Hot Rods What happened to "featured" So Cal Speed Shop thread?

I watched baseball last night too, but im a twins fan so it was a sad affair.

as for SO-CAL parts, Ive heard lots of complaints about the quality for the past few years, and before that lots of complaints about the prices. Im no elite business mind but I would be willing to go out on a limb and guess that their move to lower prices and the recent lower quality are two sides of the same coin.

these threads always get closed for drama, but it is valuable to see other peoples opinions when you research before you buy a part.

For the record, ive only bought small parts like what the OP posted and havent experienced any dramatic failures but that could be all luck.

 

As for SoCal, I don't buy anything from them. Had issues with all 3 orders, the simplest was a hat patch that took 2 months to ship! 2 months for a patch!!

Speedway... I buy from them with confidence. They've sent me what I ordered or BETTER every time. No issues with customer service, and when a part has a problem they've stepped up and taken care of me ASAP.

Be in business long enough youre bound to have an unhappy customer or a stinker of a product, its how you recover from that is what matters

 

I don't know about So-Cal but much of the stuff today is all the same from all the retailers. They are in the business to make $$ just like the makers. Speed and cost of manufacturing is the name of the game along with who you can get to retail it. The pedal in question looked to have one spot weld. If I could have physically had it in my hand before buying I would have found something else. I have never bought from SoCal but it isn't good for them from what I see here. HAMB is well known and I would not like to be on its readers shit list if I was a retailer.

 

I bought a front end set up from a large company - the front shocks were So Cal Chrome shorties. When I went it install them, one was locked up solid - wouldn't budge. Now I thought about calling the distributor that I bought them from, but they are in Ohio and I am in, well, So Cal. So I took a little trip over to So Cal Speed with the offending shock. Ray at the counter asked if he could help, I showed him the shock and explained I didn't have a receipt because I bought it from one of their distributors, he went in the back room and came out with a new one, handed it to me and apologized for the inconvenience. They certainly did right by me.

 

I used to get that part in the junk yard. We didn't know how good we had it.

 

Just because one person has a bad experience, doesn't mean everyone will have a bad experience at the company. Employees have bad days...maybe this was a bad day for the employee? I've personally never bought anything from so cal speed shop. But that's only cause I haven't had to yet.

 

Principle.
prin·ci·ple
ˈprinsəpəl/
noun

1. 1.
   a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning.

What a person or organization thinks nothing of doing to one, they can be reasonably expected to do to any or all.

This situation has now been made know to them, and they have elected to do nothing. This was not the choice of an "employee having a bad day". This was a business decision.

They sold a product that could have gotten its purchaser killed. I cannot speak for him, but I suspect that he would have been satisfied by simply receiving a replacement part for the clearly defective one.

That did not happen. That is the principle of the matter.

They had an opportunity to make good. For whatever reason, they choose not too.

This was not handled properly. Saying that this means nothing to you, because it has not happened to you, is certainly your right.

Another man was wronged, and his life was put at risk. This means something to me, at-least.

 

What does the maddening crowd think of this situation;; Friend goes to upholster has 55 Chev convertible upholstered, Black leather, expensive and beautiful, 3 summers later after car shows and short trips, interior begins to turn to burgundy color, but not consistent. just upper portions, friend goes back and upholster "says not my fault," BUT I will take it apart have it dyed by my supplier and reinstall, you pay for shipping-dying-and shipping back to me".
Fair.? Gang, whattasay?

 

I don't get thirtytwo's post at all, but I am glad he's come out of his shell. As for Verde742, I think that's probably fair.. Supposing there's not warranted expressed or implied on the material, the upholsterer seems to be standing by his/her work and trying to correct the material fault. Since there's no way of knowing just how much environmental exposure the interior really has had, I think the craftsperson is trying to stand by their work. I'd take the deal.

 

It was a $10,000.00 interior installed in a Convertible.


Is it true all leather is brown? then dyed to a person's favorite color?

 

He sold and installed the interior. If there is/was a problem with the dye or process, it's between the vendor and the installer who sold it to the customer.

 

My friend took it to another craftsman, had it totally done over,
cost was NEVER a factor.

My friend has 6 nice show cars and a couple daily drivers, new PU, and TRAILBLAZER, single, well healed, can't drive all at once, usually showed "55 maybe twice a year, always with top Up, back window, and side windows down.

 

With all the 'change in ownership', 'change in policy'...am I correct in gathering Pete and Alex have sold So-Cal? (or was it just Pete of late?)

 

I don't think cost should be a factor here. Nor should the ability of the customer be a factor. I think the upholsterer took the first step-"ll redo the work at no cost" then you needed the leather supplier to say "I'll pay shipping and redo it". Looks like that didn't, or wasn't given a chance, to happen. What did the second upholstere think was the issue? Has it been 3 years and has the second job held up?

 

I really doubt that the discussion Ever came up as to WHY is was wanted changed,
Knowing my friend, he is not a whiner.. he would never "bad mouth" just not his nature.
I asked about the change of interior, and I, being a talker, sorta pried it out, when I ask if the other interior was available, thinking it might "work" in my Model A. He said you don't want it. Implied reasons, Knowing my friend for 55 years, I ask what the new interior cost? He replied it was done in another town by another craftsman. Conversation, moved along. (one of those, If you have ta ask, you can't afford it moments)
Replacement interior has only been in a short time.

BTW, talked to Frank at AZ. So-Cal said, Pete and Alex are still on board at S0-Cal.

 

My only complaint about Speedway is that if I call their tech support and ask a question, I get someone who pulls up the same part number I'm calling about and looks at the same picture I'm looking at and then really can't answer my question. I really don't need someone to look at the same picture I'm looking at and make a guess, I want them to put the part in their hand so they can give me the correct answer. If I'm not happy they'll take it back doesn't really cut it for me. I'd have to wait a week for the part, see it isn't what I want, pay shipping and return and wait a week for them to get the part and then wait another week for the right part.

 

• Vegetable-tanned leather is tanned using tannins and other ingredients found in different vegetable matter, such as tree bark prepared in bark mills, wood, leaves, fruits and roots and other similar sources. It is supple and brown in color, with the exact shade depending on the mix of chemicals and the color of the skin. It is the only form of leather suitable for use in leather carving or stamping. Vegetable-tanned leather is not stable in water; it tends to discolor, so if left to soak and then dry it will shrink and become less supple, and harder. In hot water, it will shrink drastically and partly congeal, becoming rigid and eventually brittle. Boiled leather is an example of this, where the leather has been hardened by being immersed in hot water, or in boiled wax or similar substances. Historically, it was occasionally used as armour after hardening, and it has also been used for book binding.
• Chrome-tanned leather, invented in 1858, is tanned using chromium sulfate and other salts of chromium. It is more supple and pliable than vegetable-tanned leather and does not discolor or lose shape as drastically in water as vegetable-tanned. It is also known as wet-blue for its color derived from the chromium. More esoteric colors are possible using chrome tanning. The chrome tanning method usually only takes a day to finish and the ease and agility of this method make it a popular choice. It is reported that chrome tanned leather is responsible for close to 80% of the leathers in the world. [1]
• Aldehyde-tanned leather is tanned using glutaraldehyde or oxazolidinecompounds. This is the leather that most tanners refer to as wet-white leather due to its pale cream or white color. It is the main type of "chrome-free" leather, often seen in automobiles and shoes for infants.
• Formaldehyde tanning (being phased out due to its danger to workers and the sensitivity of many people to formaldehyde) is another method of aldehyde tanning. Brain-tanned leathers fall into this category and are exceptionally water absorbent.
• Brain tanned leathers are made by a labor-intensive process which uses emulsified oils, often those of animal brains such as deers ,cows, and buffaloes. They are known for their exceptional softness and their ability to be washed.
• Chamois leather also falls into the category of aldehyde tanning and, like brain tanning, produces a porous and highly water-absorbent leather. Chamois leather is made by using marine oils (traditionally cod oil) that oxidize easily to produce the aldehydes that tan the leather to make the fabric the color it is.
• Rose tanned leather is a variation of vegetable oil tanning and brain tanning, where pure rose otto replaces the vegetable oil and emulsified oils. Rose tanned leather tanned using rose otto oil leaves a powerful rose fragrance even years from the day it is manufactured. It has been called the most valuable leather on earth, but this is mostly due to the high cost of rose otto and its labor-intensive tanning process.

• Synthetic-tanned leather is tanned using aromatic polymers such as the Novolac or Neradol types (syntans, contraction for synthetic tannins). This leather is white in color and was invented when vegetable tannins were in short supply during the Second World War. Melamine and other amino-functional resins fall into this category as well, and they provide the filling that modern leathers often require. Urea-formaldehyde resins were also used in this tanning method until dissatisfaction about the formation of free formaldehyde was realized.

 

Was there a warranty expressed or implied as to how long the leather would/should last? That would be the most important thing would want to know in this case.

 

Well, I said it was really, really sad?!

 

Very interesting, but I don't see much reference to how the color is accomplished.

 

It obviously wasn't Corinthian Leather

 

The upholsterer should have hand selected each black cow, clubbed it over the head and immediately harvested the leather. That's the best method for UV exposure protection.

 

After it is tanned - which is what makes it go from being "Animal Skin" to "Leather", then it is dyed to the color required. There are basically two types of leather dyes - Spirit or Alcohol Dye and Water Based Dyes. These are what is known as Aniline dyes, which is a powder that the water or spirits carry. Normally these are drum dyed where the dye permeates all the way through the leather, but because of the nature of the aniline dye, these are much like a toner - they change the color, but are not uniform in that color (in other words you can see the irregularities in the hide) and they do not cover scars etc. in the hide. When spirit-based dyes are applied, the alcohol is readily absorbed by the moist leather. This ensures better penetration of the pigment deep into the surface of the leather. They provide an even finish to the leather and protect it from insect attacks. However, this dye robs the leather of its natural smell and stiffens it after dyeing. Water-based dyes retain all the essential qualities of leather.
Semi Aniline dyes add a small amount of pigment for some color stability and protection of the leather.
Protected Aniline dyes take it one step further with a pigment added to completely cover the hide in the color preferred and to that top coats of clear or generally added for sheen.
There are other cheaper way to dye leather, mainly acrylic and urethane paint dyes, but they are not the right way to dye the leather

 

SO CAL thread? Or now is it open season on every vendor?

 

So the OP had a gas pedal made of leather?! Or has this thread been hi jacked?

 

I wanted to hi-jack it FROM auto vendors to craftsmen. Not products, but skills.

sorry, learned a lot today.. No more from me...

 

Time for the air- ternet Marshall.......

 

The Cavs won !
In case you didn't hear and there's a big victory parade tomorrow

 

Who are the Cavs ?