I think hot rodders are born and not made. I have never been able to leave well enough alone with any car, truck or motorcycle I've owned in the last 45 years. It's an aberrant mental condition.
I'm working hard to stay somewhat original with my new Model A.
So it has nothing to do with crappy parts. I have boxes of repro parts left over from my classic bike restoration efforts that were so bad I just tossed them aside as soon as I saw them (think ebay
)
Crap is everywhere. It's one big thing that's wrong with the world. People don't have pride in what they make and sell anymore.