Made in USA?
 

Hi all,
I'm learning a lot going through my '31 roadster, and generally am pleased with the amount of parts available for these cars. But one thing bugs me...the cheap Chinese parts that nearly everyone seems to carry. I've bought and tossed several parts including a front motor mount yoke, a front spring top clamp, both due to extremely poor casting. A two piece front pulley that was advertised (at a higher price) as being made in the USA, came in a box that said made in Taiwan. What? :mad:

I understand the need to control pricing, but some of this stuff is such crap it is unusable, so it ends up costing more.
Is there a source for parts made in the USA, Australia or Europe that are of better quality?


Tom

Re: Made in USA?
 

We have all been through this.
IMHO, the best thing you can do is source original good parts. They are around and not that expensive.

Re: Made in USA?
 

I agree. There were 5 million Model A’s manufactured, and in the past 40 years many have been pulled out of fields, barns, garages, and so on, and restored or parted out, with parts stored. The internet has made these salvaged parts available all over the world. Bert’s in Colorado alone probably has an original of whatever you’re looking for, and they are good people to work with, knowledgeable, fairly priced, friendly.
Also, a lot of guys are aging out of the hobby and offering their hoards on forums like this, or Craigslist, club newsletters, or swap meets. If you join a club, you’re likely to find someone right there who has what you need.
Five million is a huge number. Everything is out there somewhere.

Re: Made in USA?
 

I would like to second the recommendation to find parts suppliers that have original parts warehoused. Also, I deal with Bert's a lot and they are good people. If you go to www.modelastore.com, you will find their online catalog. The descriptions for various parts will let you know if they are made in USA or a good import. If you want original parts, you will need to email them or call them as those parts are not in the catalog online (too hard to inventory probably).

There are other suppliers spread across the country, but I live near Bert's so I have not sought out the other options.

Re: Made in USA?
 

Tom, the first question you need to ask yourself is. 'Am I a parts Restorer or a parts Replacer?' Brutal question, ...but the answer to your question defines your options.

The answer to your question in red is; There are many (of us) that sell restored or refurbished original parts to hobbyists that do not have the proper skill, resources, or time to do the job themselves. The issue is you did not purchase from one of these 'Restorers", -and so naturally you received a cheaper (-generally in aesthetics, function, and/or price) product.

To many hobbyists, buying restored is not a value to them. With that said however, many of the Model-A parts vendors will tell you that often times they will offer two quality levels of the same item for sale, and in almost every example, the typical Model-A hobbyist will purchase the cheaper of the two items -and then complain about the lack of quality. There are options out there, and most of the time you can ask for guidance here regarding replacement vs. restoration of a given component which will help you decide what is best for you.

Re: Made in USA?
 

Please don't just toss them. Call the supplier and tell them you want a refund and would be glad to ship the parts back if they pay the postage. Until this happens they will just keep selling them, sometimes not realizing how bad they are.

Please don't dump this on the Chinese. They only build cheap junk to the specifications and price the they are given by the American businessman. By returning unacceptable parts we are telling the American Businessman that they had better stop buying/selling cheap junk if they want to stay in business.

Charlie Stephens

Re: Made in USA?
 

I was gonna say... if I ordered a $35 part and it wasn't usable, I'd send it back.

Also someone posted a bad link to Bert's, the link is modelastore.com.

Re: Made in USA?
 

Charlie,


you make a great point. Some of the BMW motorcycles are made completely by the chinese and are of very good quality.


it is all about the specs and pricing desired. You ask for cheap- you get cheap.

Re: Made in USA?
 

I'm a little of both. I've restored old motorcycles and am pretty good with getting things back into shape. For example, my '31 has a B engine which is just a bit longer than the original engine. Because of that, the stock front engine mount is too far forward to center in the cross-member hole. I ordered a replacement yoke to be the basis for a modification that would include moving the lower bolt rearward (more meat to drill and tap). What I got was a yoke that was a crude casting that forced all the engine weight to be on the bolts, not the yoke. I ended up modifying the original yoke, but it was very worn in places and being cast iron, wasn't ideal for welding build-up.



I don't live where there are swap meets, and nobody sells model A parts on craigslist around here. I use Ebay a lot, but I've been burned too, with parts (motorcycle) that weren't as advertised. As far as Chinese manufacturing goes, yes, the quality control is set by the company that sells them...but I'd rather not deal with that country any more - they're just not cool, if you know what I mean.



Thanks for the info, all.



Tom

Re: Made in USA?
 

Alexiskai, You are correct, I corrected the link. Good catch.

Re: Made in USA?
 

We have been through all of this before but I'll say again this time what I said before.
As much as I don't like the way the Chinese do things (we won't get political), they can make excellent stuff. They don't get to launch satellites into space, build nuclear powered ships and bombs etc etc unless they have a very high level of skill. Just as German goods were junk while they tried to rebuild after WW1, the Chinese are selling cheap stuff where ever they can to we stupid people who will buy it while they build their country. As has been said, it is up to us to specify the quality we want and make sure that is what is delivered.
That said, we may be giving succour to the devil by trading with them.

Re: Made in USA?
 

Tom, I think there is much to be confused over here in your comment above. The Mode-A and the Model-B engine block share the same overall length. If anything, the 1933/34 Model 40 engine was shorter overall than the Model-B & Model-A engines due to the front timing cover and the different crankshaft pulley designs.

Also, the A-6019-B style front engine support was originally forged and then stamped steel. The reproductions units I have seen are stamped and not cast, so I honestly do not know what to tell you however I do know that if the front engine support does not align on your B engine when fitted with a Model-A front timing cover, then something else is incorrect.

Re: Made in USA?
 

Fix or repair every original part that you can!
Don’t replace unless absolutely necessary
Also call Steve at bert’s and he’ll shoot square on quality of replacement parts

Re: Made in USA?
 

About repro parts.

MANY of the repro parts are made by several different folks.

Some of the versions are very good

and others are junk.

NOT all Repro or Chinese parts are bad!

The secret is knowing who makes the good ones and who makes the JUNK!

Returning the junk parts and getting refunds will send a message to the makers of the the trash parts!

Steve Becker at Berts knows which ones are good and he will not sell the junk parts unless it is the only source available and the part can be modified to make it work.

Also Berts has about 500,000 original parts available.

Many of these parts can work fine as is or can be repaired to work just fine.

www.Modelastore.com

1-800-321-1931

Re: Made in USA?
 

This is an interesting thread to me in that I sell original and restored original Model A parts at the Moultrie, Georgia flea market twice a year. It has been quite a few years sense I broke even on expenses. Makes me wonder, are people building these cars today with Chinese crap parts instead of Ford Company parts??? God help the next person that buys these cars with that stuff in them. Maybe that is why I have seen several people get dis-enchanted with the hobby. I would advise anyone to pay close attention and to look very closely to a Model A that you might be looking to buy for junk reproduction parts and the seller is asking top dollar for the car. That being said, I will be at the next Moultrie Swap Meet with my original Model A parts first weekend of Feb. If you are going, and need a specific part, let me know, I will bring it if I have it. Thanks, Dale.

Re: Made in USA?
 

Brent,



The assembly I have (timing cover and all) is longer than the A IF the frame cross-member can be used as a reference. Whoever installed the engine back in the day ignored the 3/16" or so that the mount was forward of where it should have been, thus the bent and worn stock A mount. I noticed the front mount issue when I first got the car, as the engine front was also about 1/2" too high to allow the hand crank to fit. I changed out the rear stock mounts for float-a-motor types with no horizontal movement change, so the back end is mounted correctly. When I pulled the engine there was nothing modified regarding the mount placement on the model A flywheel housing (which, as you know, bolts directly to the rear of the engine).



Interestingly, the car uses a model A head with the 4 bolt water pump and the water pump pulley is not completely in alignment with the crank pulley as it (the pump pulley) sits slightly back in comparison to both the crank pulley and generator pulley...thus my conclusion that the B engine front is further forward (this engine is a diamond type made in 1939.) The timing cover and crank pulley both seem to be further forward than an A based on these observations.


Does a later model B engine (1939 Diamond) have a similar timing cover?


Tom


PS, the mount that came with the car appears to be forged ...sorry about the confusion.

Re: Made in USA?
 

I remember, back in the '60's, the reproduction parts I would buy from Ford Parts Obsolete were mainly from Argentina.

Re: Made in USA?
 

Same up till the 80's or so. I think Argentina had a high tax on new cars to stop hard currency leaving the country.
So they kept the old cars running and made parts.
Someone else may know more of the story...

Re: Made in USA?
 

Re: Made in USA?
 

I have several boxes of reproduction parts that I had purchased throughout the years. I can't count the number of reproduction parts that I have simply thrown out due to their fit or quality. I simply don't understand why parts suppliers outsource parts from all over the world instead of having quality parts reproduced by U.S. factories. I personally would rather pay more for a quality reproduced part! I often thought about bringing these inferior quality parts to a swap, but I just wouldn't feel right to unload these on someone else.