[Sport69]

I just received my new dome lght base and wire terminals from our sponsor and guess what, the first wire I tried to attach to the terminal it snapped right off with no trouble at all, isn't that just great! I don't know how many of you are out there in the same boat with me, but i'm certainly fed up with the quality of the parts I receive. I don't have enough fingers and toes to keep track of how many times this has happened, but the time i've wasted having to wait on replacements, or track them down from another source only to end up with the same quality, is ridiculous! My time is valuable to me, especially any free time I get, and to have to spend it in such a way infuriates me! I sent our sponsor an email stating the same so i'm sure come Monday i'll be getting the generic reply, whoopie! Sorry guys just venting, and this will probably get bumped, but i'm just a little fed up. I think i'll try and pry open my old ones if I can and re-use them, they're 10 times stronger than the replacements.

[muscle_collector]

i agree completely.

[Cammer-6]

I for one am tired of trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
When are these vendors going to get it?

[marshallbeach]

We need a Forum dedicated to "Reproduction Part Quality". There are some nice parts being reproduced, but there are also a lot of parts that are poorly made.
Another bad thing is, I'm starting to see low quality, used reproduction parts showing up at swap meets mixed in with the OEM parts.

[RA1John]

My recent experience...

Bought an M&H Dash Wiring Harness for dad's 64 GTO.
Went to connect the connector to Ignition Switch and one of the plastic connector tabs broke off while sliding it over/onto the rim of the Ignition Switch. Fortunately, I have a few spare harnesses and was able to re-use an original connector (which is a much softer/stronger plastic). Also noted that silk-screen printing on repro Fuse Box is weak/thin/degraded compared to 48 yr old original.

REPRO SHEET METAL OBSERVATION:
A friend who does top-notch restorations has shown me several repro fenders & doors with major stamping/forming/size issues. Very weak character lines (soft; not crisp as originals).
Repro company reply: "Practically every panel on every car varied 40yrs ago; It's impossible to get everything right and match all body lines." I realize fit & finish 40 yrs ago was not like it is today however, I'm pretty sure the form or character lines was pretty consistent. Here's what I think is the root-cause for soft character lines and gap-fit problems w/most repro sheet metal: Major suppliers buy up the remaining NOS sheet metal and use these as molds for the repro stuff. Problem with this is, most NOS sheet metal was stamped 10-15 yrs AFTER the production version of that part and dies lose their 'crisp' edges. I once had an NOS '64 GTO Hood that was purchased in the early 70s from GM. The center character line was horrible; Crest Emblem had a huge gap when installed.

SUGGESTION: Use original, production level sheet metal when making dies and verify with original examples BEFORE you sell the parts.

If a company is going to the trouble of making a reproduction part, how about investing a little bit of research, quality control and verification BEFORE you sell the parts? Sure, we're desparate for parts but not it they require more work than making an original work.

Do it right or don't do it at all.

[Cammer-6]

never mind quality control
good examples
64 GTO hood inserts were short one rib
70 GTO dash trim the same

[UPC-WU2]

Originally Posted by RA1John

If a company is going to the trouble of making a reproduction part, how about investing a little bit of research, quality control and verification BEFORE you sell the parts? Sure, we're desparate for parts but not it they require more work than making an original work.

Do it right or don't do it at all.

This says it all.
Why bother taking the time and effort and expense to reproduce a part that doesn't fit, or look right?

[frankyboy455]

When I go see a car for sale or look at a car at a cruise night and the guy is soooooooooo proud to tell everyone: "everything's brand new", I just feel sorry for the guy (or more for the car). I know sometimes we don't have much choice. Repro parts are part of the game but every time I can avoid them, I do. I much prefer a repaired factory original fender than a brand new repro. I prefer seeing a slightly pitted original bumper than a shiny new repro bumper that's as thin as a fender...

[68lemansman]

Originally Posted by Sport69

I just received my new dome lght base and wire terminals from our sponsor and guess what, the first wire I tried to attach to the terminal it snapped right off with no trouble at all, isn't that just great! I don't know how many of you are out there in the same boat with me, but i'm certainly fed up with the quality of the parts I receive. I don't have enough fingers and toes to keep track of how many times this has happened, but the time i've wasted having to wait on replacements, or track them down from another source only to end up with the same quality, is ridiculous! My time is valuable to me, especially any free time I get, and to have to spend it in such a way infuriates me! I sent our sponsor an email stating the same so i'm sure come Monday i'll be getting the generic reply, whoopie! Sorry guys just venting, and this will probably get bumped, but i'm just a little fed up. I think i'll try and pry open my old ones if I can and re-use them, they're 10 times stronger than the replacements.

I just got the email from ups that my dome light from our host will be delivered on monday to my house. Yes of course its a brand new dome light I ordered about two months ago. I guess I should be careful not to break it.

[Greg Reid]

That's why I've formed the opinion that when looking at a project car with an eye to purchase, completeness of the car is as important as condition. Repair is a lot of work but- The less you have to replace the better.

[Cammer-6]

this hobby has gone a long way.

First 68 I was redoing had a rust hole in the floorboard.
No one made floorpans,most reproduction parts were minor
trinket stuff like rubber door bumpers,decals etc.
PY was only doing steering wheels,YO had a Xerox 30 pgs catalog of fiberglas
parts.
Fast forward to today.....
I finished up a guys 67 droptop Bird that the only OEM sheetmetal left was the floorpans and firewall.
Car fit together like Sh#t no matter what was done.
To the untrained eye the car looked good,and was a showpiece,but was a total nightmare to put together.

I have a saying: Lifes too short to restore a rusty car.
Greg,I agree with you 100%

As for the Chinese junk,I dont see it getting any better.

[350BIRD400]

I agree 100%. We started on our 68 Bird rebuild about 2 months ago and have purchased parts from California, midwest to east coast. Some of these parts are hardly worth using, I'm trying to use what parts are original on the car but still need some replacements.
The "Reproduction Part Quality" list is an excellent idea, much like a list on deadbeat tenants for landlords to check and save time and lots of headaches.

[rusty67]

Its all a crapshoot. My quarters were repop and the drivers was great but the passenger fit like crap. The body line and wheel arch were full of waves. Then there was the doorskins. Again the drivers side was great. The passenger side was wavy and the line wasnt crisp. All goodmark parts.

[Sport69]

Just fininshed puting in my e-brake assembly and hooking up my emergency brake cable that I got from Classic Industries, and guess what, I had to Dremel the heck out of the end to get it to fit over my original emergency brake assembly. The end was a good 1/16" oversized and wasn't even close to fitting through the slot. Quality control, who needs it, we the customer can modify all thier crap for them while they charge us an arm and leg for the privilege! Don't these people check anything before they finish it off and ship it out? More b.s. to take up more of my time just because there's no accountability!

[Cammer-6]

This is a very big part of the problem.
We have learned to take this in stride and swallow the big pill.
Vendor"this is all there is take it or leave it"
Buyer"I guess its better than nothing,I'll lump it and smile"

It so often puts both of these guys on the spot.
Do we send the ill fitting cheap azz goods back,
only to find out we are the only ones that complained?

[rohrt]

I have had my fair share of crap parts. The worst part is you get a $20 part and find out its crap and then its not worth the time or money to send it back.

[66Post]

I was in the LA area on business a couple of years ago and stopped by OPG in Seal Beach looking to buy a pair of repoped 66 head light bezels. Had to go through 6 boxes till I found a pair that where acceptable to me. I bought them and am happy with them, If I had ordered them, who knows how many times I would have had to return them till I got what was acceptable. QA on these particular items is non existing.

[56rdstr]

If we all start sending parts back they maybe they will get the hint, but if we just vent or talk about the poor quality control nothing will change.

[daves57]

i fixed all my original stuff and only had to order an inner fender well, year one sent me one that wouldnt fit, sent it back got one from ames that was very good and fit nice

[Goat & Chicken Farmer]

I will take my turn to chime in on this subject. We,(dad and I) are doing his 71 GTO and this being the first ground up restoration for us, we are learning a lot of things the hard way, like the rear quarter window seals. The first set we got didn’t fit well at all in the radius area so after calling and talking to the supplier, they "found" a set that fit the radius of a replacement quarter real well, so we sent the first ones back and waited for the next set. The next set arrived and the fit was better but still not right and the holes didn’t match up. It took ten hours of massaging one side to get it to look right and about 4 hours on the other side. We admired our work for about two weekends while we prepped the rear windows for installation. Once the rear quarter windows were installed and adjusted properly, there is about a 1/16 inch gap between the window and the seal at the radius. WTF...after comparing the new part with the original, we can see that the rubber that contacts the window is not as wide as the original, if it were there would be no issue. Now dad wants to try to find NOS or some that are closer to being correct, which takes way more time than actually installing them and finding NOS is probably imposable. Another lesson learned is, if you are going to replace the springs in one bucket seat, you better replace them in the other seat as well or they wont look the same when you put the new foam and seat covers on. Oh, and don’t pull too hard at the seams, even the legendary covers' seams tear. $75 for repair!