Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[alastairq]

Viet Nam?
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Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
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Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[Rusty]

"DON"T FOOL YOURSELF"
The Chinese can make things just as good and at the moment less than half the price of Western competitors!

When I was in China we went to the Guangzhou trade fair which has to be one of the biggest such fairs in the world, and the high quality things available was "mind bending"! The trouble for us is that with a "planned economy" they have the privilege of paying their workers close to nothing to man industry's that are at an international level destroying "us" with what are actually very high quality products only spoilt by a few shortcuts in the manufacturing process. Unlike India which is mostly building things their own population can use at a basic level, the Chinese are going all out modern and producing things the West just can't reproduce at the same cost! There has to be a time of reconning, because "we" can't let it keep on going indefinitely, it's just unsustainable!

[Ray White]

[Ray White]

[ukdave2002]

[Rusty]

[quote="ukdave2002"
We placed a smallish order, thinking that if it never turned up or only good for scrap we wouldn't be a fortune out of pocket.

The order arrived and visually looked fantastic, nice rolled threads and they had added a corrosion protection to the studs. I took one to a mate who lectures mechanical engineering at a local college, they have all sorts of machines that can do proper testing, and that was all thumbs up.

I have commented this on this before; there is an onus of responsibility on the purchaser to specify exactly what they require, saying we want some M10 100mm head studs is not a specification, and you will get what ever the lowest cost option is.

We now use them for various simple mechanical fittings, and to date not had any issues.[/quote]


Dave, I think you are having the same response at an "actual" experience of what the Chinese can do when western buyers are willing to do things at what the "Chinese" consider "fair" pricing, usually a lot less than comparable services locally. When I spent three days at the trade fair there were countless examples of "good quality" things there for sale at budget prices, but most western buyers don't go to China for "good value" they go for "cheap" and the Chinese can make it as cheap as you want but the quality drops to very low. One of the trade stands I remember well was a company that were selling "slogging spanners" you know the type used in heavy industry where a short stocky ring spanner with a short handle sticking out that you hit with a sledge hammer to loosten or tighten very large nuts. They had about a 2 1/2" spanner set up on a rigid stand mounted on a sheet of heavy steel plate, and a large sledge hammer there that any passer by could hit the spanner with, and a lot including me did exactly that, and I never saw that break the entire time we were there. They can build very high quality if the price is right.
I know in the old stationary engine scene a lot of blokes who need something unusual are gettings scans of what they need made done and then emailing them to firms in China who are either "printing" them with 3D printers, or using that scan to make a pattern and cast replacements, all being done remotely with nobody traveling to another country. Its the "versatility" they are building in to production of things that the West is having trouble competing with. I don't know where it will all end, but Ray is right, they also "need" us as well and "Too much" success for them may end up having untold consequences for both sides.

[Keith D]

[Ray White]

[alastairq]

I recall, going back a couple of decades [or more?] that, thinking outside the box, it was perfectly possible to get even whole cars restored/renovated in more 'eastern' European countries [like, Poland, as an example?] for a fraction of the quoted costs of a UK restorer....
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Dellow Mk2, 1951 built, reg 1952.
Fiat 126 BIS
Cannon special [1996 registered. Built in 1950's]
----------------------------------------------
Ford Pop chassis, Ashley 1172 bodyshell, in pieces.

[ukdave2002]

[petelang]

"It will all end in tears" when the geopolitics goes awry. China oversteps a red line and the west reacts, or China starts an offensive. Suddenly sanctions will apply and China's market will shrink and something new will emerge. I don't however feel Britain will be in any fit state to react as industry in UK is all but defunct and we don't have the noise to invest.
But look at history, the answers have all been seen before. Take the incredible talent of Cubans, starved of imports since the 50s but they still kept stuff going on a shoestring. There are always ways.
Built in obsolescence is another grave issue. My wife's Ipad decided to cease functioning recently. The tech boffin at Curry's said it was only to be expected. Its internal time bomb had gone off and no point trying to fix it as cost would be far greater than binning it and buy another. If they've built that in on hi-tech cars they will have a short life. Maybe the future will be taking EVs and ripping out the electrics to put in a small petrol engine? Save the planet by recycling old tech which indeed can be fixed. As long as we have people who can do the work. We can all become Cubans!
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Daimler Fifteen 1934 (now sold)
Armstrong Siddeley 15 Long 1933
Daimler V8 250 1969

[Ray White]