Now it's junk from Carpenter!

[Kube]

Originally Posted by 19Fordy

Wonder where the parts will come from when DRAKE and Carpenter are gone?
Will that be the beginning of the end of restoring old Fords?

The beginning of the end? I believe we are already spiraling towards the end. Last time I checked, prices are going down, down, down. It's the old economic rule of supply vs. demand.
the supply is rising every day while the demand is lowering.

[philipswanson]

The smaller vendors that make stuff in the USA tend to have much better quality anyway. A big company like Drake selling piss poor quality will not be missed. Now that the Corona virus has taken hold, vendors will learn they can't depend on China. Good ridens. That goes for other imports as well like new cars and parts.

[Tim Ayers]

Originally Posted by Juergen

Perhaps we have grown to expect excellence from the vendors. In restoring a 39 Ford Standard, I got two sets of used hood side panels (made by Ford) which differed by 1/4 of an inch so I mixed and matched to get the best fitting pair. In the late 50s most of the repro was poor quality from Argentina or functional stuff from vendors like Ricks. We made do as a NOS original was unobtainable. In restoring a 64 GTO, one vendor has noted that some of his products were not totally correct but the best he could get. So you were forewarned that some rework may be required should this be the best you can get. Maybe our V8 catalogs need such a disclaimer.

I think a disclaimer is a fair way to go. Customer can't say they weren't told.

I think Kube's issue was having to pay for shipping back due to poor quality.

[DavidG]

That's a pretty widespread practice (the returnor paying for return shipping), although there are notable exceptions like Amazon.

[Kube]

Originally Posted by DavidG

That's a pretty widespread practice (the returnor paying for return shipping), although there are notable exceptions like Amazon.

Widespread or not, do you believe when someone sells crap (in this case knowingly) the consumer should suffer a loss?
I was taught early on that although "everyone is doing it" doesn't necessarily equate to "it" being correct.

[Phil Gillespie]

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

And 'down under" to pay return shipping can many times be uneconomical.
You just have to take a hit and grin and bare it.
So important to use the recommended suppliers to get the best deal.
Phil NZ

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Phil Gillespie

And 'down under" to pay return shipping can many times be uneconomical.
You just have to take a hit and grin and bare it.
So important to use the recommended suppliers to get the best deal.
Phil NZ

"Taking the hit" is not an issue. I can afford the $12.
The issue is the lack of ethics.

[Don W/Norfolk]

Ethics! Do they exist anywhere today? Or, am I being too cynical, again? dw

[Kube]

Originally Posted by Don W/Norfolk

Ethics! Do they exist anywhere today? Or, am I being too cynical, again? dw

I don't believe you are being cynical. Rather, I believe you are being realistic.
When Mr. Carpenter ran that business a guy could except to be treated "right".
That was a primary reason I'd worked primarily with his company
for the past 4 - 5 decades.

[34FordFabricator]

As many of you know I manufacture and sell parts for 1933 1934 Fords. I take extra time and effort to make them correct and perfect. I test all parts for fit and finish and use NOS examples to take my measurements from. So because of all of this quality I put into the parts I have to charge more for them. So what do you think the results are. No one will purchase my parts. If I threw them together they would complain. If I put the quality in them everyone feels there to expensive. So what does everyone want. There are a few guys out there that want them because they demand only the best but that is not the norm. My goal in life is that if I do only one thing right in my life it will be to restore my car with the best parts and workmanship available.
Bill Monzo

[rotorwrench]

I applaud anyone fabricating parts as good as Ford did for any model. When I was purchasing parts for my Model A years ago, I started doing business with Bratton's for the simple reason that they would put it in there catalog what they felt about the quality of the parts available with a warning if it wasn't at least as good as Ford's OEM. Most of them don't send out catalogs like they used to since there on line catalog is there on the web-site. The warnings aren't always there anymore.

Folks should mention this stuff and tell you how it's lacking or they shouldn't offer it up. At least that way you can't blame them. They are just trying to sell the best part available to them. Few of them actually manufacture this stuff. Even if they are involved, they still farm it out to be done and results aren't always what folks want. There should be truth in their advertising.

[V8COOPMAN]

Originally Posted by 34FordFabricator

As many of you know I manufacture and sell parts for 1933 1934 Fords. I take extra time and effort to make them correct and perfect. I test all parts for fit and finish and use NOS examples to take my measurements from. So because of all of this quality I put into the parts I have to charge more for them. So what do you think the results are. No one will purchase my parts. If I threw them together they would complain. If I put the quality in them everyone feels there to expensive. So what does everyone want. There are a few guys out there that want them because they demand only the best but that is not the norm. My goal in life is that if I do only one thing right in my life it will be to restore my car with the best parts and workmanship available.
Bill Monzo

Bill....Even though you're not being swamped with orders, you can damned sure be proud to offer pieces that you know require no excuses. You've endeavored to offer serious parts for the truly "serious" connoisseur. DD

[hotrodart]

Originally Posted by Kube

I don't believe you are being cynical. Rather, I believe you are being realistic.
When Mr. Carpenter ran that business a guy could except to be treated "right".
That was a primary reason I'd worked primarily with his company
for the past 4 - 5 decades.

You can now vote with your wallet with a clear conscience......buy from someone else....if there actually is someone else to buy from. Otherwise your choice is go without, make your own, or suck it up.


The demographics are working against us old V-8 guys......economics realities.......hard to accept, but nevertheless true.

[woodiewagon46]

You hit the nail on the head hotrodart, back in the '70s and '80s there were probably 10 or 12, V-8 Fords ether being restored or hot rodded within a 10 mile radius of my house. Some of us would visit each others shop all the time. Today, I don't know of one person in my entire area, that is restoring a car or building a street rod. Reality, but sad.

[goshencars]

I bought hinges from Mac's are they were terrible. They were tight and when I tried to free them up two of the arms came off. They were formed wrong and when I checked the hole sizes I discovered the both end of the arms are punched 3/8" but they used 5/16" rivets. My originals had 3/8" for the hood end and 5/16" for the rivets. I ended up using the old arms on the new hinges. The holes in the arms weren't worn to bad and I used the new rivets. Mac's are junk too.

[supereal]

I have been buying from Carpenter for years without problems. They manufacture many of the hard to find parts, and like other vendors, they also stock parts from others. Parts made by Dennis Carpenter's company are top quality, particularly made "in house" rubber parts. I can't say that for many others.

[Tinker]

Can I bitch about millennials and hair buns too? Buy a part if you can find it or deal.

If you are hanging on to 6x of something... sell it. You only need 1 backup.


.

[Rudolph]

a year or 2 ago I got Carpenter water pump gaskets witch actuality wicked coolant trough them, normal paper wouldn't even do that

[Tinker]

Don't be petty.... Make your own. Gasket material is available from napa.

[tiger.1000]

Maybe before making a purchase ask the vendor for a description of the quality. If it turns out to be rubbish just "sue the ass off 'em" ?