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07-31-2014, 09:36 PM | #21 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
This is a great topic. I currently own 3 model A's. One is a great 31 Roadster, my second a 31 Roadster Pickup which I purchased and was claimed to be restored and I am correcting many items. The third is my dad's car which I started to restore.
I love working on these cars and this Forum is key in helping me work on them. The most frustrating thing is when you get ready to do a project and the new parts you purchase do not fit properly. Vendors should make it a point to test what they sell on an actual car and if it does not fit demand from the manufacturer better quality and fit. Henry's 31 |
07-31-2014, 09:39 PM | #22 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
Well, I'm thankful BillS is making me some new shocks... I'm hopeful new engine blocks will be available as there a limits on how long these 83+ year old engines will run... Fuel tanks would be very helpful but those are likely harder to make than an engine block.
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07-31-2014, 09:56 PM | #23 | |
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Location: Michigan / Ontario border, Sarnia, Ontario. 50 miles from Detroit and 150 from Toronto.
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
Quote:
And why would you think it won't fit ! I am the eternal optimist, not a pessimist ! A great majority of repop parts fit fine. And as I asked before how do you clean holes in a rusted out tank ? Wayne |
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07-31-2014, 10:04 PM | #24 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
Correct '28/'29 truck outside door handles. Correct AA side view mirrors and mounts for all years.
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07-31-2014, 10:16 PM | #25 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
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07-31-2014, 10:20 PM | #26 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
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Wayne |
07-31-2014, 10:58 PM | #27 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
Really nice fenders.
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07-31-2014, 11:20 PM | #28 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
Gas tanks; 28/29 and 30/31.
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07-31-2014, 11:27 PM | #29 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
28-29 hood shelves.
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07-31-2014, 11:45 PM | #30 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
I think this is a good thread. A wish list is never a bad thing. As for "why not just restore what you have?" Well, not every one has the equipment to do such things. "Sandblasting" needs what equipment? Fender repair, what equipment is needed? wheel lugs and truing the drums, what equipment is needed?
All the time in the world and all the money in the world. All the time in the world and no money. All the money in the world and no time. No time and no money. Where do you fit in? Why can't there be people that have the talent and equipment to do the restoration work and people that can install what is already ready to be installed?
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08-01-2014, 04:18 AM | #31 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
Thank you Eric for this thread
I am 100% with Mike (even i am a no4 ). There is an additional point in the fact that in some countries on this planet there are no old parts available. As having to do all "repairs" during night time and growing to old to do so, i urgently want to keep my car running. As so i cant take out broken parts and do long-lasting (?) repairs. I want to buy a new part (plug and play) and decide later on, what to do with my original (but broken) parts. For sure i dont scrap them |
08-01-2014, 06:01 AM | #32 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
well said Mike.
Why dont we send our fenders and tanks to McPherson and support the school? hows about them apples....? plenty of practice for the students and nice product turn around...... |
08-01-2014, 07:26 AM | #33 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
If they would accept parts for training and we could get them back, I would think many would be wiling to do so. As the labor is "free" for them it might even prove to be a profit center for them. Do the restoration work to a level where those without special tools can finish the work and pay them?!
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What's right about America is that although we have a mess of problems, we have great capacity - intellect and resources - to do some thing about them. - Henry Ford II |
08-01-2014, 07:27 AM | #34 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
how about a quality amp gauge?
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08-01-2014, 07:35 AM | #35 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
Steel 26 27 turtle deck quarters. That's my vote.
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08-01-2014, 07:55 AM | #36 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
Well the range of parts thats available now days is mind boggling compaired to when I got my first Model a nearly 50 years ago. Back then over here you had to break up a few cars to build up a stock of parts to keep the old daily driver running. Some of the cars I broke up back then would get restored today.
As for what I would like to see reproduced would be new front axel beams. Good ones are now impossible to find here. I have a few and they are all worn out in the perch bolt eyes or the axel eyes ( where the king pin goes). It is most important to have these holes tight as looseness in these areas is a cause of the dreaded shimmy, Sure you can bore these out and sleave back but its expensive and if it is not done properly the geometary of the steering can be changed, resulting in further problems. There seems to be no shortage of new droped style front axels for hot rodders but no new stock ones for restorers. Next would be some new stub axels (spindels I think you call them). Good ones of them are getting harder to find overhere. Happy Motoring |
08-01-2014, 08:18 AM | #37 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
ericr;919977 said;
Well, yes and no, isn't it? I just posted a comment where I returned a US made open car door lock that was substantially more expensive than foreign made but no greater in quality. On the flip side, Brattons's new headlamp reflectors seem to be gathering praise (and hopefully sales) and are substantially higher in cost than the former ones. Am I to think Walt doesn't know what he is doing or never heard of ROI? No, Walt & Jeff are pretty smart guys who have traveled down this road many miles however most folks do not realize the behind-the-scenes obstacles they had to overcome just to manufacture reflectors. If I recall correctly, these have been 3-4 years in the making trying to find a manufacturer that will take on the project, produce in small (-affordable) quantities, and supply with Q/C from batch to batch. It goes without saying that if it were not for Walt's "depth" of his other parts, the reflectors would likely have never came to fruition by him. In other words, an average small businessman could not take the same idea and manufacture reflectors, and survive off of the sales. So what does that say about the parts manufacturing business in general? Members have commented on who sells better running boards and trim, better nuts and bolts, carb jets, points, condenser and many other things and I think you advise people where to buy better fender welting. Ok, you DO realize there is a magazine that is supposed to offer this very information to hobbyists. The thought to ponder is how do folks here REALLY know which is better quality? How many on forums offer/give that advice based on hearsay but have no first-hand experience with the advice they are giving you? You mentioned running boards, ...so how many posters here actually get to personally install a pair from both vendors within a short amount of time to be able to say why one is better than the other. Adding to that, how many actually have studied the original item to compare? Very, -very few get this opportunity,--and that is why finding a parts vendor you can have a solid relationship with who gets feedback from reliable sources is key. As far as "better" though, when you read some of the posts above, "better" is also defined as 'something affordable' or 'something that will get me by'. Those folks are being honest, ...many others have that same thought or mindset but choose not to speak it verbally however they show it with their wallet by what they purchase. Face it, if two like items are available in repro., it stands to reason that the better quality item will force the lesser-quality item to no longer sell and the manufacturer of the poorer-quality item ceases production in a matter of time. The problem is, the vendors will tell you that history dictates that just isn't the case. I think nature, size, complexity and ultimate price of the part at issue might also be involved in the mix. Surely no one expects sellers to take a risk of loss but I also suspect there is some pecking order of parts dealers, some of whom can afford to take greater risks of ROI than others. Trust me when I tell you that manufacturers AND sellers alike take a HUGE risk every time they place an order. There seemingly is no loyalty amongst hobbyists, and as such the majority of sales is driven off of price & convenience. Take this for example, let's suppose the word is getting around about how nice Walt's new reflectors really are. Now, a small (greedy) businessman buys a couple of his reflectors and sends them off to China or India to have the reverse-engineered and copied. Now without the R&D expense Walt incurred, nor his Marketing expenses or product acceptance risk, this person imports his reflectors and retails them for $20 less because his overhead/risk was lower. You know that Loyalty 'thingie' I just spoke about, there ain't none! Folks will get on the forums and tout how the new import is cheaper and just as good! Now Walt is left holding the bag trying to get at least get back to a break-even position. Did someone say Nah, that probably wouldn't happen?. Don't tell that to me. If you don't believe me, then research Model-A brake drums and the like!! How is any of this good for the hobby? Justify it any way you like, but poor quality parts are the direct fault of the hobbyist, and not the vendor! The parts vendor/manufacturer only does what the customer asks for! Last edited by BRENT in 10-uh-C; 08-01-2014 at 08:24 AM. |
08-01-2014, 08:26 AM | #38 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
Remember in all fairness to the vendors, that even when 'new' Model A parts wouldn't always FIT it took the guy on the assy. line some creative hammer and alignment tools to get things together when the cars were originally being built. Look at the NOS parts that Marco tried to use on his Roadster that wouldn't fit and had to be tweaked. Assy. line rejects but still sold as NOS thru the dealership network.
Ever work on an assy. line building automobiles or tractors or some other complicated machine? If you have you know just what I mean. Parts just don't always line up. Oftentimes, even on new stuff today, you can't take a part right out of the box and pop it on. Sometimes it takes a little urging. Last edited by BlueSunoco; 08-01-2014 at 08:32 AM. |
08-01-2014, 08:47 AM | #39 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
I want tire tube valve dust covers identical to original.
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08-01-2014, 08:52 AM | #40 |
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Re: What Part Would You Want to See Reproduced with Quality?
I am in the business world, and supply specialty retail items (different industry...not auto part). I completely understand the 'only make and sell what you can make a profit on' concept.
I'm also a hobbyist that loves the challenge of bringing original parts back to life. But, some things are a pain, or nearly impossible to restore. When evaluating specialty items in my business, I attack the 'low hanging fruit' first. In my opinion, the logical next item would be the headlight sockets that BlueSunoco mentioned. The problems with the current repros are obvious, but not insurmountable. The engineering would not be complicated or expensive, allowing an attractive price-point. And, demand is high... the fiber pieces are bent out of shape on nearly every car I have tinkered with. If there was a quality repro, I would have bought several of them already myself. As such, the engineering and tooling costs could be spread over a great number of units. Just my opinion. Hey, and a big thanks to Walt Bratton for taking the risk on his headlight reflectors. I have an original set with okay original finish. I am now doing just enough night driving... and the reviews of Walt's reflectors are so impressive... I think I am going to get a set for my daily driver.
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