[War eagle]

Finally ready to set the 4 core radiator into the core support and those nice looking insulators at 12.00 plus shipping are junk!! Thanks Ames. Too long, Tabs in wrong place, Tabs are way smaller than the holes in the support. Part#P120A. I have the originals and no way are they close to the "will fits" Ames supplied. I have run into a lot of aftermarket junk thru this resto and glad its about over and the frustration. How the F--K could these be in anyones inventory.

[hakansan]

Where You changing from 3-core to 4-core radiator?

[Ccass]

Originally Posted by War eagle

Finally ready to set the 4 core radiator into the core support and those nice looking insulators at 12.00 plus shipping are junk!! Thanks Ames. Too long, Tabs in wrong place, Tabs are way smaller than the holes in the support. Part#P120A. I have the originals and no way are they close to the "will fits" Ames supplied. I have run into a lot of aftermarket junk thru this resto and glad its about over and the frustration. How the F--K could these be in anyones inventory.

How about taking a deep breath and helping yourself and our hobby instead of just blindly venting on our new host who keeps these forums going. ?

What model do you have? What year do you have? What engine did you have originally? AC or non AC car?

How about a picture of the bracket and the insulator in the position that got you so frustrated.

[War eagle]

Actually ccass my purchase from Ames dates 30 years and 6 GTO`s. And as a general rule and if you take in to consideration the thousands of repro parts Ames shelves, then by and large they have done a wonderful job. My frustration is the fact that as I wind down this 6 year project, the junk, yes junk that is still being sold and NOT CORRECTED is disheartening. You try and keep ahead of what you will be needing as you reassemble the project, go to the shelf and you find that the ordered part is way wrong. Now a wait of 1 1/2 weeks maybe getting the correct parts, regardless what you do.
No ccass if anyone is blindly striking out...that would be you. The car is an original A/C car and retains all of the original one owner components including core support and 4 inch radiator. Ccass did you check the part number I listed? Did you ever have a 64 A/C car? Did you think before you commented? Did you think that you were the only one that ever had trouble with these parts and check it out? Yup blindly striking out would be you and not someone loyal to Ames.

[My442]

Bad parts and bad vendors need to be called out.

I agree 100% with War Eagle.

[Heybuck]

Originally Posted by Ccass

How about taking a deep breath and helping yourself and our hobby instead of just blindly venting on our new host who keeps these forums going. ?

What model do you have? What year do you have? What engine did you have originally? AC or non AC car?

How about a picture of the bracket and the insulator in the position that got you so frustrated.

All very fair and reasonable questions Ccass. Only one of which Mr "War-Eagle" decided to answer (AC car)

I think you can simply say he must have been having a bad day. Either that or his hemorrhoids are troubling him....

Bad parts and bad vendors do need to be called out but there are better ways to express yourself

[Ccass]

Originally Posted by War eagle

Actually ccass my purchase from Ames dates 30 years and 6 GTO`s. And as a general rule and if you take in to consideration the thousands of repro parts Ames shelves, then by and large they have done a wonderful job. My frustration is the fact that as I wind down this 6 year project, the junk, yes junk that is still being sold and NOT CORRECTED is disheartening. You try and keep ahead of what you will be needing as you reassemble the project, go to the shelf and you find that the ordered part is way wrong. Now a wait of 1 1/2 weeks maybe getting the correct parts, regardless what you do.

If what you said above was your original topic post, I don't think anyone would have a problem with your post and your frustration. In your first post members simply see a selfish act of frustration. Above, I read and now see the real reason and justification for your frustration.

If you've been on the forums for a long time, you'll know that my motivations have nothing to do with our affiliation with Ames or anyone else for that matter. I've defended some of my biggest competitors over the years for similar reasons.

This community exists to foster the advancement of the Pontiac hobby.

As members, we all have a social responsibility to this community. Your first post was and will always be considered at the very least irresponsible in this community.

That being said, If you've been involved for 30 years and 6 GTO's worth, I can certainly sympathize. I agree, there's been a LOT of poor reproduction parts in this hobby. But the first post makes suppliers want to give up. The 2nd post you made is the type that stimulates acknowledgement and responsibility by suppliers to try and affect change and improvement of products.

With all of the bad experiences you may have had over the years in completing your restorations, the reality is that the availability of parts has dramatically improved and the quality of many parts has dramatically improved as well. The improvement came from posts like your 2nd one. That's all I'm saying. :)

[LASJayhawk]

Could be the parts are wrong, or it could be an issue with a change nobody knows about.

In my limited world, 65-66 B bodies, there were a number of mostly well documented suspension changes. But there are weird plant variations like the CA built cars having the radio antenna cable misrouted. An extra nut on the heater box under the evap case on most of the KC and CA cars... Weird stuff like that.

If these parts have fit other vehicles in the past it might be helpful for the vendor to know build date, assembly plant, and identify if the frame is an A. O. Smith or Parish Pressed Steel. It is possible there could be a combination of the above that requires a different part.

[nhpontiac72]

Warpath I am sorry to hear about you frustration with the insulators. I have on my desk a repro and the original it was made from. Other than the locater pins being .040 smaller the repro is a match. This diference does not effect fit or functionality. Originals will appear molded in a "U" shape but they were in fact molded flat. After 40+ years they take shape of the bracket. To instal repro I put the pins in the bracket holes first this creates a "W" side profile then push down on the center and it seats into the bracket nicely. It is a bit tricky, when you first look at them they look to long.
We really try our best to offer quality product. We have quality notes throughout our catalog and system trying to prevent any surprises. We are not just selling the product we are also the end users like our customers,Pontiac owners and enthusiasts. This helps us better serve you the customer. If anyone has any problems or concerns please notify us asap so that we have a chance to address it. In this case it seems to just be a tricky install.

[War eagle]

Thankyou NHpontiac74. Great to have a staffer join in here. Again greatful for your comments. The discussion has brought ccass to bezaar statements of his own irresponsible jump at conclusions without investigation and Heybuck to be obsessed with other peoples anus`s, which is disturbing to say the least. I guess he is FROM DOWN UNDER as he notes in his avitar.

I will be recieving a couple NOS 539476 insulators in a couple days. (can`t seem to locate a 3rd NOS example) A visit with the gent indicates that your insulators ARE the same length, 4 5/16 also verified in the early 1964 Master Parts Cat. The pins may be mislocated in the repro and definitiely are way small which exposes almost 1/2 of the anchor hole and does not secure the insulator to the core support.
I also have semi-access to the 1964 Tempest Product Guide which is more than the assembly manual but also shows engineering drawings and revisions. I don`t own this but must submit any questions and then wait. The 50 year old pages were poor even then having been printed on very thin paper stock. I have requested a copy of any drawings serving 539476. I can report back if anyone has an interest.

Again NH I appreciate your comments and GOOD LUCK with the PY acquisition.

[nhpontiac72]

War Eagle If you do get the prints I would like to see them. I don't like how much of the hole is showing once the pin is installed. Next run we will look into changing the diameter. Thanks

[melemans]

I am not bashing Ames here. I am just stating that I recently purchased the 4-core bracket kit from Ames. The insulators will work, however, the tabs are really loose in the holes. It probably won't matter much after the radiator is installed. With that said, I would prefer an insulator that fits as it is supposed to. If anyone knows where to get better fitting insulators, please post where they can be purchased. I like Ames and buy most of my parts from them.