I recently purchased a sub-rail assembly, and a few other pieces for a 29 roadster from brookville. It arrived a couple weeks ago, but i was busy with another project so didnt have a chance to look it over closely until today. The first thing I noticed was that a few of the rivits were not actually holding anything, and that the edges of the floor sections were crudely trimmed with tin snips...both problems are not that big of a deal and could be easily fixed. Then I noticed the entire rear floor section was put in completely crooked, causing the floor to be buckled on one side. Am I just being picky, or is this considered acceptable? Its not the end of the world for me to fix....I am just suprized that they let something like this slide. I have read on here in the past that the tooling for model A roadsters was getting wore out, and that it was better to have brookville assemble subrails and bodys. Had i known it was going to be assembled so carelessly I would have saved myself some shipping costs and ordered the pieces individually.
Did you call Brookville ? The stuff we have bought from them has been fine and their help on the phone has always been first rate. I don't know, maybe it is just me, but I pick up the phone and ask questions of the people who make the parts before asking on a forum where you will get a bunch of different opinions. Don
Built a customer a 30/31 roadster and the body was a brookville, it had a few issues also, quality has deffinately gone down on the last few years.
I can tell you why quality is an issue! A lot of the sub assembly's are being built off site in Richmond Indiana by dump truck mechanics and unskilled labor with little to no prior sheet metal experience. Buyer beware! You think you are buying Brookville quality and you are actually getting offsite Richmond quality which is a huge difference !
I`ve done a couple of those `29 bodies and assisted on a few others and have never experienced any alignment issues. Kenny frequents this forum occasionally so I`m sure he will chime in. I do believe my first call would have been to Brookville, not a public forum. Brookville Roadster is pretty good at the customer service end.
For that to arrive to you in that shape - well more than one person said "fuck it" and then stood in line for their paycheck. Sad.
Looks like a "second" that should have been scrapped or discounted and not passed QC for a "first". Sure there's some craftsmanship issues, but the blame goes to the QC inspector-unless Brookville has severely lowered their standards...Reminds me of some of the close but no cigar Model A sheetmetal being produced. I agree with calling Brookville. They're very reputable and will replace it.
Since it has been over 4 months that he found this problem, I would have hoped he would have called BV by now. When we were assembling the unassembed rpu body we bought from BV I bothered them more than a few times with a phone call to ask for guidance. They were always very helpful and professional and got me through the process, even though I bet they were thinking "Will this dumbass ever get this body figured out ?" Hope he did the same. Don
When I first started doing my own assembly of the 32 roadster bodies I experienced many alignment problems but I over came them. I always thought maybe I was getting seconds. (use the best and sell the rest) I now buy them assembled, much easier.
Must have been built on a Monday or Friday buy the same person!! I had same issue 3 mouth ago,( compleat Subrail assembly ) I called and complained about quality has gone down hill & how someon past off as OK to ship , they offered to replace if I sent it back ,shipping on my dime ! So I drilled all rivet out & started over
I thought all of the subrails on the market were made by Howells, but sold by about everyone. The mention of Richmond is new info to me. Rod
Granted the OP's subrails are subpar quality, but AutumnRae joining today and posting once in such a vigorous fashion seems to me he has an axe to grind. And posts like that are usually something to be taken with a grain of salt. So Brookville, what's the story on these poorly fitting subrails/floors? And do you really sub out your work? And why would a faulty product be the responsibility of the purchaser to send back at their cost?
66gmc, I am in the process of replacing the sub rails, and other body panels, in my '29 Ford. The sub rail profile was different between the DS and PS, I had to greatly rework the PS. The patch panel behind the doors was 3/4" too long and the revele wasn't close on the rear corner patch pieces. You have to remember that we aren't dealing with Ford dies but I also expected a little better quality. I got out the body tools and fixed them.
Vigorous it may be but I can promise you it is all factual information ! Sub rail assembly's , truck beds, model a perimeter frames , and 32 perimeter frames , and I have been told now the deck lids are all being assembled in Richmond ! I was only informing customers and future customers that they may not be exactly getting brookville quality when they are paying for quality! Nothing against the quality of the parts , Brookville indeed does make a quality product and always has due to the pride of the skilled employees there, but things do change ! And to the sub rails are made by Brookville and sold by Howells ! Take it with a grain of salt if you must , but I would take it as a dump truck full ( no pun intended)
Funny a brand new guy with zero posts comes on and badmouths a company so many of us have had good experiences with. Me thinks me smells a rat (or someone with an axe to grind). Don
I worked at Brookville a while back for 4 1/2 years and the parts the OP said are made or assembled in Richmond is I think not true.. Why would they stamp the 2 piece deck lid and then ship it to be assembled when it is an easy operation to put the 2 pieces together.. As for the model A frames I just picked one up last week and talked to the guy that made it to my specifications.. I know some 3 window coupe pieces are stamped in Michigan but assembled at Brookville...
Scrap metal 48! I'm really only stating facts that I know to be true about the place as a heads up for customers who have experienced these problems! I'm pretty sure I know who scrap metal 48 is and if you don't believe me just pick up the phone and call your old boss! He will fill you in! And Don, no rat here just facts ! Pick the phone up and ask , if they are honest they will tell you the truth ! It really hurts me to see this quality coming out of there because the place was built on quality and integrity and it's been fading in the recent past as you can see from others comments! I apologize for starting this today but enough is enough ! I won't post anymore stuff after this , people can keep finding out on their own !
being from canada it actually cost more to ship it here than the part itself, so sending it back is not an option, I will just end up cutting it apart and fixing the problem (not the end of the world). I used a brookville frame under my rpu and the quality was very good, and the price was less than other aftermarket frames...even after shipping.. I work at a hot rod shop and it seems like a lot of reputable companys from the US tend to let there quality slide when shipping there products up north. We usually just end up fixing what they screwed up. I didnt intend for this thread to turn into a huge brookville slam, but the next time i purchase pieces from them I will order them unassembled
People I know just got word today that their manufacturing jobs will be being done by the Chinese after the January shut down. It will not resume production. Lots can happen in 4.5 years and put your seatbelt on for the next 4.5 years.
I have been buying direct from Brookville for over 25yrs , Quality control is slipping on compleat Subrails asembily going out for the 29-31 lately It is not just order going North , I am in The USA ( south east) the next subrails will be ordered in pieces . But I am glad that they are making parts for our hobby !!
This sub frame assembly is not the quality that Brookville Roadster is known for, this one seems to have slipped through the cracks. We would not sell a sub frame assembly knowingly that it was of poor quality, this sub frame could have been replaced if it had been reported to Brookville Roadster with in the 30 day time frame required to report damaged parts or items built incorrectly. Brookville Roadster does require the consignee to pay for return shipping, if we deem that the problem was the fault of Brookville Roadster then we will reimburse the return shipping cost to the customer and pay for the item to re-shipped. All of Brookville Roadster parts are made in our manufacturing plant, we do have more then 1 building, some parts are partially assembled at 1 location but finished at our main plant. Some items may also be assembled by employees that are learning different phases of our assembly process and some items may be trimmed or assembled a little differently from person to person, not everyone makes the same items the exact same way, we do cross train our employees to work in other areas to keep up on production. If a customer has a problem with our products they should contact us, and we will come up with a solution to correct the problem and make sure the customer is 100% satisfied. All of our panels are reversed engineered from the original part to ensure that not only do they have the correct appearance and function but they also will fit the original part. There are always people that would rather point the finger and be a part of the problem than ask what can be done to fix the problem, We only ask for the opportunity to correct a problem so that it doesn't happen again. All of parts that Brookville Roadster manufactures is 100% AMERICAN MADE and we take a lot of pride in our work and want to make every customer happy. Thank you for your time Rick Johnson Customer Service Brookville Roadster 937-833-4605
Thanks Rick. I don't have a horse in this race but your reply seems to clear up some of the misinformation posted here. Roo
I do think Brookville try to make each customer happy as far as issuing a refund but having to eat the shipping to return a substandard panel is less than ideal. I had issues with '30 wheel wells and the ones I received were pretty awful. If you think I am kidding check out the thread below. I was offered the ability to ship back for a refund. The cost to ship it back would have been a major chunk out of what it was worth. http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/comparing-model-a-sheet-metal.821230/ Needless to say, I got subsequent panels elsewhere... I am conscious that Brookville deals with thousands of clients each year and they can't hit 100% satisfaction so I at least appreciate the fact they offered me the ability to return the offending item.
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