Quality of new classic parts

What sort of parts are you talking about here, the only parts I have 'problems' with are non OE body panels and trim - both would be un-economical if produced to OE spec.

Fine is you can, but I suspect you are talking about either very common parts that were fitted across a wide range of vehicles or used over a long time period, there are not going to be many (old stock) Austin / Morris A60 front wings around now for example.

Problem is, a lot of these companies have stopped making the parts, hence they have to come from elsewhere. And if the new maker has to invest in tooling, that's where the extra cost goes when it doesn't go on quality.

Mike.

Absolutely agree. If it's mechanical it will break, if it's structural it will have all the holes drilled in the wrong places and if it's body or trim it won't fit by a mile.

Geoff MacK

I have had a few appalling remanufactured parts, with very poorly machined flanges, non-fitting gaskets, questionable bearings and so on. It does seem to be a problem.

I am stashing items I don't get on exchange so that one day when I have more time, I will have a big reconditioning fest.

Simon

"Real Ale" realised it was Thu, 14 Jul

2005 22:50:26 +0100 and decided it was time to write:

Yep.

Most of it comes from the far east. I suppose we should be glad we can still get any parts at all.

I have a repro front bumper on my Spit. I rejected the first two I was sent. The third and least awful had wire brush marks showing through the thin chrome from new. The old, original bumper only suffers from weathered crome and a nasty ding - one day I'm going to have it welded and rechromed, no doubt at twice the cost of the repro.

The shiny new distributor I bought a few weeks ago looked nice, but it stopped working after three miles due to this:

And the cap has 1-2 degrees of play, but other than that, it's perfect!

Jul

Exactly, it's a sellers market ! :~(

I've just fitted new door seals to a classic car, the new seals were described as replacement door seals - I would call it a kit of parts that can be made to look and function something like the OE seals. There is no reason why the OE seal design could not be re-manufactured (they were manufactured in the first place after all...), EXCEPT that to do so would be totally un-economic for the supplier.

through the

welded

If the repro' part was to the same spec' as the OE part you could be spending twice the cost of re chroming your original part...

perfect!

Both those faults I've come across in the past, on OE parts - perhaps we are just expecting a 'zero percent' failure rate now-days ?

Ironically, the biggest problems we have are with modern ignition components, made in the UK (and often branded under a famous name), and clutches sold by one of the OP's preferred brands. Many of the Indian manufactured brake components are TVS-Girling, some very recognisably from original Girling tooling. Many of the bumpers coming in for the mass market classics are very poor quality, but at quarter of the price of a decent re-chrome, people will always buy them (not something I handle I'm happy to say). I am surprised at the OP's problems with Spitfire panels, most of those currently available are (in my experience) of good quality. The distribution of Steelcraft panels via BMH has somewhat blurred the boundaries of OE versus reproduction panels, but the only real issue which comes to mind is the poor fit of Steelcraft sills - not a problem as OEM is readily available. If there are other bad examples I would be very interested to know. Herald parts are my main line of business, but I inevitably handle a number of Spitfire parts because of the obvious relationship between the two models.If there are bad panels, I'd like to know which ones they are, Cheers, Bill.

Not so. Re-chroming an old part is very labour intensive, since no one re-chromes a perfect item. The old chrome has to be electro-chemically removed, the item repaired and then polished. Before the new chrome is applied. And finishing steel to the standard required to plate properly will often cost more than a new item.

,

electro-chemically

properly

But we are not just talking about the cost of re-chroming, there is the tooling costs to be recouped.

Well, that will be included in the purchase price of the new item, and that's what I was comparing the price of a re-chrome to. Of course there are re-chromes, and re-chromes...

At least you can _get_ a repro bumper. I've been hunting for a replacement rear for my Mk11 A 40 Farina for nearly a year now, twice been outbid on Ebay, but other than that there's nothing, even through the OC.

,

electro-chemically

Err, but we are comparing the cost of cheapo repro' parts with those of OE spec' against the cost of restoring the original part(s) - anyone can turn out a cheap bumper blade stamping (for example) and put it though a chroming plant with little or no prep-work [1], if you consider the cost of tooling to OE spec and then the prep-work that even a new part needs to have a half decent chroming you probably be spending more than someone doing even heavy prep-work on an old bumper blade.

[1] hence the mention of wire bush marks in the OP.

Thanks for the link Bill didn't know you're only a few miles away.

Spitfire panels are not my problem at the moment, it's poor quality odds and sods like a radiator cap, thermostat, exchange starter ( which incidentely has TVS Girling stamped on it ) and a dreadful alloy rocker cover which actually rocks on the head !

I was going to purchase a 'new' full width rad until the guy showed me what looked like a bad recon job covered totally in thick black gloss paint. Do the wide Herald rads fit the Spit ?

Chris

Hi Chris, I've not seen any of the TVS starters, shipping heavy items like that back and forth to India for reconditioning isn't economical, particularly when there are plenty of companies doing the same thing in the UK (with varying quality!). I don't know how many companies are currently producing thermostats and rad caps, most of the latter at least appear to be from a comon (UK) source, I can't say I've had any failures of my own or returned items from customers to date.

Yes, the 21" pre-1967 Herald radiator is basically the same as the Spitfire Mk1/2 design, though the filler neck is angled for the Spitfire. I've never heard of the straight neck being a problem, but I would want to check clearances in case a slight tweak was needed. Cheers, Bill.

check

Well, considering that even the top hose clip can dent the bonnet if placed the wrong way up (never place the worm drive on top of the hose) I suspect that what you say is total bull-**** do you really think Triumph would have gone to the expense of retooling if the existing Herald rad would have done the job ?!...

Well I'll try and respond politely. The hose clip fouling the bonnet is a common GT6 problem, rarely an issue with the Spitfire. As I'm sure a man of your experience is already aware, the Spitfire used a different suspension turret to other cars based on the Herald suspension. The Spitfire turret sites the engine about an inch or so lower than on the GT6, Herald or Vitesse - pardon my vagueness on the exact dimensional difference, it's not really an issue as long as you are aware which parts you're using. There have been many badly rebuilt Spitfires over the years where an uninformed restorer has used parts from another vehicle, perhaps it was on such a car that your bonnet was damaged by a misplaced hose clip? There are several mounting points for the radiator, so some leeway is available. Obviously it's desireable to mount the radiator at the highest point possible, but airlocks aren't generally a problem with the Spitfire cooling system. As I said in my previous post, checking clearances is always advisable, I find the "total bull-****" accusation incomprehensible. The filler neck has never been an issue on any of the Spitfires I've dealt with, nevertheless, take care. Chers, Bill.

really

Yes, and it was the GT6 I was thinking about, unreserved apologies.

Have you still got the old one ? Just get it re-cored.

Or have one custom made from scratch - that's surprisingly cheap these days.

With the introduction of the Mk3 Spitfire, the radiator was reduced from 21" to 14" width. The later radiator is adequate for the 1296cc cars when in good condition, it's at best marginal for the later 1500s. Unless I was restoring a late Spitfire to original spec for concours (unlikely), I wouldn't consider spending money on the small radiator. Cheers, Bill.