anyone remember a few years ago when an american car company checked the japanese-made and chinese-made grade 5 and grade 8 bolts??? - they did not meet grade 1 specs!....remember the 73-77 cars that disinigrated under salty conditions in the north? - made with metal that was sold to japan - our scrap! - they sold it back as lousy contaminated sheet metal that fatigued and crystallized....another trend that will be hard to rectify now as it is the standard still today....damn.
Mentioning the BP oil spill in the gulf--I heard one wit say today that BP's new slogan is "We wouldn't be British if we didn't leak oil."
Your not forced to DO anything,, you can restore or track down original parts.. You can make parts.. Sorry but plenty of crap made in the US as well,,the automobile is one of the largest industries in the World, much like anything else making a good quality anything means having to charge more for it, a kind of pointless venture when you have folks whining about good used parts and there cost. You want your car in the Zines well thats big business ,,thats where they sell it. Back in the day you had to make the cool stuff you can now buy through the mail ( granted the had it then to, but nothing like now ) and its also fashion so the shiney ( but not for long ) quick ( I gotta have it now ) and Cheap ( hey guys I wanna gold plate my car on the cheap ) is not giving way to good quailty long lasting parts ( why would we want to put ourselves outta business) . Sick of shoddy parts,,go take some Tech classes and learn to make as mcuh of your own as ya can. Hell I have 20 -30 year old tools that still do the job,,may not be shiny ,,,but then again thats not what there job is.
All of my big C clamps, all of my files, and my bench vise belonged to my wife's paternal grandfather, who was an expert sheet metal man. He was born in 1889, old enough to remember paddlewheel steamboats hauling passengers and freight on the Coosa River between Rome GA and Gadsden AL. Some of those tools are close to 100 years old, he used them daily for many years, I use them constantly and haven't broken any of them or worn any of them out. Ask me how many of the cheap Chinese and Taiwanese C clamps I've had fail at the worst possible time, like assembling an old Ford front spring. Then there's the big Chinese bench vise that would make a good boat anchor since the threads stripped out on the screw that adjusts the jaws.
We can go on forever about how we got here, but in the general scheme of things, we are small community. Car, appliances, small engines are designed NOT to be repaired or worked on, so few guys today actually use their tools that much. Therefore, does the quality really matter? My dad and I used to buy tools one or two at a time. There was no such thing as a 100 piece set for $69.99. So, all we can do is buy good used tools, save up for the quality tools and parts. It ain't coming back...
thats funny you bring this up, I got into a big rant with the manager of my local auto zone over the crap they sale and he totaly agreed , he is also a vet,I thought he was going to walk out he got so worked up here is a link if you are looking for USA made stuff. http://www.stillmadeinusa.com/tools.html
I hear you guys complaining a lot. Truth is, some of us poor folks just don't have a ton of money to spend on tools AND parts for our toys. That being said, I buy American when it's reasonable. I still have my dad's ancient ridgid tools from when he worked in the oil field. I also still have a few of my wrenches and sockets that I bought from KMart at least 20 years ago. They are still working even though I lost a few over the years. Crap is made in America too. Good stuff is made in other countries. Do what you can.
My advice as someone who works in the aftermarket 9 out of 10 times your better off with rebuilt parts rather than new when you can find them anymore. Things like new water pumps and new AC compressors are made in china where the reman stuff was OE and mostly rebuilt in the US.
The reason e have crap in the stores, from Wal Mart to auto-parts, is because our gov sold us out. You can still always ASK for American made, or a few other companies. I used to have a shop that specialized in German cars, Bosch is the way to go, very well made, also some Japanese parts are excellent, ND, for example. Remember, you are the consumer, you set the example for the retailer. If you ask for quality, then you will get it. When you find it, shut up about the price, it is worth it. Google ;Made in America, or made is USA, it's amazing what's there... Any questions? Thank you, have a nice day.....
I'd have to say corporate America is just as much to blame as the politicians. And let's not forget the consumer that wants cheap.
American made stuff would eventually drop down in price if they could sell in volume. But for every USA wrench sold, there are 10 cheapo's sold. Most people just don't care about anything but price.
you're pushin forward that time honored shit on american carmakers for the transgressions of 30 years ago. you still hear that garbage today when in fact, carmakers in the US are turnin out fine products. dont believe it? look into initial quality reports... GM wins! now, back to the 70s. my motor is a 75 vintage smallblock out of a monza. runs great dont burn oil, never been rebuilt! show me a toyota you can say that about after 30 years! ok, next parrot response, yeah but imports are cheaper.. i agree and not in a good way. they're cheaper because the parent companies DONT pay as well, DONT pay taxes in the US and DONT support literally tens of thousands of pensioners in a livable wage manner. i recently read a book titled consumer patriotism and in it, is a small section about the percieved savings of buying imported goods. when averaged out over everything from big ticket items i.e. cars, appliances, TVs all the way down to daily consumables the AVERAGE savings to the consumer is 18 cents!!! helluva savings if you ask me to be willing to drive our manufacturing capabilities overseas... so, lets all keep pointing out how "bad" american cars were in the past so we can raise a new generation of giant-winged, fart piped, neon loving import buyers... thats the best bet.
The age of the disposable car is here and a fact. All you have to do is go to any junk yard and see all of the ten to fifteen year old cars with still presentable bodies, glass and interiors with a blown up engine that repairs would cost three times the value of the car. I'll agree though that as a whole we Americans have in one way or another done it to ourselves. An extra nickel for the stockholders each quarter rather than quality products produced by American Workers in American plants. Top rated companies that are bought out by holding companies who leverage the hell out of them and then let them go under when things get tough. Add to that, our penchant for wanting everything at the lowest possible price and that we in general are all too often willing to take a lot less quality for a lot lower price.
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HA! This thread, and all others like it crack me up! If your parts store was worth its mettle, they would find you a made in USA part per your request IF one was available. They are out there, just getting harder to find. The prices have killed American industry. When you say you want to pay more for an American part, realize there are 500 people elsewhere that only want it as cheap as possable and available now. I am all for buying stuff with Made In USA on it, and I will bust my ass off finding it for a customer at my McParts Store(Advance Auto) but before you say we need to make a list of American parts manufacturers, realize there are fewer left than you think. It will make for a relatively short list.
Sounds just like back in the day. Japan = junk. American = junk and some good. There was a lot of junk American parts made than also, Today the only thing left is the better quality stuff. I remember buying points in the 60 that you where luck to get 1500 miles out of. Buy a better set maybe 12,000 miles. Just look in the mirror if you do not like something buy a higher quality or make it yourself. Corp America is only going to sell what makes them money, always been that way. Ed.
I've been burned on more junk that I was forced to buy due to circumstance than I wish to count. I have to hunt for American Products. I just purchased some shocks for my 3/4 ton, and I finally was able to find some Monroe Gas Magnums for it that were made in USA... All others, including other MOnroe stuff was overseas
This may help explain it... http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5272986#post5272986 Just the stuff you are talking about is being done on a much grander scale.
Lets start listing the old type of auto parts stores in our town. Here in the east county of San Diego "El Cajon" we are lucky to have E and M Auto in the city of El Cajon. I'm sick and tired of dose it have power steering or what ever on it. NO! I just want to replace the part I have here in my hand.
Good reliable rule of thumb If it is chrome , anodized or comes in a blister pack it is no good. Almost 100% of the time. don
hey Aeroquip is anodized and it's good, just watch out for anything with the name Spectre, if you put anything with that name on your car, bad things happen.
Lord, this topic has been beaten to a pulp here so many times. Please do a search. Glad your car is holding together. The points were 1. Not everything foreign is crap, not everything American is pure quality. 2. Overseas can make quality parts, but we the consumers don't want quality-we want cheap. "American" cars have indeed come a long way up in quality-so what, that's what the consumer demanded. And, of course, FWIW, your GM's made in Mexico, Ford's in Canada and Toyotas and Subarus are made in the continental US. With global conglomerates owning nearly everything and the overseas debt we have, it's hard to tell what's really an American company anymore. But, enough already. I'm going out to work on my hotrod. And maybe take a bit on Memorial day to be thankful to all those who sacrificed themselves so that I could have that opportunity.
Most of those cars back then would have been easily fixed today. The 1949 style changes, the 1955 V8 engines put many good older cars in the junk yard because nobody wanted them. Now most of the cars without body damage in junk yards are because of failed electronics, not failed engines. They had cheap tools back then also. If you ever had one break while you were using it you would buy Snap On or Proto or high quality Craftsman once you got over the pain in your hand.
I needed an alternator for my D.D. I knew that the one from Autozone or the like that could be bought for $70 was full of Chinese garbage. I took it to the local rebuilder and insisted on no Chinese crap. He was happy to oblige. $120. I'm happy. It should now last another 35 years. Local auctions are a great source for good quality American made tools for no more or even less than new Chinese disposable tools.
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