I posted somethin simmilar to this on the intro forum just now too. Its all about the shoddy junk parts we are all forced to buy at our local big buisness auto parts stores, and the chinese crap a lot of online stores sell as well. Does anybody know of a directory or a list of companies that still manufacture in the good old U.S.A.. Im talking about EVERYTHING car related from quailty tools to wheel bearings. If such a thing does not exist we need to come up with one! Lets help ourselves and them out.
Welcome to the HAMB. If you will do a search, you find a ton of threads on your topic-as well as some things that are still made well. But FWIW, the problem isn't that foreign manufacturers can't make good stuff, it's because the market won't support it. So most Americans want Walmart quality and price and after a while that's all there is. There are still great products that are made overseas-and better than we can. Case in point-if I want the best quality surgical instruments for my vet hospital-I buy German stainless. We'd all love to buy American products-if they were well made. I appreciate and share your patriotism,but we make crap here, too. Mavericks,Vegas,Eagles were all made here and the quality was junk. Good luck on your quest.
I try to buy all I can from the local old time parts house, but they are having a hard time finding a supplier that doesn't try to push China crap down their throat.
I have one store in my town that is like going back in time. not an damn computer in the whole place just a lot of thick books and good old boys who know there stuff. If they ever close i might have to strangle the dumb 18 year old at autozone with the 50 rings hangin out of his face.
no kidding the greedy american marketplace has definetly caused most of this problem. I have several very well made german and swiss made tools i love em.
One more time.... there is a thread... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=291616 and a social group... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=331449
.I Remember when counter-men had catalog racks full of information from American Companys... If I could'nt find you a Timken bearing or Chicago Rawhide oil seal from one of catalogs we could check the bearing and seal numbers with cross references, Gates belts, Walker exhaust, Monroe shocks,Ect. The manufacturers had catalogs full or dimensions and possible substitutions.Now I support my Locally owned NAPA store. The guys and lady are great and the parts quality seems to be good. We live in a farming community so they still keep catalog racks for old guys like me that fool around with off the wall stuff. Buy locally, He pays taxes,has employees, and supports the community.
In a nutshell! Another reason that I'll pay a bit more or do without before I'll buy at W*lm*rt. To a large degree we've brought this upon ourselves.
Man that is somting that is really gettin hard to find, that is the same type of store I was talkin about. Good stuff and Good people.
I was just bitching on the fordbarn.com about how I was in a bind and had to buy a KML peice a crap chinese made rear wheel bearing for my 58 fairlane. Lasted less than two years and nearly disintigrated.... F'n chinese crap. Funny how I was just yapping about it and saw your post though...LOL! cheers and beers Hodge
yea they still make gates, I don't use any other belts. We also have a local Nappa, great people but one guy who is an asshole, as much dough as i've spent there you think he would be nicer. It's hard to get customer loyalty today, it doesn't help to be rude to your customers, just went to go get oil and filter for the daily driver Civic, yea it's a POS, but it's just a driver. the guy at the counter told me I would have to go to the dealer for a filter??!!, All I wanted was a Wix, I was hoping he would look it up in the computer so I wouldn't have to try searching the shot out paper guide, I finally looked it up myself and it was on the shelf. dealer? a lot of these counter people just don't care. My wife keeps saying I should apply to work at the local auto parts stores, I think it would be hard to not want to choke the daylights out of the arrogant previously mentioned, 18 year olds with shrapnel hanging off of their face. When did it become acceptable for someone in the public service ,to wear more steel then most cars have in their engines today.
Ask the people at the parts store to see where the parts are made before you buy. Most parts can be had from a USA manufacture for a few extra bucks. IF no US company makes the part at least find one made some other place then China!!!! I would never put parts from China on a car my wife and kids will ride in.
Here's a Chinese bearing that went bad in a bike I had. Not pretty... Now go do an intro and fill out your profile for real...
I just got back from LOWES . I wanted to buy just 1 simple 6" "C" clamp . I try to always look for Made in the USA item but, can't find anything made here in the states. I bought it because I really need one. I need to start going to yard and garage sales and buy up some of the old timers tools.
I know what you mean, I have a collection of old time C clamps I wouldn't part with, If I bend one, I can straighten it, try doing that with a Chinese clamp. I don't buy new tools, I scrounge at the local pawn shop for well used yet ugly tools I can get for cheap, good American made tools. I would rather have ugly then crap. little rust never hurt anything. Just for kicks, last time I went to Wally world, I tried to find a USA made tool, looked at the entire rack, and not a single one.
they are now making cars in China out of the same contaminate filled second hand steel, they use for their tools. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5SRyG6UR2A
If you want to point the blame on why it's hard to find "Good, Made in the USA" products, point to Uncle Sam and Big Corporations. Nixon opened the "Free Trade" door to China. Reagan gave amnesty to immigrants and Clinton brought us NAFTA. As for Corporations, well the bottom line is money. Those who started companies from the ground up such as Ford had their heart in those companies. Yes profit was important but so was the customer. So those orginal Big Shots made sure that their company was producing quality products. The new Big Shots today don't put their heart into the company or the product, instead, they put their heart on the almighty dollar.
ok i cant afford nice tools .. id rather spend 14 buck 3 times than ... 249 .00 once and pray it doesnt break ... things arent made like.. yada yada yada . some time you have to roll with the problem ... theres been an oil shortage ... now we cant stop the oil in the gulf .... go figure
Money,money,money just be glad we still have old Amercan Made cars to work on because generations to come won"t.
i sell auto parts/tools etc. and customers always come in sayin "i dont want that china crap" so i pull the U.S. made stuff tell em the price and then they say its to expensive!
well, you have hit upon a common trend in today's world...cheap...we ALL want a deal, but often it takes us on a wild goose chase and in the end, we have spent more $$$ trying to make up for very low quality parts, inept salespeople, lousy workmanship - whether it is made in the USof A, or in the asian community....i have seen hi end stores with poor quality, and low end stores with the same poor quality....look for 'guarantees' along with the deals - at least you can get a replacement item without having to repurchase again!
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