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Porsche Is 3D Printing Hard-To-Find Parts For The 959 And Other Classics (jalopnik.com)

Posted by msmash on from the interesting-idea dept.

Porsche Classic, Porsche's classic cars division, has turned to 3D printing obscure parts that people might need on occasion. From a report: They already have about 52,000 parts available, but for the truly arcane ones, it's cheaper to 3D print them than make the specialized tools to create them over again. In addition to that 959 lever, Porsche is also 3D printing eight other parts. They are made from steel and alloy and the plastics are made using an selective laser sintering printer, which Porsche describes as: "A process where the material is heated to just below melting point and the remaining energy is applied through a laser to fuse the plastic powder at a selected point." So there you have it! The next time something is busted on your 959 or 356, don't cry and abandon the car, stalled on the side of the road. Call up Porsche. They'll science something for you.

82 comments

  1. As a gear head - this is nirvana by sinij · · Score: 1

    As a gear head, I can't wait until metal printing is affordable. Unobtanium parts are bane of my existence.

    1. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      And as soon as metal printing is affordable, intellectual property laws will become the bane of your existence.

    2. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You can already print them in plastic or wax and cast your own pretty easily.

    3. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by sinij · · Score: 1

      And as soon as metal printing is affordable, intellectual property laws will become the bane of your existence.

      They will be as successful as *AA at stopping music torrents. So not at all.

    4. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by glenebob · · Score: 1

      Yes, because casting aluminum, iron, and steel is "pretty easy"...

    5. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by MangoCats · · Score: 2

      Now, the question for me is: as an owner of one of these cars, what would it cost to license the spare parts database so I can have a printing company of my choice make and finish the parts to my specifications?

    6. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      No, cars are different. The "repair clause" indemnifies producers of spare parts from the liability you refer to.

    7. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by PhunkySchtuff · · Score: 1

      Yes, and cast parts have the same strength as forged or machined parts.

      --
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    8. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      As a gear head, I can't wait until metal printing is affordable.

      Affordable is in the eyes of the beholder. The goal in many of these cases is to be cheaper than creating your own tool to manufacture the part (or create your own dxf file to get the CNC to machine the part), but for certain types of parts, it may still not be cheap as the printers themselves for larger parts go for more than a quarter of a million dollars (and that does not include the supplies to actually build a part).

    9. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by nonBORG · · Score: 1

      If you have ever actually used 3D metal printing for small or fine parts, you will know it is not print and use. You need to spend some time finishing and fine detail (think gear teeth etc) don't work too well. Possibly they can improve it but chances are it will get worse when it gets cheaper. When we tried it the parts were unusable but we were trying to make parts that did not just look like something but were useful in a small unit. For something big and smooth like a lever seems like it would be ok. The company sent us a few samples of what they could do but our 3D print did not seem harder than the samples hardly yet was a failure. I suspect some marketing in there. There are some other useful manufacturing techniques like MIM (Metal Injection Molding) which we used to good effect. It was for keys on a Metal Keypad on a ATM but in this case we used an overmold of plastic (actually just the insides were plastic) to allow us to shine a light through the keys and have them backlit. Not really sure if MIM can go finer and better than the Metal 3D print. Both were in stainless.

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    10. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by BancBoy · · Score: 1

      You wouldn't download a car...part. Oh wait!

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    11. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by glenebob · · Score: 1

      Yes, especially the ones cast by a random person in their back yard.

    12. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      About $20.9B
      https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/PAH3.DE/

    13. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Anyone that thinks cast and forged parts are the same strength needs to learn some basic metallurgy.

    14. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yep, 3D printing is not plug and play.

      I am very fond of 3D printing as a technology. I did my PhD on it back in the late 1990's. I don't work with it anymore though.

      3D printing has similar pros and cons to CNC machining. They are basically inverse processes (additive vs. subtractive). For most people, they would probably have an easier time, and get a more usable part, if they started with a billet of metal and a CNC mill, than if they started with a bucket of metal powder and a 3D printer.

      3D printing would have an advantage when the parts are thin shells (would need to machine away the bulk of the material) or for 'impossible' to machine geometries (large cavity at the end of a narrow shaft).

    15. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      And you think 3d printed parts are?

    16. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by subk · · Score: 2

      Considering that there are only a couple hundred 959's in existence, I'd say a licensing effort would be pointless. They are no doubt charging dubiously huge fees for these 3D printed parts, but if you own a 959 money is already no object.

      Also, Porsche charges astronomical licensing fees for anything associated with their brand. Just look at video games for example.. Many times you will see RUF cars instead of actual Porsches in games because they want too much for licensing.

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    17. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It isn't all that hard.

    18. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The comparison is to 3d printed parts, and I'm going to go out on a limb and say that casting with the proper alloy will give you a stronger part than a metal 3d printed part.

    19. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by tlhIngan · · Score: 2

      Also, Porsche charges astronomical licensing fees for anything associated with their brand. Just look at video games for example.. Many times you will see RUF cars instead of actual Porsches in games because they want too much for licensing.

      Actually, that's not the reason why. The reason was EA had an exclusive license to use Porsche in its games Need for Speed and Real Racing. Exclusive, as in no one else was allowed.

      This agreement ended in 2016, after a 16 year exclusivity deal, which means you are now free to license Porsche for real, and I believe Forza and several others have in 2017.

    20. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Not true for steel, as featured here on /. not long ago.

    21. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by subk · · Score: 1

      Ahh. Thanks for the clarification.

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    22. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Bert64 · · Score: 1

      Replicating a vehicle part will still have a significant cost, both in terms of actually making an accurate blueprint of the part, the time involved in 3d printing it, the cost of the required equipment and the cost of the raw materials. In many cases the 3d printed part might cost more than an original mass produced part, especially if that part is still being produced or the manufacturer has significant leftover stocks of it.

      If the manufacturer has given up selling those parts, then they'd have a harder time arguing against third party reproduction and are far less likely to care at that point too.

      Also there are already third party car parts available, even for current models of car. A lot of cars share common parts, even across different manufacturers and models.

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    23. Re: As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That isnâ(TM)t the issue. The issue is all cast parts require some, and usually a lot, of machining. You cannnot avoid the machining operation for anything except toys and figurines.

      You can likely use a 3D scanner to get a design for the raw 3D printed and sintered part, and that is a large advance. But you donâ(TM)t have a 3D metal printer, or kiln.

      Mechanics donâ(TM)t mill and turn parts, and you donâ(TM)t have ready access to an engine lathe or milling machine, CNC or manual.

      So, no, this is not a big IP problem. The people who would have sold you cheap car parts already do.

    24. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by thesupraman · · Score: 1

      Yes, quite.
      What we need next is some kind of machine that you can use to cur metal into shapes, perhaps using some kind of spinning tool and an x/y/z movable bed..

      Oh way, its called a milling machine, and combined with a tig welder, you can replicate a LOT of things without the problems associated with the random-and-unpredictable finish and strength of 3d metal printing.

      Metal printing will make 'easy' parts easy (remember, you have to come up with an accurate 3d model), and hard parts will still be hard.

      The parts that are real hard just dont 3d print anyway - gears for example are HORRIFIC when 3d printed due to a number of problems to do with finish strength and texture. Hollow parts can the big areas where 3d printing helps, but those are pretty rare on most cars (unless you think you will be printing a new block or piston..)

    25. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by AaronW · · Score: 1

      SpaceX has been very successful 3-D printing metal. For example, their SuperDraco engines are entirely 3-D printed. From what I have read and heard, they are able to do things with 3-D printing that are impossible any other way, including changing the properties of the metal based on location. Heating something to the melting point isn't necessary for strength (i.e. see friction stir welding). 3-D printing does not mean the parts are weak.

      3-D printed parts can be made lighter and contain far more complexity than non-additive manufacturing methods due to being able to create shapes and cavities that would normally be very difficult if not impossible. Metals can also be mixed in ways that are not possible with forging or casting.

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    26. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by AaronW · · Score: 1

      That is no longer true. In fact, you can have better control over grain size with 3-D printing than you can with casting. Additionally, you can change the metal composition based on location. SpaceX, for example, makes extensive use of 3-D printing of its metal parts. Their SuperDraco rocket engine is entirely 3-D printed, for example. Here's an older Slashdot story where 3-D printed stainless steel more than doubles the strength.

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    27. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If the manufacturer has given up selling those parts, then they'd have a harder time arguing against third party reproduction and are far less likely to care at that point too.

      Maybe.
      The car industry might be a bit more mature when it comes to this.

      The computer game industry "protected" their IP long after they stopped selling the game.
      They want you to buy the new game, not play the old one.
      If the car industry thinks that maintaining your old car stops you from buying a new one they might go the same way.

      We also have the this little tidbit from the Pirate Bay trial

      On the third day of The Pirate Bay trial, prosecution witnesses claimed damages on the basis that it should have obtained worldwide licenses for the content it distributed. Where content wasn't officially available, a Beatles song, for example, it should be charged at 10 times the going rate.

      The big difference is that the car industry have physical goods to sell so they might not be as scared of people printing replacement parts at home.
      If they are smart about it they just make it so that you have no interest in doing so.
      Buying a metal printer is expensive and measuring and drawing a replacement part is time consuming.
      Every car manufacturer wants to have a couple of 3D printers anyway for their prototyping.
      If they get capacity to provide printed replacement parts the whole thing with prototype printouts is just a matter of ordering it from their replacement part division.
      If they also provide replacement parts at a low enough cost to customers there will be very little reasons for some third party to start taking the measurements of their parts and share.

      Of course this strategy only works for show-off cars. Owners of utility vehicles doesn't want to wait for the part to be delivered.
      There might still be a reason for the repair shop to have a 3D-printer. If they don't have the part needed they could have it printed by the end of the day or overnight instead of waiting for the part to be shipped from further away.

    28. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes, because casting aluminum, iron, and steel is "pretty easy"...

      If you have a template it is fairly easy. I have some casted trinket I did in high school around somewhere.
      I went to some optional class where we went through a lot of different methods of metal working just to get an idea of it.
      We never had the time to get good at anything but at least we got to try different types of welding and stuff.
      Volvo lent us the things needed for an afternoon of sand casting

      If you can print a plastic template you can even cast parts that you wouldn't be able to cast from the original part due to complexity.
      You need to be able to remove the template without disturbing the sand so certain shapes are ruled out if you can't split the template in smaller segments.

    29. Re:As a gear head - this is nirvana by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The marginal cost will indeed be higher - but higher than a mass-produced part that's available in reasonable supply. Not higher than a part of which there are few copies, not to mention a part that just isn't available for purchase...

  2. Why did they destroy the old tooling? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    NT

    1. Re:Why did they destroy the old tooling? by jellomizer · · Score: 1

      Because they didn't need them anymore.
      German efficiency + implementing Japanese Lean methodology , if you don't need it anymore get rid of it as it will be wasting space.

      For these older models, they don't need the space for a full production line. As most people will go to the Junk Yard to get the missing part. Offering 3d Printing of the part is probably the most affordable way to do it. As custom tooling a part will be wicked expensive.

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    2. Re:Why did they destroy the old tooling? by Aaden42 · · Score: 2

      They didn't take it out back & blow it up, but machining tools don't last forever.

      Some of them were probably used (with modifications) in subsequent model years, most of them just wore out & weren't replaced since they weren't making that exact part anymore. For the rest, molds and tooling takes up space or rust and the materials they're made out of can be recycled into new parts. There isn't a lot of money to be made in keeping tooling for a 30+ year old car that they only made about 300 of to begin with.

    3. Re:Why did they destroy the old tooling? by amiga3D · · Score: 2

      You can always sell old tooling to retro parts makers.

    4. Re:Why did they destroy the old tooling? by adolf · · Score: 1

      There's a ridiculous amount of money in supporting hundreds of rare, valuable cars.

      If there are thousands and millions of examples, you've got competition: Everyone and their brother will be making parts that compete with your own. Hundreds, though? That's a captive market and you can name your price.

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  3. Science is a verb now? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Have we already gone full-on idiocracyin just 12 years?

    1. Re:Science is a verb now? by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      Science isn't about WHY. It's about WHY NOT. Why is so much of our science dangerous? Why not marry safe science if you love it so much. In fact, why not invent a special safety door that won't hit you on the butt on the way out, because you are fired. - Cave Johnson

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    2. Re:Science is a verb now? by hey! · · Score: 1

      If you like it, you could pretend you don't understand.

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  4. 356? by i.r.id10t · · Score: 1

    Aahh... no.

    Porsche - or at least Porsche North America - got out of the 356 parts business around 2000, and sold all remaining NOS stock to Stoddard

    Fortunately, I have all the weird and special bits and pieces for my 356c coupe- and there are some skilled artisans making 3rd party metal parts for what I'll have to replace eventually (door skins, etc)

    --
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    1. Re:356? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They still own the designs and the rights to manufacturer them. The whole reason to print them themselves is because they sold all the NOS parts because it probably wasn't profitable.

  5. They don't drive those cars. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    They garage them and masturbate over them.

    1. Re:They don't drive those cars. by coolmoe2 · · Score: 1

      Completely valid life choice there. Don't judge them. :P

  6. Re:Gay! by tbuddy · · Score: 1

    Nothing from the Porsche press release indicated anything about chrome parts. Appears to just be iron, plastic, and steel components.

  7. cue Tom Sellek : by Thud457 · · Score: 1

    You wouldn't download a car.

    But you will.

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    1. Re:cue Tom Sellek : by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You wouldn't download a car. But you will.

      Cue Chairman Mao: A steel furnace in every home!

    2. Re:cue Tom Sellek : by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      probably, but in the meantime, just get it on amazon

    3. Re:cue Tom Sellek : by Freischutz · · Score: 1

      You wouldn't download a car. But you will.

      Cue Chairman Mao: A steel furnace in every home!

      Make fun of it, but this is the future of manufacturing. When 3D printing reaches the point where you can churn out the parts for whatever it is you need parts for locally, or just the make whole product at your local 3D printing shop from plans downloaded from the internet, it will upend the world of manufacturing as we know it in a big way. Never mind if we ever get to a point where you can 3D print your own AK-47 that can fire 30k rounds without the receiver breaking or the barrel exploding in your face like the original can or ... hand grenades? ... RPG's?

    4. Re:cue Tom Sellek : by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

      3D printed a hand grenade? Where do you get the detonator and explosive from? The rest of it is just metal. It can simply be a tin can filled with nuts and bolts.
      As soon as complex compounds can be assembled by a printer.... Well you're in Startrek's universe then

    5. Re:cue Tom Sellek : by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Like this?
      Chemistry's own version of the 3D printer—a machine that can systematically synthesize thousands of different molecules from a handful of starting chemicals. https://www.popularmechanics.c...

    6. Re:cue Tom Sellek : by PolygamousRanchKid+ · · Score: 1

      Where do you get the detonator and explosive from?

      From the cabinet beneath your kitchen sink.

      Or in your bathroom closet, where you keep your cleaning stuff.

      Or a big jar of iodine crystals and a bottle of ammonia.

      There are still a few minor "stability" issues with that last one.

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    7. Re:cue Tom Sellek : by bkmoore · · Score: 4, Informative

      ....Never mind if we ever get to a point where you can 3D print your own AK-47 that can fire 30k rounds without the receiver breaking or the barrel exploding in your face like the original can or ... hand grenades? ... RPG's?

      You could make small arms with conventional machine-shop tools. Why is this always an issue when people talk about 3d printing??? No-one is saying, "if you let people buy a hobby lathe, they could start turning out hand grenades and rifle barrels."

    8. Re:cue Tom Sellek : by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You obviously aren't familiar with manufacture efficiencies. You will never be able to be as efficient as a manufacturing plant that churns out the same part every 5 seconds from cheap raw materials.

      3D printing is, and always will be for specialized parts in limited quantities. If it is a large enough market, they will makes molds and dies so they can produce the part faster and cheaper. It's called economies of scale.

    9. Re:cue Tom Sellek : by hackertourist · · Score: 1

      "if you let people buy a hobby lathe, they could start turning out hand grenades and rifle barrels

      So true. I bought a hobby lathe for use in scale modelling, and (even though I've never owned a gun) I now feel the irresistible urge to turn nothing but gun barrels. I am hackertourist, and I am an addict.

  8. Blame Andy Wier. [Re:Science is a verb now?] by XXongo · · Score: 1
    Blame Andy Weir. It's a quote from The Martian: "I'm going to science the shit out of this":

    three-second youtube clip

    And here's Obama saying it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?... (about 1 minute in. But he modifies the line to "going to science the heck out of this").

    1. Re:Blame Andy Wier. [Re:Science is a verb now?] by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > Blame Andy Weir. It's a quote from The Martian

      It's a quote from the movie, not the book. So don't blame Andy; he didn't write the screenplay!

  9. 3d pirate bay by captbollocks · · Score: 1

    I can't wait for a torrent where I can just download the plans and print out a 911 turbo.

    1. Re:3d pirate bay by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 1

      https://www.thingiverse.com/th...

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    2. Re:3d pirate bay by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      This is a little more practical maybe. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    3. Re:3d pirate bay by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      "Do me a solid, and 3D print this for me!'"

  10. Re:Gay! by DontBeAMoran · · Score: 3

    You only know about PLA and you apply that knowledge to everything that says "3D printed".

    Fascinating.

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  11. Obama's fault? REALLY? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    OMFG! Does everything have to be about Obama to you? You could have stopped at Andy Weir, you could have picked a number of Millenial jackoffs, but noooooo. To hate someone as much as you often claim, you sure can't stop talking about him.

    1. Re:Obama's fault? REALLY? by amiga3D · · Score: 1

      Good point. This constant need to drag politics into every single discussion is beyond annoying.

  12. Doesn't change much by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Like most auto manufacturers, most of the parts on Porsche are made by other vendors. Anything pre-89 is subject to a lot of NLA Bosche parts given MFI, CIS, the CDI unit, and distributor. Also Porsche has purchased a number of third party manufacturers over the years and end of lifed most of the classic parts, the most notable example being Andial.

  13. Isn't it engineering" by hawguy · · Score: 1

    They'll science something for you.

    This sounds more like engineering than science -- 3d printers and laser heating sounds more like an application of engineering than science.

  14. time for the idiot to speak by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    If you have ever actually used 3D metal printing

    When we tried it the parts were unusable

    so you admit you are too incompetent to understand what is going on here and you are just blowing all of this out of your ass

  15. the unabomber built pipe ones in his small shack by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    the unabomber built pipe ones in his small shack with no grid power

  16. Finally!!! by zifn4b · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I can finally get parts for my Porsche collection said no Slashdot member ever.

    --
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    1. Re:Finally!!! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      As a Porsche owner and PCA member, I can verify that the prices are outrageous. My half shafts cost over $400 each, but I purchased the exact same items for a VW bus for $80 each. The OEM A/C slider knobs are $30 each, and the rubber sunroof seal is $120. The A/C compressor was $600 and was stamped Denso.

      I have learned quite a bit, and have performed much of the maintenance myself. Rebuilt power steering was ridiculous, but I did my own for $80 worth of seals (still a ripoff for o-rings).

  17. Re:the unabomber built pipe ones in his small shac by viperidaenz · · Score: 1

    Exactly. 3D printing doesn't really offer anything for bomb makers. Except for having them spend a lot of money for something that provides no tangible benefit.

    and sintered metal isn't ever going to be as strong as forged for making guns.

  18. Specialised tools by Bert64 · · Score: 1

    Clearly the specialised tools existed at the time the car was manufactured, so why do these tools no longer exist? Were they destroyed?
    Surely it would make sense to keep such things for production of classic parts, especially for a manufacturer like Porsche.

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    1. Re:Specialised tools by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      These tools use costly metals or plastic that corroded, plastic molds don't last for very long plus storing heaving parts costs too much for several hundred models..
      they probably stored it for 30 years, which is a more than reasonable amount of time..

  19. Re:Gay! by slacktide · · Score: 1

    Cobalt Chromium is one of the most frequently printed metals. It is being widely used for 3D printed medical implants. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

  20. Re:Gay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    FDM printing is only related to SLS/SLM due to both being called "3d printing"; SLS has been used in industrial prototyping and aerospace manufacturing for decades. CNC (subtractive) machined parts are even less related.

  21. IP Laws by DrYak · · Score: 1

    Depends.

    If he would be trying to *sell* the parts for a profit on some eBay-liexpress-mazon website :
    Yes, he would be probably infringing some patents and/or trademarks.
    That's not different from current chinese crappy-cheap knock offs sold on the same site.
    Except that the guy is probably located in a jurisdiction where enforcing IP rights would be easier for Porsche.

    If he is building them himself to use them :
    Nope fat chance. In most sane jurisdiction, 3D printing his own parts to repair a car would fall under the same situation as making some elements out of acrylic/plywood/moldign them himself/cutting the metal, etc.
    As long as the vehicle still passes inspection and is considered streetworthy, it's okay.

    The laws would need to be changed.
      - trying to bring some new **AA-like laws to make home printing illegal. (But goodluck enforcing it, short of passing a law making mandatory to register every single 3D printer, including self-made ones). <- I still see this as a probability, but coming more with "Think of the children !" hysteria regarding home printing of weapons.
      - trying to make "streetworthiness criteria" much more stringent and to refuse any part that isn't provided (3d printed or not) by the original manufacturer. <- this looks to me as a liekly scenario, specially in IP lawsuit happy jurisdictions like the US.

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  22. No they won't by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Lots of problems with this idea:

    (1) There are already far too many weak plastic parts on cars. More is not better.

    (2) Many of the needed parts need to be precise, far beyond what a 3D printer can make. 3D printers are good down to about 0.01 inch. The pistons in a diesel fuel pump need two more zeroes after the decimal point.

    (3) Many parts need to be of a specific alloy, not just what a 3D printer can spew out.

    (4) Porche already charges like $144 for a $1 sheet-metal splash shield. Imagine what they will charge for anything complex.

    1. Re:No they won't by hipp5 · · Score: 1
      Which is why TFS mentions that they are 3D printing nine

      parts. I.e. the parts that don't have extreme strength requirements, don't need to be uber precise, and don't need to be made of an alloy that 3D printers don't use...

  23. 3D print the tools, then make the parts by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Why not 3D print the tools, and then make the parts like normal?

    It retains the original-ness of the parts, being made by a human employed by Porsche, and solves the need for making tools.

  24. We also need a plastic part database by hawk · · Score: 1

    I have a 1972 Eldorado convertible. It doesn't have excessive plastic, but some parts, such as the molding next to the back seat, which also holds the latch for the parade boot, are showing their age (and then some: that part showed it by disintegrating when I tuned the latch).

    Being able to print these would be a big deal. Cadillac isn't going to make any more, and it would be prohibitively expensive if they did. But if a straightforward ways mad to scan these, printing would be a truly desirable option.

    hawk

  25. Best by avawhite009 · · Score: 1

    This is a little more practical maybe. http://www.weybridgeusedcars.c...