Speedway Motors is at it again !

I called flathead jack today, I was planning on ordering some Chromed Fenton flathead headers that he offers in his catalog. He informed me that he will no longer be offering them as the only one available is cheap china made ones. He told me a story that the original Fenton headers that we have known were being cast in Los Angeles, CA then shipped to Arizona for machining and sold by some guy there that has been doing it for years, Along comes Speedway Motors, they found out that the Fenton name is not copyrighted and then goes and copyrights the name and sends the parts to China to be copied. They then contact the guy in Arizona to tell him if he makes one more Fenton part that they will sue the pants off him.
Sounds similar to what Speedway motors has done with Stromberg carburators, making ultra cheap copies and even stealing the artwork on the box!
Does anyone know more about this? And if it is true or not?

 

If that is correct,-then I have bought my last part from Speedway.

 

If this is true it sucks. I guess the only thing you can do is use the speedway catalog in the bottom of the bird cage. If we dont buy from speedway then this might stop but people will never rally together on stuff like this cuz we all wanna save a buck. Sacrifice American quality buy Chiawan crap save a buck! Arent we getting what we deserve with stuff like this? Ok Rant over sorry.
Dave Hitch

 

I couldn't agree more. So long speedway!

 

Ahh Capitalism at it's best. I've quit buyin Speedy's stuff a while ago.

 

Sounds like time for fathead to take the "Fenton" logo off and put the "Flathead" one on and carry on with business. If he does, then support him and buy some American made Flathead ones. Would be cooler anyway. Let Speedway sell the cheap repo. knockoff ones if they want and people want to buy that crap.

 

This story is true, a good friend digitized a particular piece and wanted to cnc them and talked to speedway about selling them. They said they could get them made cheaper in china, my buddy said that he could work pretty cheap and they said "you don't understand son, the chinese can make it cheaper" and that ended that conversation.

 

i just got off the phone with speedy. he gets his headers where everyone else gets them one source. he doesn't have anything made using someone elses name. you guys starting these rumors need to check facts first...call 800979-0122 and ask for yourself!!!

 

Me too, about the stromberg time

 

china already owns the u.s.a.

 

Hotrod_linkin thanks for checking with the source. We don't need anymore rumors and hearsay!

 

kirban 2 cents worth

Being in the automotive reproduction business for 25 plus years...what you speak of above I can agree with....

part of my business is turbo buicks (Grand Nationals)......last year more Buicks were sold in China than the USA.

Did you know all the SS emblems on the new 2010 Camaros.....are made in south korea.....

We buy motor mounts made in india....

Its a joke at Christmas with our grand daughter to count up the number of gifts she gets (toys etc) that carry that made in china label....

Walmart would be empty if not for China....

Buy Christmas lites how in the world do they squeeze 100 lites so tightly in that little box?
Why are dolls tie strapped so securely in their box? Afraid they will escape?

Soon as a part becomes popular someone takes it overseas to make it....

A friend of mine had a floor jack brand new made in china....it almost killed him when it suddenly let go!

One of the big car companies gets valve stems made in china...you mean to tell me no one in the USA can make a simple valve stem?????

Probably one of the biggest industries in China is the company that cranks out the little decals that read MADE IN CHINA......

In my day the metal toys read Made in Japan....

[email protected]

 

china? I thought they were cast iron....................

 

I have bought Speedway parts for years, I hate to hear stuff like this.

 

REALLY huh Hedman Hedders are still made in Whittier CA....So his statement is not true!!! Hedman makes their own Headers!!! Did YOU talk to Speedy him self or a sales guy???? of course the sales guy will tell you that!

 

i can take you into any parts store in the country,hot rod or ot and there will be chinese parts there. that's a sign of the times..USA stuff is harder to get.

 

Thank you for that - but the trolls will continue to talk smack ......

 

Time to grab a bag of popcorn and just keep hitten the refresh button!
It may or may not be true anyone really know?
Dave Hitch

 

hedman headers was not even the topic.read the topic. i've been doing business with all these guys for years, speedway,summit,jegs,sachse,nightprowlers,you name it, they all get their stuff from the same sources. if the op is gonna rag on speedway,he needs to include every off the shelf supplier in the country except those guys that make it themselves.

 

People Better Snap Out Of It!!!!!!!!! Sending or farming out products that we can make to other countries is crazy. Didnt Speedway buy out Total Performance? If you buy out your competitors you will be King of the hill?

 

Almost everything you buy today is made in China, with a few smatterings from places like Mexico, Canada and Israel. Most vendors will try anything to make you
believe that their products differ from their competitor's.....in that they are 'MADE IN USA'. They're giving the Oscar's to the wrong people.

I try to buy American, but it ain't easy. I never know if it's from the USA until I can see it, touch it, smell it and give it the once-over (like a beaver) and even then I can't be dead certain.

Don't think for a minute that 'knock-offs' are limited to just Rolex watches and Gucci pocketbooks!

 

You need to remember what you wrote! and I QUOTE YOU said that Speedway Gets Their Headers from the same place as everyone else! I said that can not be true because HEDMAN still makes their own in Whittier CALIFORNIA....Remeber NOW is was only two minutes ago! You never answered us did YOU speak to Speedy himself????

 

Sorry to get everyone all riled-up, I was just asking if there was any truth to the story that i was told by flathead jack.

 

Maybe the title of this thread should be "name one good auto part made in china"? Could be one of the shortest threads?

 

1) if the Fenton name was not copyrighted then dude should have copyrighted it already. Thats just smart business.

2) if you bitch about Speedway and China parts then you better not ever walk youself in a freakin Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target or just about anywhere else for that matter and buy pretty much anything in one of those stores.

Most of you guys that bitch about China parts are probably dressed from head to toe in clothes and shoes made overseas somewhere. If you are not I applaud you. I am not defending anybody if they have been underhanded in business but crap guys the China rant gets old. Unfortunately its a fact. We all demanded lower prices on some or most items we have always purchased combined with the freakin government intervention in business to the point that many companies have to outsource to make a profit. You can point fingers at big businesses but most of us are just as much to blame.

 

i stand by that comment. they get their parts where everyone else does. the fenton headers you see on the market today,all made in the same place,whatever brand you see on the shelves at any given parts house,,,comes from the same place. go to oreilly's,aitozone,order the fenton headers out of their catalog,they will come from the same place that speedway gets them from

 

I could'nt care less where headers are made, I won't ever need to buy any. Oh, wait. If I did need to buy them because my welder broke, I wouldn't care where they were made anyhow.

 

Honestly if Speedway really did screw this guy this way how hard is it to change your castings for the original stuff so they say "benton" or something and copyright that?

Then if guys want an origial that says Fenton, they can get out a die grinder and grind away the face and bottom of the "B" -

I mean thats how the world works, unfortunately, if you get fucked over somehow, you just have to figure out how to fuck them right back.

 

i agree that, especially during these economic times, we should try and keep as much business in the states as we can. that being said, i guarantee half the people following this thread, including myself, are wearing converse and levis; both now made overseas.