Have you every gone cheap and regretted it?

Less money....quick time.....high quality.....You can only have two out of three in what ever you do.

 

Believe it or not, yes. Also, the strange thing was that 2 of the tires look OK, the other two cracked like crazy and flake if you give them a dirty look.

 

I just bought a standard bore 400 block that was $175 instead of just buying one from my engine builder that has been mag'd and cleaned already and was guaranteed good for $300.

The $175 400 has the main caps from another 400 on it, so a $200 align bore is needed. Doh.

 

I buy good parts, its just that all I run is SBC's Cheapest HP there is for the $$

 

Yes Denise. Third and last. Took me three tries to get a good one.

 

I've learned that if if says "Made in China" to put it back on the shelf. I don't need anything that bad. With money being tight recently I thought I'd make up for it by buying Chinese stuff. I've seen it all, from shoes that lasted two months, single use socks, irons that lasted one shirt and screw drivers that strip but leave the American made bolt untouched.

Last year I bought a power bar from Princess Auto for a great deal. While trying to turn over my motor the bar snapped. Had my buddy not been holding the top, my hand would have rocketed into the inner fender which had a lot of rough edges. Ouch....

What I can't understand is why brand name companies are willing to trash reputations built over generations to make an extra buck. Craftsman were never great tools but the old ones never let me down. The new Chinese ones are crap.

 

If it is something that matters I will do my homework first.

 

used to go cheap often when i was younger but found that it always cost more to do it again than just buy something of quaility to start with

 

Let's see, I priced what it would cost to build my double hump heads. They were bare casting, but in great shape. Told me is was goin to be about $800. So I bought a set that was built on ebay(not a good idea) for $500. Cool, I thought I saved 300 bucks. Then I found that they didn't have hardened seats and that the valves weren't right. Ended up sinkin 300 into gettin them right. They work good, but I could have had a better set for the same money.

Don't cut corners on heads

 

+1
I was thinking the same thing with the Mr Gasket thermostat... And why wouldn't they go to a US company like Stant and have them make them under their name ?

 

YEAH! My first wife! OOOUCH!

 

For 45 years, I wanted a deuce roadster. Never could afford a real one. Bought a plastic one. Great car, but it just wasn't the real thing. Sold it two years later. Lost a little money, not much, though. Been better off taking a second on the house and buying something that I'd have had forever.

 

I bought a coil spring compresser from princess auto. After i chopped 1.5 coils off i put it in the compresser, i got it where i needed it....then the threads started to give away!

I still have it as a reminder to not buy cheep shit!!

 

I guess I'm the guy that has had a good spell of luck in this area.

I have had great luck buying old crap to save a buck.
(KNOCK on wood)

The problem is that most guys see the cool vintage part bolted up on their ride even before they pay for it.

I expect 50 year old iron heads to be cracked. I expect a 50 year old car to have hidden body work. I research what I need, expect crap and bid accordingly. When I get lucky, it makes up for the time invested.

I have been most burned on NEW SHIT.
The TAIWAN chrome that pits in six months.
The new miracle part that doesn't fit.
The new tool that don't do what it's supposed to.

In fact, I have a strong belief... if your new part came in a box, you will have to fuck with it before it fits.

So to all you nay-sayers... sell your crusty old shit to me. I still say used parts have experience.

 

Great, i have two pairs of double hump heads i'll sell ya if you love crusty old shit!

 

I think you're agreeing with more of us than you think. Typically the "cheap" way is to buy some new made overseas part that breaks, doesn't fit, pits, etc...

 

You are right sir, but I sometimes liken new to expensive, and more and more often the china shit is all that is available, and at that point the commies have me by the balls.

 

Are they left over from your vette resto, or did they come off your cousin's dirt track car?!

Let me go see how much change I have in my ash tray and we may have a deal!

 

$3100 on a built 396 bbc, $700 on a warmed over 700R4. So far, so good, so lucky.

 

I hear ya.

 

I regret every thing ive gotten from kragen or autozone , i go to REAL parts places now

Fink

 

Two Words : Harbor Frieght!

 

yea.i have a 1947 ford tudor sedan that i have had for about 18 years.when started had little money,so subframed with 76 nova and boxed frame made tubular x-member posies rear leaf spring set-up.regret ever doing subframe and car just sits in my shop.maybe one day i will find another frame and weld factory front end back on and put a dropped axle on.so now i think long and hard before i make a decision like that.

 

No shit! What happened to the nasty old drunk that worked at the Mom and Pops part store? He hated your guts because you were a kid, but he could tell you what power valve you needed for your Holley...

Sorry to say it, but those places are gone, just like the Tiki bars and Drive in theaters.

Now all I get is the fat chick who has been "trained" to ask me if I need antifreeze with my thermostat. They don't have the gasket I need, but can sell me a snickers bar. Ugh.

 

Haha, I went in not long ago to the Autozone next to my office, they had to special order the intake manifold gasket for a SBC??? They did have stacks of West Coast Chopper bar stools and a whole pallet of bottled water though....they suck.

 

My problem seems to be that I spend the extra time and money to do it right, only to have it fail immediately. I trust used parts more than new sometimes now.

 

Hit the nail on the head.

Me and all my buddies call that place "Chinatown" and once you see all the non automotive garbage at the front counter, it's easy to see why.

 

Ha, i wouldn't want to cheat ya, they probly came off somebodys trott line, and i was dumb enough to buy them.

 

Every time I've gone cheap I've regretted it.

 

Now, before we go any further...does getting fucked on Ebay count?

Pintoguy74 still owes me a Vega steering box, and I'll jerk a half-hitch in his ass-pipe if I ever find him...