Problem with Drake fuel neck

[flatheadfan]

I installed a Drake fuel neck on my '36 and as fate would dictate the pipe did not line up with the fender hole. A careful comparison of the outside length of the Drake neck to an original found the lengths exactly the same. However, when you diagonally measure the distance from the cap opening to the tube end you find the Drake diagonal is 11" versus the original diagonal of 10". This difference suggests the bend of the Drake neck is different than an original which explains why it won't line-up with the fender hole. Has anyone else found this problem?

Tom

[V8COOPMAN]

Friggen' PATHETIC excuse for quality control. Sorry for your plight. Now, I hope you're not hit with the infamous..."You're the FIRST to complain about that" from the sales dweeb you get on the phone at BD. Wonder if you'll have to pay for "return shipping"? Keep us up to date. What a pisser! DD

[TonyM]

Yep, No matter how hard I tried, I could not get my Repro fuel filler neck to line up correctly with the fender hole on my 1937 Ford. I took the whole rig apart three times. I was able to get close but it still was not right. I cut the neck and used the some of the old parts and a hose in between.

[woodiewagon46]

Had a problem with Drakes "8" on my '46 hood ornament and studs on the rear fender gravel shield breaking off and yes I was told "never happened before". Yeah right, as to your problem perhaps a muffler shop could increase the bend for you. If you don't want to send it back. I agree, Drake needs better QC.

[Bob G/Spanaway]

I bought a repop filler for my '40 coupe.
The middle of it was a smaller diameter and I couldn't pump gas into it.
Even at a very slow rate that took forever it would burp gas out.
I finally bought an original off Ebay and it works fine.
I'll spend more time and money finding original parts than buying repop stuff....too much of it just doesn't work.

[Fourdy]

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BobDrake is a love hate experience to me. When the parts fit properly (which I believe happens most of the time) life is good. I once complained to Bob in person that a part didn't fit properly and he asked if it was one of his parts with his name on it and I told him I was sure it was. He told me to check it then get back to him. Oooops, not his. Got one of his and all was well.

Spent 2 whole days trying to install the window and channels on my 40 tudor rear glass. Finally took them all apart and compared the channels to the originals that I had kept (and should have bead blasted to use again) and found that the pieces were welded together up to 6" off from the originals putting all the geometry out of whack. Ended up cutting and re-welding plus making new rollers as his new ones were non rollers which woujld put a lot of wear on the channels.

I believe I know why this happens having dealt with Taiwan in building boats. Scenario - - - Bob orders 500 gas necks and says they must look like the original. Supplier says "no problem". When Bob gets the shipment it is found that they are not right. Supplier says, no problem, they are close and already made. Bob can then not sell the bad fitting product and lose all the money he has paid out or try to get them out to the market and recoup his money. I have told Bob that I would feel more kind to him if he would in fact tell us when an item is not up to his Bob Drake standard as he has to know it when the shipment arrives. I asked one of his guys at the Puyallup swap meet if they had the misaligned mounting holes on the water pumps and he said he hadn't heard about the problem. That can't really be true and it doesn't instill much confidence in them.

I now feel that anything I buy from ANY supplier is a "good start". Don't take me wrong, I am thankful for effort and hard work of suppliers to fill our parts needs. Just need them to be more up front with us.

My .02

Fourdy

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Fourdy

BobDrake is a love hate experience to me. When the parts fit properly (which I believe happens most of the time) life is good. I once complained to Bob in person that a part didn't fit properly and he asked if it was one of his parts with his name on it and I told him I was sure it was. He told me to check it then get back to him. Oooops, not his. Got one of his and all was well.

Spent 2 whole days trying to install the window and channels on my 40 tudor rear glass. Finally took them all apart and compared the channels to the originals that I had kept (and should have bead blasted to use again) and found that the pieces were welded together up to 6" off from the originals putting all the geometry out of whack. Ended up cutting and re-welding plus making new rollers as his new ones were non rollers which woujld put a lot of wear on the channels.
I believe I know why this happens having dealt with Taiwan in building boats. Scenario - - - Bob orders 500 gas necks and says they must look like the original. Supplier says "no problem". When Bob gets the shipment it is found that they are not right. Supplier says, no problem, they are close and already made. Bob can then not sell the bad fitting product and lose all the money he has paid out or try to get them out to the market and recoup his money. I have told Bob that I would feel more kind to him if he would in fact tell us when an item is not up to his Bob Drake standard as he has to know it when the shipment arrives. I asked one of his guys at the Puyallup swap meet if they had the misaligned mounting holes on the water pumps and he said he hadn't heard about the problem. That can't really be true and it doesn't instill much confidence in them.

I now feel that anything I buy from ANY supplier is a "good start". Don't take me wrong, I am thankful for effort and hard work of suppliers to fill our parts needs. Just need them to be more up front with us.

My .02

Fourdy

Fordy, In so many words I have expressed your exact argument in regard to quality less than "what's advertised". Many know I have a particular dislike for the way ol' Bob does business. And, while I can appreciate his efforts, too many times, they fall short. What I CAN'T and WILL NOT accept is all the BS that follows.
The bottom line of any wholesale to retail business (which Drake is) is that the person / company selling the stuff is responsible. In this case, Drake does not need to accept parts of lesser quality. Nope, he CHOOSES to.
Stop accepting crap and see how long the folks in China keep churning it out - not long. Keep buying crap and they'll continue to make it.
It IS that easy.

[jfcrash]

Tom,

Are your intensions to make the new filler neck work?? From your photo with one on top of each other, you might try a muffler shop to use their hydraulic tubing bender to line them up.


As far as our part vendors… I am convinced there is one or two manufacturers and two or three wholesalers that our ‘favorite go to’ vendors buy from. Most can’t or won’t tell you where the part is made. I use Mac’s a lot cause they are 13 miles away and I can see it/compare it before I buy it. (In my limited experience …the most helpful/truthful folks I have dealt with has been Dick Spadaro’s V8 Reproductions…JMHO)

Jim

[Royal Ryser]

Tom, I had the same problem.. I had to cut the pipe off to get the right length and also cut a small wedge out of it to get the right bend.
Royal

[flatford8]

I think you can see the difference in you pictures.......Mark

[Mike B]

Curious, what did BD say when you called/informed them...or .....?

[Terry,OH]

I also had to cut the tank end, make an insert to replace the tank end and weld it to the end of the cut neck. At that point I had returned the original I had gotten reordered from Drake, found the identical problem and realized all the aftermarket shops are using the same supplier. Called Drakes a couple of times but their customer support can not handle a problem like this. Since the neck is extremely hard to find NOS I had to modify. A print of the insert I had made is below.

[AnthonyG]

Tanks Inc. tanks have a neck welded on that connects to their filler neck with a heavy large rubber tube and SS hose clamps. You could do the same Idea with your stock tank as long as the collar to tank thread makes a good seal. Cut the BD neck leaving enough on it to connect with tanks rubber connection and either use a Tanks filler neck for about $15 which includes the rubber connector or get a large rubber hose matched and connect to modified BD neck.
Tony

[John Malpais]

Jesus! Naive soul that I am, I confess I always thought the picture of Bob Drake standing next to Henry Ford meant that anything that was shite ended up being flushed and customers were treated with only the very best, number one, always exact reproductions. This whole colloquy has dashed that one to floor and left a pile of shards and dust. So he's just a fat-faced merchant without a conscience and those who work for him are knaves. Oh well. I'll take that to mean I need to search out OEM and slightly used, and repairable stuff to create something with real soul. And, we all know Made in China translates to Dog Shite. Something one should not lower one's boot onto. Out the window with the Bob Drake Catalog.

[47COE]

The V8 Times now has a column about parts that don't match the Ford originals.

You should send this in.

I agree with the other suggestions to have a muffler shop fix it.

[flatheadfan]

Update-

Several responses suggested a muffler shop could bend things for me to get the neck to work on my '36. Well, I tried three muffler shops and they all told me it couldn't be done without crushing the cap end and the threaded collar. So that leaves me with a cut and dice operation. AnthonyG's suggestion seems the simplest approach. At any rate, thanks guys for the suggestions.

Oh yes, I called Bob Drake. Talked to "Cole." He said, "No one else has complained about the '36 neck." However, I can send it back but I must pay the return shipping and will be charged a 10% restocking fee.

Tom

[TagMan]

Funny that you received the only bad one, isn't it ?

[Mike B]

Originally Posted by flatheadfan

I installed a Drake fuel neck on my '36 and as fate would dictate the pipe did not line up with the fender hole. A careful comparison of the outside length of the Drake neck to an original found the lengths exactly the same. However, when you diagonally measure the distance from the cap opening to the tube end you find the Drake diagonal is 11" versus the original diagonal of 10". This difference suggests the bend of the Drake neck is different than an original which explains why it won't line-up with the fender hole. Has anyone else found this problem?

Tom

Ya know, looking at you pics...how is the neck joined into the part that screws into the tank?

It looks as if it not oriented in there correctly..can it be removed, reoriented and welded back in?

[flatheadfan]

Mike-

The neck itself is a continuous one piece. The collar is not attached to the neck. No way to re-orient by cut and welding.

Tom

[TonyM]

Mine would not fit either. I tried to fit it three times. No dice. I cut the new one in half. I took the new threaded sleeve and connected it to the old filler neck with a hose. No problems since.