to produce aluminum parts in great quantity. If I remember correctly, the scrap rate was something like 1 usable fender or hood for every 15 pieces stamped. So it's not a slam dunk simple deal.

[Scarebird]

Originally Posted by mgarblik

...If I remember correctly, the scrap rate was something like 1 usable fender or hood for every 15 pieces stamped...

[Shiny]

I'm surprised they could get any aluminum parts off steel tooling.

If they got 1 out of 15, they probably had to manually finish them with some creative bodywork.

Just the springback of aluminum will be 3 times steel because of the modulus.

Here's a great article comparing properties and how they affect forming:

https://www.metalformingmagazine.com...l-and-aluminum

Mike

[b-man]

Originally Posted by mrgto69

B-man... I have to say,... you are not correct. Max Performance is still making items. With my help, they just made the 1969-1970 & 1971-1972 Grand Prix vinyl top moldings and the 1970 Grand Prix fender plate.
You have to understand that every request they can't say YES to. If they make it, it has to be affordable for the hobbyist AND profitable for them. There were some projects that were duds... Now a days companies have to be careful of what they do. Every request is considered, so please don't think it's being ignored. Mike

Glad my reply garnered some attention and confirmation that this thread is still actively monitored and requested items are still being considered.

The lack of interaction from those who are in charge of new product consideration is why I decided to post what I did, I hope this exchange opens the door to further attention and information sharing on new products.