Quote:
Originally Posted by ursus
I was using NOS to denote parts that were sourced directly from Ford Motor Co. For all the other non-Ford aftermarket stuff produced in North America I prefer to use NORS. A lot of the NORS stuff is actually of high quality as it was produced back when we had a quality manufacturing base.
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Yes, but there is more to that story. Back in the day, Ford was not the only company stamping fenders. For example, do a search on Fostoria Steel Fender or Detroit Body Die. Both these companies along with several others made fenders for Model-As that are/were very close to an OEM Ford fender. There have been many of these fenders that have been sold as NOS but in reality were aftermarket. There are many other items such as Ammeters, Ign. Points, Coils, Water Pumps, etc. that were all passed off as NOS because they were so close to design and aesthetics. This has always been a problem for restorers, ...and was such a problem for Ford even during the period when Model-As were being built that Ford described such parts as 'gyp' parts and warned his Agencies to not use these parts.
Now as to NORS, I think you will find that is a term that surfaced during the 1960s to label items that were similar in design & function, but not close enough to look original. Spring Shackles, Suspension parts, Radiators, engine parts, starter switches, wiring harnesses, etc., etc. all fell into this category. More to the point where these were cheaper items that JC Whitney, Sears, Warshawskys
(sp) and other auto parts stores sold during the after war periods. I guess I would say that a few were of decent quality but most, -while decent by today's standards were still not as good as what Ford manufactured. Use the Bulldog brand of suspension parts. They made spindle bolts (King Pins) and shackles for the Model-A which are very good however they were not manufactured like the original items with regard to materials and forging. Go look at an old Wirey Joe harness, --close but no cigar.
And, to confuse the entire rating system, when is old brand-new reproduction parts made in the 60s different from NORS? Many of those items made by Rick's of Shawnee Mission and Tommy Trailor's Specialized Auto have been laying around on shelves for the last 40-50 years and are often mistaken as NORS parts!!
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