Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[WP6980]

I don't know if it is just me, but I seem to have problems with the quality of replacement parts. I buy from so called "cherished suppliers" and in my experience, parts that are supplied are not always fit for purpose. Most stuff is perfectly good, but every now and then problems arise.

I have raised this with suppliers, but nothing seems to happen, the supplier either does not want to know and buries his head in the sand, or he has genuinely tried to resolve matters but has failed.

In any event, I end up buying parts that are not fit for purpose, often the supplier will provide a refund, but it is only after time & effort has been expended.

The latest example of new parts that don't fit is an exhaust downpipe for an Austin 7.

I believe that there are about 4 variations, depending on the short wheel base and long wheel base cars, high frame & low frame. The flange that mounts at the exhaust manifold is the same for all cars.

Anyway, my existing downpipe was totally rotted though (this had been wrapped with a heat-proof tape which concealed the deterioration), and when I removed it, it just fell apart.

I had the new replacement part and straight away, it was evident that the curve at the front end differed, the existing had a gentle radius, the replacement a much more of a 90-degree bend, the rest seemed vaguely correct.

My car is a daily driver and despite it looking wrong I did not really have much choice other than attempt to fit it.

The first problem was the engine flitch plate, a bolt on item, the aggressive bend meant this could not be re-fitted, so it is off the car at the moment.

The next problem, connecting the pipe to the manifold, the pipe fouled the chassis cross member, trying an alternative connection to the exhaust box first, clears the cross member but is about an inch short of the manifold.

Basically, it does not fit. I thought it was me, but stuck at it, and I found that if I rotated the exhaust box 180-degrees (so basically upside down, the input to the box is off-set), it closed the gap to the manifold by just over 1/4".

So, then using a spacer (an old flange), together with an extra gasket, using longer bolts, I was able to get the exhaust downpipe to fit, BUT the pipe is still in contact with the chassis cross-member, so not ideal.

I can't re-fit the engine flitch plate as it stands.

I contacted the supplier and he offered my money back, which really is not much help. A scan of the internet revealed that this has been an on-going problem, at least from 2017 - 5 years.

The supplier claimed this was the first time anyone had reported a problem to him, which was not actually true, as the 2017 complainant had the exact same downpipe from the same source, he sent he photos of his exhaust and it was the same as mine, so nothing was done and the same rubbish is still being sold.

I don't have pipe bending facilities nor the skill to alter the downpipe (and why should I) and clearly, the exhaust fabricator does not have the necessary skill, or has been given duff template to work with - the suppler says that the downpipes fabricator has been doing this for years... ok, so lots of owners being supplied with parts that simply are WRONG!

I don't expect the supplier to come back to me with positive news, I suspect it will get brushed under the carpet, I know he will refund my money and I will hold him to this.

I have now ordered a length of steel pipe, I have the flange and I am going to find a local exhaust fabricator (I know of one that did work on my other car earlier this year on a modified system) to get them to correctly bend the pipe so it will fit. The old will be a helpful template and they will have the car to align with.

I know the supplier will continue to sell what is effective a part that is not fit for purpose and it seems to me that "cherished suppliers" are untouchable, if you complain publicly, "you don't want to upset them as they won't continue supplying parts" . The suppliers may be enthusiasts, but they are running a business and making a profit, fair enough, but what they sell is required to be of merchantable quality and fit for purpose. The exhaust downpipe is not but nothing is done about it.

This is the latest item, other problems I have experienced are:

transmission fabric joints that are largely rubber and hardly any fabric that fail after 70 miles

double-ended bolts for the fabric joints that are too long and have a radius to the mounting flange when it should be square

posts for clutch release that are over-size

pins for the above that are too long

and so it goes on, new parts that are being made to match original parts should be correctly made, a simple machining job is just that, how can it be so wrong?

I do get fed up with buying stuff that is not right, if the car was obscure and parts were one-off and I was told fettling would be required, fair enough, but for a car that has significant number of survivors and a ready source of original parts to act as a pattern, then the quality of replacement parts should be such that they actually fit!

I know it is not just me, at one time the umbrella club for Austin 7s had a means of reporting problems with wrong parts, but this seems to have fallen by the wayside (one of the options was a "do nothing for fear of upsetting the suppliers"), but there will come a point when I have had enough and just sell the cars and move on to a different hobby. When the age demographic is so skewed to older people and with the need to attract younger people - this is hardly the way forward. Young people have much higher expectations and will expect parts to fit and are less likely to be tolerant of problems that are left unresolved, not good for the future of our cars...
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Gary Edwards

[Bitumen Boy]

I would echo all the above... it's not just the A7 but many cars that have survived in sufficient quantity to spawn "specialists". All too often parts don't fit or are lousy quality, made down to a lowest possible price - often in China now of course - then flogged to enthusiasts / mugs for a premium price with little comeback. You may well get a refund but as all the suppliers are selling the same stuff it doesn't get you very far...

[Ray White]

One reason I sold my Triumph GT6 after many years of ownership was because I found it increasingly difficult to source decent parts. I used this car as a daily driver and therefore couldn't risk it becoming unreliable. Faulty electrical parts were in particular a problem.

It was not, however, until I came to replacing the exhaust that the most annoying thing happened. The tail pipe would not fit properly so I sent it back ...only for another pipe with the same problem to be delivered. After a third attempt failed - and the supplier saying they had not had any complaints before - I resorted to bending the pipe to effect some sort of fit.

Pictures of my otherwise very tidy car show the tail pipe hanging down at an ugly angle.

[ukdave2002]

Welcome to my world!

Sourcing parts to support the pre-war Morris community with spares has become more demanding as the availability of NOS is virtually non-existent these days, so like all other suppliers of classic car spares we have to have stuff manufactured, and that can be challenging:

• Unless you are supporting vehicles such as Morris 1000's or MGB's the manufacturing quantities are not going to be high, so many of the better manufacturers are just not interested.
• Certain products require up-front tooling; Composite Gaskets, Castings, Mouldings etc, Exhausts should be made on jig, these tooling costs can be prohibitive.
• Manufacturers require very clear specifications, dimensions, tolerances together with a proper drawing and these days a CAD version of the drawing, again there is a cost of producing this, frequently what can happen is that rather than producing a clear specification, a sample is sent and its down to the manufacturer to figure out the specifications, this can introduce errors because the sample may not be new or perfect, it may well be an aftermarket component.

So, there is a potential perfect storm; suppliers are limited to manufacturers who are willing to produce low volumes, potentially without a clear specification, set against customers who don't want to pay premium prices especially if the component is being fitted to a non-exotic classic. Exhausts have been mentioned a couple of times, they need to be either made with the car in the workshop to ensure a good fit or made on a jig (with associated costs) and there will always be a risk if you are mixing exhaust components from different aftermarket suppliers; the rear box may not fit because the centre pipe was custom made etc etc!

We are increasing using non-UK manufacturers, more of our spares are made in Turkey & China. What I would say is that you have to be 100% clear on specifications especially when dealing with China, and as long as you are, the products are of high quality at affordable costs, one other thing that we have noticed in dealing with these suppliers is the quality of service; they keep us informed at every stage of the process, and keep their promises regarding time scales, sadly, I have to say that many (not all) UK manufacturers are simply unreliable when it comes to quality of service.

If you are or know of UK manufacturers that could manufacture components for pre-war vehicles, in low to medium volumes let me know.

Dave