Reproduction problems

[Barry-ct]

I always try to find NOSfirst before I go with the repo stuff. Some things are just not available NOS. I bought a wndow kit for my truck ( 50 F-1 ) from LMC and it was a Vintique kit. They don't even repack it, just ship it in the Vintique box. The divider bar and rear edge channel were ok, but the horizonal fuzzy strips were not correct contour to the door at all. If that's not bad enough, the retainer clips are in a bag and you have to position them in the correct spot ( hopefully ) and attach them. THey don't stay in the door very well and you have to trim the back edges to fit. I have some originals and they don't match at all. I do appreciate that they are available, but take pride in what you make, it's called craftsmanship. We as consumers pay alot for this stuff, but get poor quality. Same old thing, buy cheap and sell high= big profits. I won't accept anything else from Vintique, there motto is "close enough for Government work" It's not right, but it will sorta fit.

[35 Ford]

Yup ... I recently received the window kit from Macs made by Vintique and the channels that hold the window glass (bottom) were bowed. I managed to straighten them and I am glad that new ones were available!

[G.M.]

Kube being in the manufacturing business for years I'm well aware of the quality of tooling , dies and molds. I manufactured MIG welders for large companies such as Air products, Snap-On and many others for years. I sold the company but they stlll make them for Snap-On for over 30 years. If companies like them had problems with your product and it wasn't resolved promply they would drop you like a hot potatoe fast. What I can't understand is why these old Ford parts dealers keep selling junk parts that don't work or fit. It seems to me if they returned all the bad parts promptly and don't buy more until the quality and or the fit is corrected it will be resolved fast. G.M.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by G.M.

Kube being in the manufacturing business for years I'm well aware of the quality of tooling , dies and molds. I manufactured MIG welders for large companies such as Air products, Snap-On and many others for years. I sold the company but they stlll make them for Snap-On for over 30 years. If companies like them had problems with your product and it wasn't resolved promply they would drop you like a hot potatoe fast. What I can't understand is why these old Ford parts dealers keep selling junk parts that don't work or fit. It seems to me if they returned all the bad parts promptly and don't buy more until the quality and or the fit is corrected it will be resolved fast. G.M.

Apparently & obviously there are many guys that are willing to accept the cr-- that is being sold to them.
Each time this topic comes up there are many that rush to defend the likes of Drake, etc.
Their typical response in their defense is the parts are being made available that otherwise would not be.
While that argument contains a bit of (convoluted) logic, it is not all encompassing.
My problem has always been with sellers that insist their parts are correct and / or perfect copies. One such fellow in this business has used the response " gee, you're the first guy to complain" one too many times. Many of us are long on to that BS. And, many of us would not send this particular business any money.
I say, be honest about what you sell and let the buyer at the very least know he is getting a part that may fit with some rework and may (or may NOT be) correct.
As you are well aware G.M., quality costs money both to produce and to purchase. If the typical person looked beyond how cheap he (or she) could purchase something, places like "Wally World" would not be nearly as successful as they are.
As long as folks are willing to accept cr--, there are those more than willing to take their monies.
As you'd eluded to - if enough folks said NO and returned the garbage, these unscrupulous businesses would be forced to change their practices / products or risk survival.

[G.M.]

Kube I manufactured MIG welders for large companies with their brand names on the machines. Air Products and Snap-On were some of my custormers. I sold the business and the new owners still produce machines for Snap-On and others. We have been makeing welders for Snap-On for over 30 years. These type companies don't tolerate poor quality or problems that aren't resolved promptly. I designed the products, made the prototypes and tested the finished products for reliability. I also made a lot of the tooling and some of the molds. Keeping machined parts to tight tolerances and the quality of finished product before shipping is the key. These machines are heavy and costly to ship so quality and testing is important. I don't understand most of these old Ford parts dealers that continualy keep selling junk parts with all the complaints and returns, this puzzles me. You would think the dealers are a big part of the problem for telling people they have drill, bend or modify the parts in some way. If they sent all of this junk back to the manufacture I'm sure it wouldn't take long before the problems disapeared. G.M.

[columbiA]

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Fisheasy--dist rotor for 42-46 one pce cap is longer than rotor for two piece 46-48 cap.Iwonder if you had the early rotor in late style cap assy.Canadian cars used the 1 piece cap until early 46 according to Ford of Canada parts book.One time I had a C59A with the early 1 piece cap that was hard to start--- turned out it had the short rotor in it.Dont know why they changed to the later style cap assy as the early style is so much easier to work on.

[pbc]

Has anyone installed 41 ford taillights from vintique I had a spare set of drake pads thought I would use them no way so I bought a pair from vintique I had to split the rubber in the middle to stretch them and there still not perfect scratched my new paint job I think I know why someone sold me the taillights I played hell trying to get my runningboard covers to fit and my quarter window rubber that are 4 years old are cracked and look like the ones I took off not happy

[T Scott]

Lots of Vintique bashing here!
I purchased a fair amount of Vintique products from Brattons for my A's and never a missing component or bad fit or scratched item. Maybe Brattons inspects everything before shipping. Could be, for they are a good vendor.
I have also installed two Vintique running board cover sets on my 34's and again, no complaints, good fit, and good quality. I will admit, these are somewhat tedious to install but if the instructions are followed the results are good.
Any decent vendor will give you a heads up on what to expect with their products if you give them a call. They can't stay in business selling junk and maintaining a dialog with their customers (which is you) assures that they, and you, avoid problems. Give em a call before you order. Sometimes these guys are actually fun to talk to.

[tiger.1000]

I'm 100% with Kube on this. Here in the UK we are well aware of the US suing /litigation culture.

Are Vintique and others describing their goods as "wonderful, glorious, guarenteed to fit, as good as new......blah blah blah".....?

If so why don't you join ranks and sue the b-----------s ? That should change their ways.......shouldn't it?

[Bruce Compton, Canada]

Come on guys, this is not rocket science, it's simply supply and demand. As Kube has eluded to, these guys are not about to spend thousands on engineering to redeem hundreds in product sales. They cut corners on design, materials and assembly to market a product that may or may not fit, however most guys put up with the poor product, or end up complaining on these forums. I restore stainless and have seen lots of the so called "perfect fit" stuff that I would not put on a rat rod. Unfortunately the low quality repop stuff has now become the new standard as most guys don't have the time, energy, or maybe even knowledge to actually get a little greasy or attend a major flea market to find the NOS stuff that really is still out there.
As for the other side of the coin, I have been very impressed with some of Carpenters products, especially the rubber extrusions that by the way are made right there in Concord. I purchased a set of Carpenter's roof rail weatherstrips for my '54 Merc. and was expecting an eight hour job of cutting, trimming etc. to change them. The reproduction pieces fit absolutely perfect and the whole job took less than an hour. Too bad I can't say the same for Drake and Vintique stuff. See Y'all at Hershey. Bruce

[37coop]

Originally Posted by Bruce/CT

I also tell my suppliers...NO VINTIQUE SH-T.
My last, of several issue with them was a 36 ford Tail Light housing. No matter what I tried I couldn't get the two screws to line up on the outer chrome glass cover. I finally gave up and found an original at a Flea market. I don't mind doing some fitting but this was hopeless. If we don't send them back they will continue to sell us this SH_T.
That said, now I feel better!!
Happy, Healthy New Year to all,
r Bruce/CT

Bruce , a bit early with the happy new year ?

[Kube]

Here's another one for the "list" that Drake seems to be ignoring.
OIL FILTER CANISTER Decal advertised in his latest catalog... clear as day, right at the top of the page it states "water transfer" and "decal". Cool. I order one. As many of you know, the stickers all the other guys sell do not apply flat and well, once installed, look like poopy.
Anyway, I get the "water transfer decal" and lo and behold, it's a STICKER. Same poopy the others sell.

Oh yeah, $3.60 postage plus that $2 delivery guarantee... whatever that is.

I've stated this publicly many times in the past and will reiterate once more:
Advertise HONESTLY and let me decide whether or not I want to make the purchase. This is NOT about cost. It is about honesty.

[waterboychuck]

I ordered some part for my 46 coupe through C&G and when they arrived I had a lot of boxes with Vintique on them. One was running board covers and the other was the trunk handle assembly. I can say that the running board covers fit was perfect and I could not be happier. The trunk handle assembly also looks perfect but I have not installed it yet. Maybe over that past couple of years they have improved their product but you will not hear me say anything negative about them.

37coop, look at the date of the first post. It's 12-31-2011.

[d.conrad]

Bob Drake parts that they sell are not always top quality like they used to be. And they too sell Vintique junk. What's funny is when we call to say the part doesn't fit like it should they always say,'' We've never had a problem before''. HA HA!!!

[gmc1941]

It's too bad one company can't manufacture all that they sell like Sears.

[JSeery]

Originally Posted by gmc1941

It's too bad one company can't manufacture all that they sell like Sears.

Not sure what you are saying here? As far as I know Sears is an example of a company that manufactures noting, all of their products that carry their name are contracted out to the companies that do manufacture items. Like a Kenmore washer may be built by say Whirlpool (they use 5 different suppliers for washers) with the Kenmore name on it. In turn Whirlpool also makes KitchenAid and Maytag appliances. This is how almost all big supplier operate. I can remember when Sears put their name on everything they sold, now days they tend to sell a lot of products under the actual manufactures name.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by gmc1941

It's too bad one company can't manufacture all that they sell like Sears.

Has Sears ever manufactured anything?

[wisbangman]

I worked for, " Sears " for one summer, in the 70's., while in school. There motto was " Satisfaction guarenteed, or your money back. " We who worked there, changed the motto to, " Satisfaction guarenteed, or your money back " - If you bitch long enough !

[TagMan]

"I am wondering if i should be looking another hobby?"

Well, I guess there's always Golf............

[supereal]

After decades in the hobby, I agree that the quality of parts is going lower. Most producers of these parts have little or no understanding of what they are making overseas. They receive sketches, and interpret them to fit their ability. Outside of Drake and Carpenter, there are very few vendors who actually make their wares. Due to the dwindling stock of NOS items, we have little recourse. As the old car hobby shrinks, it isn't likely to change. We are probably lucky ANY parts are available for our ancient vehicles. As the operator of a longtime shop, let me say that the quality of modern parts is no picnic!