I just had an interesting phone call with Lectric Limited.

The short version is that they will not sell component parts of thier products. Nor will they in any way aid you in finding out where to get such things.

I have 2 perfectly good battery cables. They will not sell new grommets. They will (of course) sell me a new complete battery cable set - that they make themselves.
But they will not sell the grommets, nor will they even tell me where the grommets come from so I can buy a pair on my own.

Ditto - fiber optics. They'll sell a rear FO harness for the big bucks. But they'll be damned if they'll tell me where I can get the bulk cable to do my own work. Nor will they sell 100' roll.

Of course they have the right to run thier business thier own way.
But make no mistake: Going even one baby step to be "helpful" to a do-it-yourself type is not part of thier business model. Just because you can be that way... does not mean you should be that way.

Imagine someone expecting you to buy a whole new set of battery cables just to get 2 lousy grommets? In this economy? Ya... good luck with that.

-W

 

You can get those grommets at any parts store. I think even Lowes carries them in their automotive fastener section.

The fiber optics is a tough one. You can certainly buy cable, but it won't be from a car parts vendor.

 

Lowes has an automotive fastener section? I didn't know that.

And yes... we have a Fiber Optic thread going now. (2.2mm jacketed is the target.)

-W

 

I hear you - but on the other hand......

When I did my first business, I have had numerous people calling me asking me how I did this or that .... I was accomodating to some degree - but face it - if you give all your 'secrets' of your products - the consumer won't need your business....

maybe I would prefer to see LL sell some of these parts - even at a higher price to obatin the quality and research behind the scenes (read: their time/effort investment) I would do so. But also - their business is selling complete harneses - that way they can control the quality.

I have encountered this with LL - but I have also encountered quality harnesses by me investing my hard eearned money - especially on a curcially important component. LL also gave me some advise too.

 

Didn't know that either.

 

Yep, it's in the same aisle as all their nuts & bolts. They also have a lot of the REALLY hard to find car stuff like those push-in plugs and hole covers used in a lot of car interiors. But for electrical grommets, I'm pretty sure Vatozone/Advance can hook you up unless you're concerned about originality.

 

I agree - I was surprised to find the pushpins - now they are not rubber like OEM, but they work well... There are different lengths/widths

 

Lowe's...Advance Auto...hmmm..

there are a ton of parts we need (obviously small stuff) that can be scabbed/scrounged from sources other than the vette suppliers.
I was looking for the rubber grommet mounts for the windshield wiper motor...3 of them. One of our beloved suppliers has them listed for somewhere around $20....found them in the self help section at Advance for $7.95...3 in a pak.

Needed to replace the ws wiper motor to firewall gasket. When I removed my motor, the gasket kinda fell apart. Looked almost like wax or very hard...brittle...rubber. Not sure how to go about it, I ordered one with some other stuff I needed. When it came in?? It was cut from medium density foam rubber...the same kind of rubber they make mouse pads with...you see where I am going here. NOT NCRS, but what the hey....I coulda saved 5 bucks....

Lowe's sells a lot of electrical accessories, including but not limited to (sorry, I had to kick that in...) grommets of all sizes and some different configurations...even a "grommet plug" where you can (hello) drill your own holes to match what you need...3 holes for vacuum lines?? one of the f'wall grommets has 4 holes...you get the idea. Buy your cable by the foot and make your own replacement battery cables, make them a little heavier if you like, and I like my ends soldered on rather than just crimped....I am NOT the brightest porch light in the neighborhood...but I don't mind saving some money....

 

had a minute....

http://www.fiberopticproducts.com/Jacketed.htm

there are suppliers out there for what we need...just need to scratch.
The link above also sells ends, AND if you have never worked with fiber cable, it needs to be polished on the ends for maximum benefit. I would hope that part of the cost of the fiber kit for vettes also covers the labor to prep the ends....

One reason I chose a 72...the fiber looks pretty cool, I just guessed that it would be something that would have to be dealt with.

since I am here, I have a 69 body that I have used for parts that still has the fiber in it, at least the front (I haven't really looked...don't need it)...anybody interested??? (just happens to be the 69 in my avatar...)

 

Heh, Mobjack68, I think we're cut from the same cloth.

And good call on those Help! sections in Advance Auto. I just bought a steering rag joint complete with all fasteners from them for ~$10. With any "Corvette" vendor, you're looking at around $30 for the same damn part.

 

See if you have a local limo builder or repair nearby.
They probably have loads of fiberoptic around dirt cheap. A neighboring shop uses hundreds of feet of it in his limo builds, super easy to work with. They just use a couple layers of good heat shrink to join and epoxy or undersized holes to terminate.

The c3 battery grommets won't be found generic. They are pretty thick , but can be reused. I drilled larger holes in them to accommodate larger welding cable.
Salvage yards are great places for lots of the little items on any old Gm's.

 

As far as the fiber optics go, I have used these guys and was pleased with the product.


http://www.watsons-streetworks.com/fiberoptic.html

 

Isn't that a single strand cable?

-W

 

If we could find the supplier for those exact grommets - we'd be famous.

-W

 

This company has a bunch of grommets.
http://www.thefind.com/search?query=...+cable+grommet
http://www.thefind.com/search?query=+grommet

 

That's not a company... it's a search engine:

Found 1,927 stores with 432,652 products matching grommet

You want to take the 1st quarter million - I'll take the second?

-W

 

Dang , your right ,I thought I had hit the mother load.
I'll keep looking.

 

Did you try battery cable grommet ?

 

You need to contact American Auto Wire, they make most of the restoration battery cables, and sell the grommets. you'll have to determine the one you need at the bottom of the page. $4- $8
i had to get new battery cables for my car while the engine is out, they came from AAW. good luck.

http://www.americanautowire.com/cata...lsGrommets.pdf

 

There they are , I'm bookmarking this !