Junk Aftermarket/Reproduction BS

"Ours costs more....
you get what you pay for."

F Chinese shit, buy American.[/QUOTE]

you can't buy American, we don't make 80% of what we need. I started a rant on the HAMB 6-8 years ago when I couldn't find a American made motor mount even at the GM dealer was reboxed from Pakinstan

 

How about, " The Quality is Remembered, Long After the Price is Forgotten"

 

But we are as guilty as the people that produce the junk - we vote with our wallet. People say they value quality, but are often unwilling to pay for it. It goes along with the entitlement mentality. Why is the wall mart parking lot always full?

Try to produce a quality part and make a living - the demand is too low to even support the intial start-up costs. You would be lucky to break even after years of effort.

Bottom line - Vote with your wallet! Buy the best you can for the $$.

 

I bought some repop park light housings for my 54 chev, they just screamed cheap and didnt fit worth a shit. They didnt bolt onto the original center bar either. I ended up trading them for an original grille bar that has some rust, but fits like a glove.

 

I learned this lesson a long time ago with Porsche 356s. There's two types of repro parts for 356s, good and extremely expensive and shit. Most stuff is shit.

I also own (now 3!) Vauxhalls, and there's basically NOTHING available for those in the repro field, a guy in England was casting a few chrome pieces out of Brass at an expected very high cost, but that was then.

A lot of this is part and parcel with old cars, if you want to be able to buy parts that fit perfectly every time, buy a 2011 Ford. I've pretty much come to the expectation that if I want to buy pretty much any part for my Vauxhall short of tune-up stuff that it's going to be a case of finding NOS (HA!) or good used and have it restored. It costs more this way but I know that I have an original part that will fit right, and will work right, but it's gonna take some effort (and more damn money) on my part.

But that's what happens to dumbasses like me who have to own 2/7ths of the PA Vauxhalls in America.

 

And you are living in a dream world if you think this is going to happen. No way in hell.

Those countries have billions of people, no shortage of labor. As they develop, there will not be any Americans coming in as foreign labor.

 

BTW,I installed new fenders on a fellow HAMBr`s daily drive last year. He opted for the cheap aftermarket ones. OMG,never again. There were holes where there wasnt supposed to be any,and no holes where there was supposed to be some. They lined up with the hood like total crap,and one dented when he leaned on it.

 

years ago friend worked end of line repairs at a Plymouth plant. anything that didn't pass inspection they fixed or replaced. whether it was a cigarette lighter or a fender that needed tweaked to look right. then if those parts needed to be replaced they were boxed up and shipped as new stock into dealers shelves. so poor unsuspecting mechanics and body men got stuck with stuff that the factory wouldn't put the time into. crap has always found its way to us. but now its expected.

 

I've found that 95% of the time, I am disappointed in the junk that arrives. I try to go with the more well known companies. They are no better.
I think we all need to contacting SEMA and see if they would police the industry. I seriously doubt it.
I try to use original as much as possible, sometimes you just don't have time to wait for the parts to become available.

 

I am trying to use all original parts on my car, you know junk yard,some ones shop, places like that. But some things you just have to buck-up and buy, like my open drive conversion. Everyone said just get it from ____way, i checked around and found the company that made the original conversion located in Idaho and it is manufactured in their shop and cost 30$ less than the cheap chinese knock offes coming from nebraska. I also bought my 37 ford taillights from MAC's, sure they cost more, but i feel that they are of superior quality than any others out there. I think their are alot of quality parts available, we just have to look alittle harder and sometimes be willing pay alittle more. JMHO!!

 

OT car but I bought repro rocker panel for my 70 Challenger, Seems the overall panel length was spot on but every curve was wrong and every fold was out. After wasting a couple of days I was too committed to go back but should have just started again.

 

I purchased a set of headers (name begins with H but not Hooker) for my '55 Chevy with 350, the box states that any modification nullifies the warranty. Surprise! They won't clear the steering box. Rather than send em back of course I modify. Also the parking lamp assemblies were junk as were the headlight retaining rings, headlight dimmer switch was replacement but not advertised as such, plastic fan shroud didn't have proper clearances. These are just a few POS parts for the one car, the list goes on, especially if I include junk parts for my other projects. I'm with you guys on this one, I'll try to buy original when I can. Buying quality parts has got to be one of the most difficult aspects of the hobby.

 

Several years ago I just decided that if I bought anything aftermarket I knew I would have to modify / fix it. With this train of thought you arent likely to be as disappointed. Aftermarket = Needs Work

 

I don't mind naming the company...I used Lynn Steele for rubber parts for my '55 Caddy...most everything I purchased from them (and they are very, very pricey) worked well, except the vent window seals...they were junk. The holes wouldn't line up, the rubber around the metal pieces was almost non-existent and the rubber at the bottom of the seals wouldn't fit the door. NOt only that, but when the vent window was opened and then closed, the rubber would curl under the wing... cheaply made but at $200 a pop, I'm sure the company made a lot of money off that piece...

I wrote a letter to Mr. Steele, told him if I hadn't spent four hours each putting them in, I'd have sent them back and demanded my money back...problem is/was, no one else had the vent window seals, I was stuck with their stuff. I NEVER heard back from the company...and I spent a lot of money with them.

R-

 

I've tried that with home improvement stuff. Trying to go to the Mom-and-Pop store,
instead of HD. I get pissed off, because the little guy tires to charge like 50% more,
for what he has. I try to bite the bullet sometimes and help the little man out, but
gee-sh. The dollar in my pocket is just as hard earned as his..

 

Yeah man!!!! Before you guys buy those repops, ask the sales guy where they were made..

 

Roger, try Soft Seal. At last years NSRA Nats I went to Steele for door weather stripping for my 56 Chevy 2 door post car. They wanted $93. Bought the same seals from Soft Seal for $52. Soft Seal products seem to stay softer longer. Also customer service is excellent.

 

Flip side is the great repro stuff...I'd have been in deep shit if Steve's Auto Restoration didn't have those really nice 33-34 ford quarter panels and body sub rails. Yeah, I had to shorten the quarters but it was because they were made for a roadster [long quarters-short doors] and I used them for a 5 window coupe..longer doors and shorter quarters than a roadster..no big deal....a little trim and I was in bidness.