When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
One of the things that made Paragon Corvettes stand out form the other parts suppliers was there selection of correct OEM fastener,bolts etc. I need a few bolts that I can't find anywhere else so after finding what I was looking for in their catalog I give them a call to place an order. The excuse I was givin about wad the info wasn't in the Corvette Central data base therefore I couldn't place the order. I had a feeling when Corvette Central bought Paragon this was going to happen,get rid of the small part of the business that set them apart from the rest and apparently that's what is happening.
A few things I would like to address in your post. Corvette Central did not purchase Paragon. Paragon is owned by Coker Tire Corporation as is Corvette Central. We merged the Paragon operation into the Corvette Central facility. All the items Paragon manufactures are still available, we will continue to produce the items with the same tooling and manufactures. We have linked the Paragon Part Numbers to Corvette Central's part numbers, so you can order with either part number online or over the phone. Please let me know what Paragon part number(s) you were not able to purchase and I will assist you. You are welcome to email me directly.
Yep ..times are a changin' ..like you say. I remember 15 years or so ago people theorized eventually the market would dwindle down to just a few sellers in the upcoming years.
I recall, Paragon had a back lot of parts cars and a building full of parts (blocks/heads/manifolds, etc) removed from cars over the years. They'd sell used or reconditioned parts, which was great for those hard-to-find original items. I remember seeing a picture of a forest of bare but used correct-number engine blocks stacked 3 high (on end) ...more in the picture than a guy could count. Anyone know what happened to those parts? Yeah, I'm going to miss them. Like a lot of enthusiast businesses, it was built on a passionate owner, and if they don't have someone who shares that same passion to pass it down to, well, then they really don't have any choice but to sell to someone else who does.
They also mfgr'd some parts too.
I have to say, Corvette Central has done me right over the years. I've ordered plenty from them. My biggest gripes with them was their paper catalog and online catalog (and online pictures) was among the worst of the major Corvette sellers. Their selection was fewer items than, say, Ecklers ...and often items would be back-ordered (but fairly quickly re-stocked). Ecklers always had not only better pictures and info ...but had the most comprehensive catalog. And their CS used to be pretty good. But besides those gripes, Corvette Central has been a good vendor to me.
I don't know this.....but I think its a good guess......all the people involved in starting these Corvette outlets were all guys like us........who loved these cars, and they turned that into businesses.....that provided a good income......and NOW.....its time to retire....and they sell the come out to whomever will pay. And the people who pay....are NOT car lovers....they are money people. And that.....is not going to work over time. It has to be more than money. The guys who started Corvette Central, Paragon, Zip....and others were car guys. I know its discussed on forums....but I think the best days are behind us....in many ways, about many things. The future......will be different. Glad I lived when I lived.
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
I bought hard top parts from Paragon that they took off of dismantled old tops that arent reproduced and no one else had. Wont be long before parts dont exist or are replaced with something thats close but not correct or wont work.... Us 68 owners are screwed as the 68 only parts will start to do away as I find a lot of suppliers list 68 only parts as 68 to 72 or 68 to 82. My interior dye is listed as Medium blue by some and bright blue by otheres. Only bright blue is now available adn I can see the tone difference. My original color had a bit of teal in it.....
selection of correct OEM fastener,bolts etc....I had a feeling when Corvette Central bought Paragon this was going to happen,get rid of the small part of the business that set them apart from the rest and apparently that's what is happening.
Central did not buy Paragon, they were both bought by a bigger conglomerate, Legendary Industries/Irving Place Capital. Legendary is the name that Coker tire had switched to after they started acquiring other companies. Unfortunately, Coker did the same thing as you experienced, when they acquired other companies. When they bought companies like Phoenix Racing Tires, they dropped niche market items they made like racing lug nuts and unique lower demand wheels, and just concentrated on higher demand and higher profit items.
Originally Posted by CorvettePassion
Times are a changing. I just hope Zip Corvette remains what it once was.
I could be wrong but I'd be surprised if Zip didn't eventually get merged with Central. The Central/Paragon merge made sense for Legendary because the two were located fairly close to each other in Michigan. Zip being in Virginia may make merging them less appealing? Of course it didn't stop them from merging Universal Tire with Coker. While Legendary hasn't dropped the Universal name (yet), I understand they've closed Universal's Hershey PA location and are now operating out of Tennessee with Coker Tire.
Originally Posted by Mark G
Paragon had a back lot of parts cars and a building full of parts (blocks/heads/manifolds, etc) removed from cars over the years. Anyone know what happened to those parts?
From what I was told all of the used parts were sold, apparently as one lot, but no one seems to know to who, at least not among the other Corvette vendors I'm friends with.
Originally Posted by CorvettePassion
all the people involved in starting these Corvette outlets were all guys like us........who loved these cars, and they turned that into businesses......its time to retire....and they sell the come out to whomever will pay. And the people who pay....are NOT car lovers....they are money people......is not going to work over time. The guys who started Corvette Central, Paragon, Zip....and others were car guys.
Rich who started Paragon was a former GM employee, when he retired some 20 years ago, he sold out to two of his employees. They continued to operate it until about five years ago when one of the partners died fairly suddenly, leaving the other partner in a somewhat difficult position. I know some of what was going on behind the scenes, and am not surprised that Paragon was sold. I can't recall, but Jerry from Central may have been a former GM employee too. Jerry and his wife Beverly have run Central since they started in 1975, so I'm not surprised they were ready to retire, though I was a little surprised their son didn't take over the company. Zip was started when Wayne couldn't find a fuel line for a Corvette he was restoring, and learned how to bend tubing to make his own. When he found he wasn't the only one needing correct, pre-bent fuel lines, he started Zip Corvette. Now they're all part of Legendary Industries.
Originally Posted by Mark G
Who is that owner? CC?
The face of the company is Legendary Industries, as PJO pointed out, but it appears that behind the scenes the money and overall management is coming from Irving Place Capital, a "private equity firm" (gulp) involved in fashion, packaging, finance and now the aftermarket for collector car parts.
all of the corvette catalogs parts are mostly made overseas . Total junk
That's not at all true. Most of what Paragon was making was being made in the US. Central makes (or has made) many of their parts here too. Corvette Rubber makes their weatherstrip in Michigan. A company I'm associated with makes many plastic and rubber Corvette parts (grommets, bushings, tie straps, etc) in Arkansas. Al Knoch makes all their interiors in Texas and Corvette America makes theirs in Pennsylvania (though I can't say if they source all of their material here). There are plenty of other repro parts being made in the US too.
Glen I talked to one of the repetitiveness of CC yesterday at Carlisle and asked if they were going to merge with Zip. and he said there was a lot of talk and meetings about that but at this time they are going to keep them separate. and they said all the tooling Paragon had and inventory came in last week to CC building. while there "junk yard" was sold off to two private collectors that he didn't say who.
I’ve purchased many parts from Corvette Central and my stack of receipts is several inches thick.
I have been extremely happy with the quality of all the parts I’ve received from them and have placed the new parts next to the oem’s to find the quality is equal or better than the oem.
I’ve had to wait for some back ordered parts but they have always come through on my orders.
CC’s customer service has always been top notch and I give them a 5 of 5 star rating in all categories.
I’ve purchased all my interior parts for my 73 from Al Knoch and what Al doesn’t carry I purchased from Corvette America.
Both of these vendors have also been excellent to work with and give them 5 for 5 star ratings as well.
If you are looking for used oem parts or NOS parts, try contacting Matt at Vette Collector.
He has a warehouse of used and NOS parts and he has been a great resource for my hard to find parts.
If you don’t see what you need online, call him and he can probably find it in his warehouse
Zip was started when Wayne couldn't find a fuel line for a Corvette he was restoring, and learned how to bend tubing to make his own. When he found he wasn't the only one needing correct, pre-bent fuel lines, he started Zip Corvette. Now they're all part of Legendary Industries.
Interesting you say that. Years ago (many years), I called various parts sellers and asked if they had a replacement bent steel pipe which fits under the AC compressor and routes engine coolant from an 81's water pump under and around the Compressor ...and then the heater hose then connects to it. Nobody at the time seemed to be making them. I called Zip (I honestly don't remember who I spoke to at the time) and described how I *had* a tube in really great condition, but which had acquired a few holes at the hose-clamp region after having been acid-dipped and re-zinc plated.
They wanted to see it and were looking to possibly start making them. They offered to send me a shipping label, make me a brand new one, and send both back. The guy on the phone from Zip told me they use a local shop for some pipe bending. Perhaps the larger stuff. Anyway, took a few months, but they did as described. The quality of the new part was pretty good, other than a few details I wish they'd nailed down a littler better.
They used clear zinc plating (silver), not yellow cad (yellow was correct for my car, more durable, self-healing, and looks nicer too!). And, to be picky, the hold down bracket could have used a bit more attention although it's kind of hidden. But overall it was a good part and AFAIK they started making them as they showed up in the catalog not long after.
So yeah, interesting to hear about Zip & bent brake/fuel lines and tubes. Makes sense to me now why they would be interested in making a part like that.
News Flash!
The Ecklers catalog I ordered over 3 months ago came yesterday!!
The CC catalog ordered the same day came in less than a week...
IDK the details, but I had heard there had been an ongoing paper shortage (coming from China) ...as a lot of the 'better quality' glossy paper comes from there. Maybe their printer gets paper from there. Not sure if that was a factor in your case but it's possible. Also, companies have had a hard time dealing with people quitting and/or wanting salary increases, and all the things you hear about on TV.
Catalogs are more expensive to produce and mail out than most people realize. I worked for a company and when young, some of us wished our catalog was a lot better. "Let's do this ...or that". Then I got into a position where looking at the costs vs payback ...it was an eye-opener. Made me and others start to think twice about them and cost vs return. You almost have to have them, but how to keep costs reasonable too... A few precentage points saved can mean keeping (or hiring more) staff.
Interesting you say that. Years ago (many years), I called various parts sellers and asked if they had a replacement bent tube which routes engine coolant from an 81's water pump under and around the AC Compressor ..where the heater hose then connects to. Nobody at the time seemed to be making them. I called Zip (I honestly don't remember who I spoke to at the time) and described how I *had* a tube in really great condition, but which had acquired a few holes at the hose-clamp region after having been acid-dipped and re-zinc plated.
They wanted to see it and were looking to possibly start making them. They offered to send me a shipping label, make me a brand new one, and send both back. The guy on the phone from Zip told me they use a local shop for some pipe bending. Perhaps the larger stuff. Anyway, took a few months, but they did as described. The quality of the new part was pretty good, other than a few details I wish they'd nailed down a littler better.
They used clear zinc plating (silver), not yellow cad (yellow was correct for my car, more durable, self-healing, and looks nicer too!). And, to be picky, the hold down bracket could have used a bit more attention although it's kind of hidden. But overall it was a good part and AFAIK they started making them as they showed up in the catalog not long after.
So yeah, interesting to hear about Zip & bent brake/fuel lines and tubes. Makes sense to me now why they would be interested in making a part like that.
____
Wayne Walker had a friend who taught him how to bend tubing and with his help he started making fuel lines in his garage. Later he made throttle linkage and some other Chevy fuel lines too, which is how I became acquainted with him. Around 83 I found a 62 409 Bel Air to restore. I can't remember if the 409 was missing it's 2x4 fuel line, or 2x4 throttle linkage, but which ever it was Wayne was making it and wanted to make the other one. He gave me which ever one he was already making in exchange for using the other I already had so he could copy it and start making them too. He also gave me the other part once he started making them, and new lines for my 62 Corvette too I think.
I wasn't aware that Zip ever made the 77-82 heater hose "S" tube, because Bair's has been making them for at least 10-12 years now.
A few things I would like to address in your post. Corvette Central did not purchase Paragon. Paragon is owned by Coker Tire Corporation as is Corvette Central. We merged the Paragon operation into the Corvette Central facility. All the items Paragon manufactures are still available, we will continue to produce the items with the same tooling and manufactures. We have linked the Paragon Part Numbers to Corvette Central's part numbers, so you can order with either part number online or over the phone. Please let me know what Paragon part number(s) you were not able to purchase and I will assist you. You are welcome to email me directly.
08-26-2023, 06:58 PM
Its official, Paragon Corvette is dead
