Mopar Performance soon to be Noparts Performance?

[Moulder]

About a month ago I ordered a new Mopar performance Hemi block #5007668 from summit racing. My ISP has merged with another so I wasn't able to get online for about a week. I am finally able to get online today so I check on its status and it said it was cancelled. I called them and they said this part is no longer available. Is DC starting to axe Mopar Performance or the the 426 style Hemi program? I am very upset about this as I already have a stroker crank and a new set of assembled aluminum Hemi heads on the way (off e-bay). It's not everyday that someone as young as I am gets to build their dream car. Can anyone shed some light on this for me?

[6 packin]

I would check with Mopar Only Distributors. I have actually been to Summit in both Ohio, and Reno Nevada. There showroom is nothing more than a Chevy Haven. They did have a 360/380hp Crate engine on display.....but thats it. I would check with. I would give places a call like Mancini, Muscle Motors, Ray Barton his number is 610.693.5700

That really sucks, I figured they were hard to get. Maybe you will luck out. If I had the money set back for a Hemi, I would find what I needed.

Good Luck.

[cudabobby]

Moulder,

Your comments are right on the money. Mopar Noformance is history. They are either being surpressed by DB or they are under severe budget constraints.

They did have enough money to show up at the Nat's but it's the same old $h!t from last year. I go to dealers that specialize in Mopar and steer clear of these clowns.

6 Packin is right on. Go to Auto Clone, Pip Boys and buy all your wax and car soap.

[ehostler]

Try Koller Dodge. They have one in stock and it is taged to sale at $2,064.25

[Moulder]

Thanks E I'll check out Koller. It sucks knowing that I was going to get it from Summit for a hair under $1800. Since I don't have a block ordered I might consider going 528 instead of the planned 472, just some food for thought. Think I can get a 528 Hemi with a shaker hood and a 70's vintage ac compressor under the hood of an e-body and keep it running cool?

[70Ted]

Based on quality/availabity of MP parts, i am not sure them going BYE BYE would be a bad thing.

[BugEyedValiant]

I heard from a guy tied to Mopar by sponsorship that they are having problems getting a foundry to do the castings.

[Buddy Branon]

Does this mean parts will be hard to get or maybe none available?

[BugEyedValiant]

I believe it is just on the Hemi castings not the others, but I could be wrong.

[LA360Dart]

Mopar Performance is changing foundries for all its Hemi block casting they are going to be stronger and be able to hold more power and bigger displacement. Look for an aluminum street block as well.

[Moulder]

LA360Dart where did you get this imformation? I hope your right, an aluminum 472 hemi would make my b`cuda run like a raped ape. Is there any guess when these new castings will be available? Anyone know what an aluminum street hemi block from other vendors (KB, Indy, others?) cost?

[LA360Dart]

i'm an evil twin of a parts dude at a dodge dealer shhhhhhh don't tell anyone

[Jonjolt]

Originally posted by Moulder
Anyone know what an aluminum street hemi block from other vendors (KB, Indy, others?) cost?

A little over $4,000 I think.

[vanishPt]

Ok LA , fess up. please give more details. Any time frame?

[DartGT66]

Time frame is the usual; from here to eternity. The guys at Mopar Performance are good people, but I believe there is too few of them, so they can't just handle the whole thing. Simple thing like changing a foundry may not be that simple after all.

Mopar Performance sells some good parts and some not so good parts. Most of the parts they sell are competitively priced. Without Mopar Performance (direct connection), I believe the mopar scene wouldn't be so hot; comapare it to Buicks and Olds or Pontiac, what is available for them? Without mopar performances parts there wouldn't be as much aftermarket offerings for our engine either. I surely hope they are not going to quit, since although you would never buy anyhting from them, it still does good for the overall market.

[mr_340]

I wish MP would price their products more aggressively. Recently MP put a Hemi block for sale at $408 dealer cost. Assuming that they sold these at cost, then that's still a hell of a markup to the $2000 that we pay for a block. In the semiconductor equipment industry, a 3X markup is pretty standard. Even a 4X would put a block at $1600.

With the big selldown that MP is going through, I wonder if they are going to have much to sell. They need to make the hard parts like blocks and heads, but they should leave the run of the mill stuff to the aftermarket. MP was selling the pistons for around $80 each list price. Who's going to pay that much for pistons? I bought some of those during the markdown for around $15 each. If they would have had them at $40-$50 each the whole time, maybe they could have sold them.

[LA360Dart]

Mopar did sell those blocks for a dealer cost of $408.00, but there were only 6 pieces in Nat Depot and the part number was never published in any Performance Catalog. Mopar had a huge inventory of obsolete parts that phased out of any recent publication. They gave only one dealer(guess who that was)the list before any other dealers and the pieces were ordered and sold within 24 hours of delivery. It's good to be top ten MP dealer.

[mr_340]

Yeah, I saw that Glendora Dodge got three of them. I called and talked to the parts guy that got two of them. The other was for his manager. He told me he thought the block was for the stroker crate engine (probably the 472 crate) as it was clearanced in the crankcase area.

I think that's why the part number never showed up in any catalog, it was a special part number to be used in the crate assembly. I tried to order a MW block for $300 in 2001 with a similar "mystery" part number. Didn't get one of those either. The part that pissed me off was that the parts were sold BEFORE the sale went into effect. My dealer buddy tries real hard to help us out, but he's competing with the big movers.

[LA360Dart]

The guys at Glendora told me that they ordered there blocks as soon as they received the sell down sheet from Mopar. They said that they weren't given any advanced notice, they just happened to order the blocks before anyone else did.

[mr_340]

The spreadsheet I got said that the prices were effective May 19, 2003. I got the sheet on May 15th, put my order in with my dealer on May 16th and all the Hemi blocks were gone on the Friday BEFORE the sale even started. Those guys should have had to pay pre-sale price in my opinion. Mopar let them buy at the sale price before the sale. Not a level playing field.

That would be like buying Super Bowl tickets a day or two before they went on sale. People get PO'd when that sort of thing goes on. I bought $4-5k on parts on this deal. It would have been more, but the Hemi blocks and head assemblies were gone. On the second sale, my dealer didn't even want to order anything since we got dumped on so bad.

[LA360Dart]

The guys at Glendora told me that they ordered 2 of the blocks on Friday and 1 more on Saturday. Are you sure your dealer tried to order the blocks for you on Friday and not Monday because according to Glendora there was at least still one in Mopar's inventory on Saturday. Maybe you should consider talking to Glendora for your Mopar Performance needs.

[mr_340]

I'd normally prefer to go through the local dealer to save on shipping blocks. But, I guess it would have been a good idea in hindsight. I was told on that Friday that they were all gone. I did get a bunch of parts at good prices (first sale) and great prices (second one), so I can't complain. I do wish the regular dealerships would get a level playing field on these things, but Ma Mopar sets the rules. I have no ill will against the guys at Glendora. I would have done what they did. They played by the rules that MP set down. With only 6 blocks and probably 600 or more people wanting them, the odds weren't too good anyway. It sounds like there was a slim chance on getting one, it just didn't work out. I won't be buying any Hemi blocks at $2000 now that I know what they should cost. Dealer cost should be around $1200.

[mdeane]

I work in the parts department at Glendora and have been reading the information posted here over the past few days. We were very lucky to get the parts that we did on this special. Normally we are the last to find out about these items because Mopar will mail the information to all the dealers at the same time which usually means that those of us on the west coast receive it a day or 2 behind the mid-west or east coast. I happened to be talking with a dealer near detroit when he got his list and he faxed me a copy and the rest you already know. It was not our intention to clean out Mopar's inventory, We just made a couple of calls to our good performance customers about the blocks and ordered accordingly. After over 25 years of selling Mopar Performance parts this is only the 2nd or 3rd time I can remember us getting in on a deal like this. In the future I will try to post the information here as soon as we get it, maybe that will help.

[mr_340]

My beef isn't with Glendora or the guys there. I just think that if they say the sale starts on the 19th, then it should start for everyone on the 19th, not the 16th. To me, anyone ordering parts before the sale should have been paying pre-sale prices. My beef was more with MP taking the orders early at the sale price.