What is best strategy for back ordered parts?

[AlanCasida]

With the huge parts shortage problem right now I was wondering what is the best strategy. Order now and get in line or wait until I see them in stock again? Or is there another strategy out there.

[Chrisss31]

Order now and keep looking elsewhere....

[Rory428]

I would order now , but check as many sources as possible before placing the order. When I was looking for aluminum heads last year, and a set of slicks for the Fairmont, Summit had both items on back order, but my local speed shop did a bit of looking around, and found me a pair of the slicks at Keystones Automotives warehouse in Pennsylvania, and a pair of TFR heads at a warehouse in Ontario, so I got both within a week. The heads were the hydraulic roller springs version, so I have to get some lighter springs, but beggars can`t be choosers! Also, when nobody seemed to be able to get FE cam bearings, my local machine shop had me a set of Dura Bonds in a week, but when I figured maybe I should get another set to have on hand, they were on back order, so I guess I got lucky the first time. That said, my DSS 428 pistons took almost 3 months to show up, and I have been waiting 2 weeks so far, for a FE complete gasket set from Fel Pro, but was able to get the Fel Pro 1020 head gaskets and an extra fiber oil pan gasket in a few days. After I got my TFS heads, I would occasionally  check Summit, and the FE TFS heads were still on back order for several more months, with the expected shipping date constantly moved back. If it`s that bad for 1 guy building 1 engine for himself, the shops that do this for a living must be pulling all their  hair out!

[cjshaker]

Start about 2 years ahead of time....if at all possible. I started grabbing pieces last year that I'll need for my next car project, but I won't actually need them for about 2 years. Lots of pieces are disappearing and there's a good chance they will never come back. Probably not so much for FE engine pieces, but who knows?

Things ain't getting better and probably won't ever get back to what they were. In case anyone hasn't noticed, the car hobby is dying a slow death. Parts suppliers and manufacturers are getting bought up by business entities, and quality is dropping as they maximize profits. Once the corporate profit is gone, so is the manufacturer.

Alan, if it's engine parts you need, the forum is the first place I'd search for out of stock parts. Usually someone here will step up to help.

[FrozenMerc]

Order the parts from multiple vendors, and cancel any open orders after the first set of parts arrive.  Of course, this can get expensive if you forget to cancel the orders.  I ended up with 3 sets of injectors for my 7.3IDI build last winter because I forgot to cancel a few orders....