Parts Rant!

[sconnors]

Being relatively new to owning a Model A (I purchased mine in 2012) I have found a great deal of knowledge and support from guys here on the Ford Barn and quite frankly wouldn’t be where I am in the hobby today without you guys.

Having said that, I have been quite dismayed by the parts that I order from a variety of suppliers. I order most of my stuff from Snyder’s but have ordered from Mac’s, Bratton’s and Tam’s. It seems I rarely get a part out of the box that fits correctly without some type of tweaking.

I received a new horn rod and light switch spider brand new in the mail from Snyder’s and tried to put the spider on only to find out it doesn’t fit. I had to sand down the rod and file the inside of the spider. If I hadn’t done research on the Ford Barn and learned by your experiences, I would’ve had the whole thing in the truck before realizing it didn’t fit and have to take the steering column out all over again!

I also purchased a brand new wiring harness (which wasn’t too bad) and light switch body which was junk! The thing barely stays together and slips down the column, the bail comes about 1/8 of an inch below the body so it is holding nothing up. It was so bad I ended up ordering another on from another vendor who informed me that there are basically two suppliers of them one out of New York and one out of California and they both get them from overseas. I tried calling Bert’s and he doesn’t have any but wants $100 for one when he gets some in.

This is a major frustration. I know these companies pay big money to license the Ford name so they can have it on their packaging and everything I get comes from Taiwan, or China or somewhere overseas. It’s amazing to me that working on an iconic American car I’m using cheap overseas parts that always need to be bent, filed, sanded, ground, cut, reshaped! It’s frustrating as a hobbyist and angers me as an American.

I love my Model A and I love working on her and have learned much from working on her. But the most important lesson I have learned is to take for granted that ANYTHING I buy will not fit and should always be bench tested first! It seems there should be some sort of Quality Control amongst these parts houses, obviously Ford doesn’t care and just sells their name to license. But these parts houses sell these parts to people without even testing to see if things fit? A great example is the spider and horn rod, BOTH from the same vendor and they both go out the door and don’t fit together.

I know they can’t possibly try every part for every vehicle but it seems that the hobbyist is getting the short end of the stick having to work on brand new parts right out of the box to get them to fit. I can’t imaging buying a part for my Jeep Wrangler and having to work on it before I put it in the vehicle because it doesn’t fit.

I’ve read time and again on this forum repop = garbage and I truly get it now. Everything’s cheaply made with the fit and the quality very poor. Well that’s my rant fellas, thanks for listening and more importantly thanks for being here to help a fellow Model A enthusiast through some tough times! You are a great community of owners, mechanics and enthusiasts and the wealth of knowledge on her never ceases to amaze me.

[rex1927]

I feel the same way.

[Fred]

Flea markets have all you have talked about, & E-Bay has the switches on all the time, just not many for the Early 28s.. You will find that any time re-pop stuff is "JUNK" or not made, The price of Original stuff goes way up..

[29ModelA]

My switch body from Snyder's worked fine... :shrug: I didn't look exactly like the original though from what I recall.

[mcorrell]

I agree completely with the OP but we only have ourselves to blame, collectively as hobbiests. Most people, like my dad, will purchase the least expensive option when given the choice, even when they know it is a part made in China. The repop ammeter my dad installed in my Model A about 10 years ago (500 miles or less) recently fried, causing the car not to start. Rather than buying a Chinese repop (only option for new ammeter) I bypassed the fried ammeter and waited 3 months and found an older, made in USA, repop on ebay for $20, which is $12 more than the new Chinese ones. I know I am in the minority and will purchase the best part available, but not necessarily the most expensive, for what I intend to use the car for.

[mcorrell]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Also, I do like buying from Snyders as they will often tell you about the quality of the repops they sell.

[BRENT in 10-uh-C]

Originally Posted by sconnors

I have been quite dismayed by the parts that I order from a variety of suppliers. It seems I rarely get a part out of the box that fits correctly without some type of tweaking. This is a major frustration.

It’s amazing to me that working on an iconic American car I’m using cheap overseas parts that always need to be bent, filed, sanded, ground, cut, reshaped! It’s frustrating as a hobbyist and angers me as an American.

I realize your frustration almost every day of my life, ...and please realize when I say 'Welcome to my World' that it is not a calloused remark. Imagine having to explain this issue with a customer!! The issue is SO much deeper than you touched on though. I have preached this over & over, but please allow me to say it again. With as bad as things seem, we have it so much better than what restorers of other marques have it. Therefore, ...Be Thankful for what you do have. I am working on a 1909 Maxwell, ....and there is no such thing as reproduction parts for it. We are finding ourselves even making new gaskets!! It is projects like this that make a restorer appreciate at least some type of part is available.

On the other hand, use these set-backs to expand your mechanical skills. Often times, because of the fast pace we live in we are guilty of opening a package and installing the item without taking a moment to understand just how it works. Instead of replacing a part, look for ways & methods to actually restore the faulty item. Even if you still replace it with a reproduction item, understanding how something functions, and thinking about the methods by which you would repair it broadens your capabilities in life as a whole. It teaches you reasoning skills, brain-to-hand coordination, memorization skills, and patience which can be used in many other tasks we encounter in life. Start with the small or simple projects and work your way up to the large ones. Best wishes in the future!!

.

[Joe K]

I blame at least in part FOMOCO for not making the Model A drawings "open source." Ford had their day with them. They also used them in self serving measure to develop better automobiles to be the Model A successor. And now for them it would be a simple matter to say - "here you go hobby - something created in the interest of free enterprise - let enterprise continue to be free and don't bother us with your petty technical questions - it's all here now for you now."

(and a "don't bother us with your petty lawsuits - you're driving a design which is OBSOLETE - and Ford can't control final use OR performance.")

And the free market would use these open source prints to make parts to be the best they can be. All on the basis of capturing market demand.

Yes, there would be the loss leaders - just as there is now. Headlight clips that can't be compressed enough to fit into the slots, side aprons with the hump too shallow or in the wrong spot, or light bulbs with the filaments inverted over what was design. But the market combined with the Internet would quickly figure these things out. And they would come and go - mostly go I wager.

Reverse engineering based on extant parts can only do so much. And therein lies a good portion of our problem.

I'm trying to think of a similar product which has had a similar end of life game?

(Wikipedia here) Thomas Jefferson once said in a letter to Isaac McPherson on August 13, 1813:

"If nature has made any one thing less susceptible than all others of exclusive property, it is the action of the thinking power called an idea, which an individual may exclusively possess as long as he keeps it to himself; but the moment it is divulged, it forces itself into the possession of every one, and the receiver cannot dispossess himself of it. Its peculiar character, too, is that no one possesses the less, because every other possesses the whole of it. He who receives an idea from me, receives instruction himself without lessening mine; as he who lights his taper at mine, receives light without darkening me."[79]

Ford has lit the lamp and made their money having done so. Light is now VERY common at least in part due to Ford. In fact, so common that Ford has gone on to build better and brighter and more attractive and more efficient lamps themselves. Having done so why not let everyone take something of their original flame?

One thot.

Joe K

[1932BB]

I have been frustrated as much as the rest of you with having to modify even simple things to fit. I wonder if it is lack of quality control or if it is the result of trying to copy old parts on metric based machine tools.

[Rowdy]

Anyone that has done a complete restoration knows the short comings of some of the repop parts on the market. It is however better than it used to be. I have found Berts carry the best available parts on the market in most cases. Yes their prices are alittle higher than the suppliers that sell on lower prices alone and their quality shows why. I could show several examples, but my computer is down right now, so I do not have access to those pic's right now. Rod

[sconnors]

Another case in point, ordered new contact for the horn and tried em before I soldered everything up and yep they don't fit! Had to rebend before doing final solder!

[armchair67]

I'm new to the model A also and agree with the OP. I drive my Tudor daily so reliability is very important. I installed a new repop ignition switch a few weeks ago and have to find a better replacement. There is enough slop in it that it cuts out-usually at the most interesting of times such as when pulling out into traffic. I have the jiggle the key to get it to come back to life. Sad when one contemplates buying something from Pep Boys to get better quality! I've dealt with similar issues on the vw scene-fenders that didn't fit , thin floor pan replacements, garbage fuel pumps. Companies have popped up in recent years offering much better quality parts for those, hopefully the Model A suppliers will follow suit.

[H. L. Chauvin]

No doubt it can get frustrating at times; however, being raised all of my life with self employment, if we put the shoe on the other foot, it helps to think about our dedicated parts vendors trying their very best & working diligently every day to try to provide an abundance of the best replacement parts available for Model A's -- this is definitely no easy task.

For example, suppose we would acquire a beat up & worn out 1930 Pontiac -- anybody ever see a parts catalog that can match our vendor's Model A parts catalogs.

Does anybody think that these catalogs got this large by our dedicated Model A vendors sitting down & receiving food stamps & welfare and/or being some goof ball Government employee waiting for some overseas manufacturer who can't speak English to call them to offer a new Model A part.

In my opinion, after talking to these parts vendor owners, I have learned how they are constantly struggling to improve what we buy.

I, like many others wore out a few Dremel tools making parts fit; but, I realize if I had a 1930 Pontiac I would need a full service machine shop to try to make parts.

Appears life is all about attitude -- attitude check anyone? LOL

[Y-Blockhead]

On the other hand some vendors, Dennis Carpenter where I used to buy parts for my '55 Ford Ranchwagon, "Parts made with original dies", now farms things out overseas to save a BUCK!! And the fit and finish shows it.

[sconnors]

Originally Posted by H. L. Chauvin

No doubt it can get frustrating at times; however, being raised all of my life with self employment, if we put the shoe on the other foot, it helps to think about our dedicated parts vendors trying their very best & working diligently every day to try to provide an abundance of the best replacement parts available for Model A's -- this is definitely no easy task.

For example, suppose we would acquire a beat up & worn out 1930 Pontiac -- anybody ever see a parts catalog that can match our vendor's Model A parts catalogs.

Does anybody think that these catalogs got this large by our dedicated Model A vendors sitting down & receiving food stamps & welfare and/or being some goof ball Government employee waiting for some overseas manufacturer who can't speak English to call them to offer a new Model A part.

In my opinion, after talking to these parts vendor owners, I have learned how they are constantly struggling to improve what we buy.

I, like many others wore out a few Dremel tools making parts fit; but, I realize if I had a 1930 Pontiac I would need a full service machine shop to try to make parts.

Appears life is all about attitude -- attitude check anyone? LOL

I disagree. I restored a 1950 Buick and there are only two places to buy parts in the country. I NEVER had a part not fit or had the trouble with parts I've had with Model A parts and vendors.

I believe part of it lays on the suppliers for not holding their vendors to a higher standard and part of it lays with the vendors producing junk overseas. And you're right, life is all about attitude and the attitude of the Model A vendors is feed em crap and they'll like it cause it's the only crap there is!!!

[Kevin in NJ]

I talked with one of the Bratton's guys that works on sourcing parts. That is he goes to shops and tries to get parts made to Ford specs. The shops just are not doing the jobs (both in the USA and abroad) and they have troubles getting them to do the job right for some parts. Other parts it is just cost prohibitive to make a perfect part so we just get to settle for what they are willing to make.

The system needs accurate feedback too. All too often the companies make a part and never get the feedback on what is wrong. We have the responsibility to accurately describe why a part does not fit and we have to be ready to step back and figure out if we are doing something wrong too. I am sure they guys ranting on the phone a part does not fit and the problem is because the guy did something wrong. So it makes it tough for the supplier to know where the problems lay.

If we keep it honest and open we can continue to improve the hobby's supply of parts. We already have many wear parts with very serviceable new parts, I think that will keep expanding.

[H. L. Chauvin]

In addressing reply no. 16, & agreeing with access to the more modern 1950's vehicle parts, I am specifically addressing our out of date vintage "1930's" vehicle parts ............ not 1950's.

Anyway, again, for a one-on-one comparison, did anyone try lately restoring a "beat up & well worn" 1930 Buick, a 1930 Pontiac or a beat up & well worn any 1930's vehicle which needs "many" replacement parts that can pass similar stringent Model A Judging Standards ?

[sconnors]

Originally Posted by H. L. Chauvin

In addressing reply no. 16, & agreeing with access to the more modern 1950's vehicle parts, I am specifically addressing our out of date vintage "1930's" vehicle parts ............ not 1950's.

Anyway, again, for a one-on-one comparison, did anyone try lately restoring a "beat up & well worn" 1930 Buick, a 1930 Pontiac or a beat up & well worn any 1930's vehicle which needs "many" replacement parts that can pass similar stringent Model A Judging Standards ?

I agree to a certain extent, BUT they made 145,000 1950 Buicks whereas they made 4 million Model A's.

[Mike V. Florida]

All this is nothing new, sad, and frustrating yes but nothing new.

[Rowdy]

One example is the tudor seat springs. There are 2 different versions on the market. One made by Snyders has lateral supports and is very close to the original thickness, sold by Snyders, Berts, Brattons and LB. The other version on the market is 1/4" too thick, no lateral support and way to stiff to be comfortable, sold by the vendors that only carry the lowest priced items made. I found this out the hard way. Not sure what I am going to do with the cheaper version springs I have on the shelf, but have no plans to use them. Rod