[wd45gto]

i know that most after market parts are probably made outside the USA . i received my 64 tri power waterneck the other day and the wrapper said "made in Taiwan" on it .i wish they would of taken that off before shipping to me or stated that in the catalog.kinda makes me sick to have crap made in taiwan on my motor.

i believe it should state were a part is made so i can decide if i want to buy it or find a used one.am i wrong?

i would have sent it back but i need it right now, but you can bet im gonna be looking for another one soon

[Old Blue 66]

Yea, I kinda have to agree. If what ever car you ave has managed to survive 20, 30, 40 or even 50 years, it deserves a quality part made here at home.

I'd be willing to bet that many of the repops made for our old cars are made over outside the US though.

[tooski]

I've ordered from Summit, Classic Industries, SDPerformance. When I get an invoive it usually states where the part is made. Very few parts are North American made. Sucks, but what can you do? ( Was really surprised to see that my multi keyway timing set was from Australia.)

[Kevspontiacs@aol.com]

when the clerk at the parts store tells me he has 3 grades of the parts that im lookin for and ask which one i want i always tell them i want the one made in the good ol'USA.
i realize that it might be more money but its worth it.

prime example is the oil pump drive in my 76 T/A. the previous owner put an overseas one in, it breaks and i have to pull engine. I bought one from Mellings that was made here. the cost was around $5 (iirc). So how much was really saved in the first place?

[Ben M.]

Would you have paid twice as much to have it made in the USA?

[Ed Fitzgerald]

Back in spring of '85 I took a tour with a buddy of mine on our way back from Florida of the Corvette plant In Bowling Green. I was driving an '84 vette( GM executive buy back car) so when they saw the sticker in the windshield (GM executive) they treated us royally and gave us the "Dollar tour as opposed to the 10 cent tour everyone else gets". He happened to show us some calipers and they were night and day difference in appearance and overall aesthetics. He asked me if I knew the difference between the 2 when I commented out loud to him. I said no and he proceeded to tell although they both were technically "American made" the better of the 2 was from Australia/New Zealand and the other Mexico. Both rotors were shipped to GM plants in the US and he said the bleeder screw was left untapped or threaded and was finished in the states. He said because of this it was considered an unfinished raw part and because the last set of hands that touched it was American it could be sold as American made. How true this was /is I cannot attest to the validity but it would sure make some sense 30 yrs later. Ed

[My442]

Originally Posted by Ben M.

Would you have paid twice as much to have it made in the USA?

Yup

I will pay Americans to rebuild/refurbish GM parts, or I will buy USA made at 2x or 3x the price.

Flame away......

[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by Ed Fitzgerald

Both rotors were shipped to GM plants in the US and he said the bleeder screw was left untapped or threaded and was finished in the states. He said because of this it was considered an unfinished raw part and because the last set of hands that touched it was American it could be sold as American made. How true this was /is I cannot attest to the validity but it would sure make some sense 30 yrs later. Ed

This is true. You are allowed to bring in certain parts and have them touched up or finished by American hands, and thus label it "Made in the USA." Some places have taken to saying "Made in USA with foreign source parts" to distinguish, but many don't.

Originally Posted by My442

I will pay Americans to rebuild/refurbish GM parts, or I will buy USA made at 2x or 3x the price.

Flame away......

No flames here. That's nice that you say that, but 99 out of 100 Americans will not do this. Listen to how often people on these forums complain about the price of restoration parts and how often "great ideas" to reproduce certain items that the market REALLY wants don't get off the ground because no one wants to pony up $350-500 for the part. We pay lip service to wanting American made parts, but when the chips are down most people won't pay the money for them even if they were available - even from China in some cases.

[Lemans64]

Was looking into 1/4 panels for my lemans, tried Goodmark and others, both were made in Taiwan. No choices.

[saltman 1965]

Have to agree with Ben on this. I don't think its 99 out of 100 but a major portion of the American public price is their main concern.Sometimes we are or own worst enemies.

[4GTOSplus]

the starter of one of the largest Pontiac repro parts co back in the late 70's began to search for suppliers in the US and was set back mostly because the quantity of parts were not large enough or simply did not want to do it. Also all the us company required a blue print of the part. He did reproduce a large number of pieces on his own. After much frustration he was told to go to Tiawan, there are people there that will make anything in any quantity so he did. He gave them the part to repro and after a few tries and tweeks an exact piece was born without red tape.Thus the start of many repro parts we have on our cars today.This thing about overseas parts in not new it's been going on for a long time. Now for me just seeing a tag from anywhere but China is refreshing. When was the last time you got a part from Japan or Mexico? Consider Taiwan as close as you can get to a American part for an older restoration.

[arbys]

On another Forum that I'm on one of the main contributors, a GM employee, was assigned to China for 2-3 years to get them in compliance with what necessary to meet the GM criteria. He stated that they can manufacture any part, not body parts, to the highest level possible if they are given the correct parameters and are willing to pay the cost. It doesn't have to be junk and the suppliers need to communicate that. Another problem that they had initially was conversion form metric to the US Customary system and how far do you carry out the decimal point.

[FrankieT/A]

I don't know how many people know this, but Walmart as of a couple of years ago made up over 2% of our GNP. That's huge! And nobody really comes close. Where do you think a majority of their products come from?

Do you guys remember when something made in Japan was garbage? Nowadays you can't even find anything made in Japan!! Ironically they feel it too. LOL

[GTOGreg]

Originally Posted by wd45gto

i know that most after market parts are probably made outside the USA . i received my 64 tri power waterneck the other day and the wrapper said "made in Taiwan" on it .i wish they would of taken that off before shipping to me or stated that in the catalog.kinda makes me sick to have crap made in taiwan on my motor.

i believe it should state were a part is made so i can decide if i want to buy it or find a used one.am i wrong?

i would have sent it back but i need it right now, but you can bet im gonna be looking for another one soon

So, good news, things are starting to change, though slowly. More and more stuff is being "onshored', or at least "near-shored", and it is driven in small part through patriotism, but mostly through wage increases in the parts of the world that we've transformed from 3rd word countries to industrialized nations. Now they want more for their work and to build their factories, so it becomes more attractive to use our beleaguered workforce here (basic supply/demand). The fact that the Chinese have killed 500+ dogs with defective treats, poisononed and killed humans with lead tainted cheap painting and melamine food "product", and have screwed probably everyone on this board at one point or other (and probably multiple times) with sub-par products sold at a premium (to pad corporate top lines of course), then it is no surprise that we are buying their wares at a lesser rate. The Taiwanese, though an ally, aren't any better IMO. The way to stop it is to STOP BUYING CHINESE CRAP. Tell your friends and family that Chinese stuff is sub-par and bad for our country. The government won't do it, that would seem kinda weird given that we owe the Chinese gov't TRILLIONS in debt. Banish the companies that sell the crap. Case in point, I was recently in the market for a set of Torq Thrust style wheels for my GTO. By God the AMERICAN Racing TTO is made in CHINA! Nope, don't need them that bad. When it comes time to consider again, I'll pay a bit more to buy Vintage Wheel Works or other American company that builds product here with American workers.

Don't buy the stuff and they will go away. We still owe them money though, LOL - stay tuned for a war on that one when they start to throw around their weight with all the leverage they now have.

[2002Z4CSS]

Originally Posted by Ben M.

Would you have paid twice as much to have it made in the USA?

Yep, and better quality too. Just like what Toby Keith says in his song.

[Goathead]

The majority of the aftermarket parts I have bought are made somewhere else. Recently bought some taillight bezels for my '65 GTO, made in China, and nowhere else. And if you buy any electronics , especially a TV, then you have no choice at all....

[ctgross]

Hell, I couldn't even find a damn shovel made in the USA!

[My442]

I will go to yard sales or on e-Bay to buy USA made stuff.

The quality of stuff has really deteriorated.

My sons bought me a large Craftsman tool set for Christmas.

I compared the fit and finish of the new set to a set I bought 30 years ago - No Comparison!

The newer set had poor machining and average chrome.

Most people would not care, but I do.

The decline continues, and most folks are happy with mediocre stuff.

[dstaege]

I Very Much Agree With Youre Statement On This. These Cars Were Built In America And So Was I. Iam Dead Set Against Buying Foreign Parts And Any Other Products For Any Application Unless There Is No Way Around It! Most All Of It Is Garbage Anyway!

[My442]

I needed to replace the blower motor on my car.

A chineseum motor from the parts store was $30.

I took my Delco blower motor, and sent it to Casey's Auto Electric in Michigan.

It cost $75, buy I have a USA made part, refurbished by a USA shop.

Did the same thing for my heater core, starter, alternator, radio, gauges, etc.

Yeah, it costs more, but I sleep better at night......