Projects Rant : save your money

(1) Use 35-36 bolt on rear radius rods.
(2) Find a pair of super rare PSI spring hangers. (They went out of business many years ago)
(3) Or make them yourself Out of strong and heavy enough steel to not require gussets.

1 - see my want ad for 35-36 bones.
2- see my want ad for PSI hangers
3- see my next post in my thread " my next pet project"

Hey, I can't answer for the advertisements of those brackets, but it clearly states that no gusset is needed. I figured I could save some time and buy the hangers. The want ads didnt pan out as I hoped and needed to keep moving. Looking back, just building exactly what I wanted would have been faster and cheaper. Which is why I said "save your money"

 

I'm hoping the parts expert opens the box.

 

LOL......Yeah Just build them the way you want, You will be more happy in the end.....To tell you the truth, I do not like ready made Bolt on parts. I miss the old days, Dad and I out in the garage making shit from scratch. Our own design Some good and Some not so good....LOL, But either way Some of the best times of my life. We didn't have any money so we had to do it that way. Hell I would go to school with embeded metal in my skin from using the grinder. My Mom would be so pissed, As No soap known to man would clean off some of the shit I got into....LOL. Got my first taste of welders burn at about age 7. My Dad told me to keep the helmet on but I could not see as well wearing it. Oh well I turned my passion into a business and I have No one to blame but myself. All this Laser cut mass produced Shit makes me sick Sometimes. Even though alot of it is Good and works really well, I just wonder what happened to being creative? But I realize that not all rodders are in it for the build, Some just want to drive something that looks cool. And that is ok, as alot of those customers pays the bills. Shit Now I'm ranting....LOL

 

Here's the start and got this far after screwing around in between other stuff.
Mostly spare time.

 

Those look super well designed! Congratulations! Having the flanges wide at the axle and on the top and bottom centerlines, you will have very little warpage. I would be willing to not weld the web to the tube and not have that warpage. Looks perfect!

 

Bingo! This should be bolded and stickied! F*ckin EH! The "its a commie plot" bullshit is getting SERIOUSLY old.

 

Very nice!

 

Another strike for good old-fashioned American ingenuity! Those look mint.

 

I disagree - just because some guy who answers the phone doesn't get it doesn't mean you can't get some satisfaction by going a level higher - that is why I suggested getting a hold of Pete, the buck stops there.
For the life of me I can't figure out why he doesn't take that option ..... It's well worth a phone call or email

 

I've known Pete Chapouris since '74...Always a standup guy. If there was a problem with a product, Pete will listen.

 

Did you happen to see my reply to your earlier post suggesting I contact Pete ?
Ill assume not since you now say " for the life of me I can't figure out why he doesn't take that option". So ill put it here again for you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by hotroddon


31Vicky with a hemi - why don't you go right to the source? Obviously the counter guy who answered the phone did not have the right answers. Here, this is right from their web site;
Contact Pete Chapouris for more info
Phone: 909-469-6171 | Email: [email protected]
Maybe the head cheese will be able to give you some satisfaction


Thanks Don,
Maybe Pete has no control over who answers the phone, works the parts counter, or who packages parts. So all of this is going on under his nose without his knowledge- But he can help me? You being involved in the parts business would be received better I think. Maybe if I told Pete how thing went the counter guy will loose is job. I don't want that because its not his fault he has no business in that position. It's ultimately Pete's fault if hes the main cheese right ?

There it is ^^^


Now as far as satisfaction goes - from post 79

Quote:
Originally Posted by tfeverfred
A well written letter with GOOD photos will get attention. Copies of a thread containing conjecture and bitching will probably get tossed in the shit can.

Yes that is more than reasonably certain to be true.
So who wants to write a letter? Who's the well spoken and can communicate effectively with morons? There's a saying, "don't argue with a fool because folks might not know the difference." I spent way more time on the phone than I wanted to just hear the BS that I went over already in the first post. I'm pretty good at explaining but there's no patients for me to explain to a expert that a 2.25" spring will not fit into a 2.125" space. To be countered with "don't tighten the nuts all the way" leaves little room to continue.

In all actuality, my time would be better spent just building what I need than trying to initiate a restructuring and reconfirmation of a business plan for a company that's been around since 1946. Obviously they haven't always had the current philosophy in practice or they wouldn't have made it that long. They are a business that needs to compete with their peers or stand above them and hopefully survive the cash flow shortage long enough for the competition to fail because of current business trends.

I Had Chinese carry out for lunch today & you know what words of wisdom my fortune cookie brought forth? "Like every thread of gold is valuable - so is every moment of time"
Would a refund make me happy ? No but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Being fully compensated for every moment of time I spent fucking with this junk, talking to their parts expert, removing their junk, re fixtureing and every thing else that I needed to do just to get back to where I was before I opened the damn boxes. That might come close, except I want the days that I lost too. That's not ever going to happen, even if they really wanted to they couldn't it's impossible. So it's best to just part ways and make sure that no money of mine goes that way, ever.

 

Building hot rods is an art that requires the builder to be the engineer and fabricator. Many of the ready made parts are actually no more than short cuts and as such they require engineering to incorporate them into the build. At a glance without reading I knew exactly what your problem was.

If I hitched my 50 HP Kubota tractor to the base of a telephone pole then I would not be able to effectively move the pole. If I hitched higher on the pole then I will eventually be able to move the pole. The higher I hitched the better my chances are for breaking the pole.

So I ask, did the arms return to the original location when you unloaded the spring. If they did then you have no bitch with the manufacturer. Look in a mirror and bitch at yourself and then place the experience in memory for the next time.

 

Yes I saw it and it made no sense to me. Only you can decide how you want to handle it, but Pete DOES have control over his company, so of course he can help. If you are worried about the counter guy, you don't have to bring that up, but I still an't figure out why you wouldn't want to talk to him, see what he knows about HIS parts and a solution to your problem. He will listen to you just as well as he would listen to me. Your right, it is His fault, but he can't fix it if he doesn't know it's broken, So again I ask why don't you contact him and tell him what you found!

 

See, you can have your opinion and if its prefaced with " without reading" your opinion isn't worth much and will go where the brackets are going.
there's a whole bunch of stuff you missed here. It's still there if you care to look or you can go hook your kubota to something else.

You bet your ass ill bitch at myself every time think of looking at a catalogue for more of these "time saving" parts that cost good money.

 

What is there to read? The picture told the story. Had the arms not flexed it was still poor engineering and would have most certainly failed. Be thankful that the arms did flex and that you caught it.

BTW You never stated whether or not the arms return to the original position when you unloaded the spring?

McGurk

 

That's what you think.
This is in post #1 of what's there to read.

Pm me your email and ill send you the video of the arm walking back.

- anything else you might need picked out and spoon fed to you just let me know ok?

 

We were all better off when china made only rice.

 

Actually, we weren't. But that's not the issue here.

 

Geez .... do you need a little cheese to go with this incessant whine?

 

Nope, I agree with him. You'll get good quality when we tell them "build it to spec, then price it" not "build it to the price". Like any manufacturer, the Chines build it to what the customer wants. Sad, but America seems to want cheap for the most part.

 

that sucks what really sucks is some of us can only get certain parts from new sources not a lot of old parts around here that's for sure

 

Call Pete, you've been given the details, then get back to us with what you've sorted out.

That is if you want to be part of the solution, which I assume you'd want to be since you ran the flag up the pole about this in the first place.

 

I AGREE! If your not going to contact Pete then how in the hell is he going to fix the problem ?

 

This is what I refer to as the "W*l M*rt effect". Only now it's spread well beyond the W*l M*rt parking lot.

 

Everyone wants quality for that cheap price. Sadly most people will concern themselves ONLY with the price then complain about the quality.

There is a reason McDonalds has served a million billion hamburgers

 

This question does not help but just wondering about this quality thing! A part made overseas where labor and emissions laws are lower,should not the part have higher quality since the cost to make is lower? American made and other Countries where labor is higher the parts should be lower in quality to offset the price! I,m confused!!(thats normall) Pete

 

I'm with hotrodderhaag, but I learned it many years ago. thatis what hot rodding is supposed to be, going to the junkyard, buy what you think will work, and take it home and MAKE it work. I have restored a few cars and mad a couple hot rods, and beleive me, restoring a car is MUCH easier. But a hot rod is so much more satisfying to start up and drive when you are done.! No comparison. Keep that welder and torch handy, you WILL win.JMBS(just my bull shit)

 

No. Its all about the cost. China (like anyone else) CAN make a part to whatever standard the buyer wants. Most consumers want CHEAP, so if a buyer can get a part made and sell it for $10 OR have a better part made and sell for $20, they do the $10 because they will sell a LOT more of them. Its all about the $$$$.

 

These "things were better in the good old days" sentiments are fun, but not true. JC Whitney catalogs were full of cheap, flimsey, made in the USA inferior garbage.

Its always been that way. When these cars were made new, the manufacturers were making mass production for profit cars. Things didn't line up. They made the parts the cheapest way they could. Fit and finish sucked.

Things weren't as rosy as people seem to remember them. There's nothing new under the sun.

That doesn't mean suppliers shouldn't be fixing the problems we encounter. I'm sure if you go back far enough you'd find people ticked off about replacement parts for their roman chariots.

 

Hot Rodding was never about over the counter parts. With that out of the way, yes I understand your frustration. But this is where people like yourself are true builders and can make a proper functioning machine that's safe to drive. So let's all get back to where this Hobby came from, Down Home Building with the back round of true Craftsman mentality. This way, the after market will have to take notice if it's to survive.