Interesting post on parts and machine work quality

[618 Syndicate]

I swear I watched something where Kissinger or someone like him was stating that they thought if they started trading with China that it would bring about political change. That was one of the reasons we turned a blind eye towards them subsidizing industry and stealing intellectual property. But obviously if you can make something for a fraction of the cost offshore vs domestically, it sucks for the domestic workers.

I believe he (and others like him) SAID that. I doubt they believed it though.

 

[Caman96]

It was just being said recently.
“They’re not bad folks…folks”.

 

[Hipster]

American work is not the world standard either. "Made in USA" is absolutely not a guarantee of superior workmanship. Buyer beware.
Blaming the supply side for cheap import stuff is like blaming exporters for this country's drug problem. Just like illicit drugs, trash import parts are brought here because we buy them. We buy them because corporations moved operations offshore because they didn't want to pay union wages resulting in a loss of disposable income. Make no mistake, nothing is "...going to be done to quell..." anything because this is exactly how capitalism is supposed to work. When you prioritize profit over everything else eventually you destroy your own market.

When there was an option people chose to buy it $5 less from elsewhere so they had $5 left to but more crap for less from elsewhere and so on. We did this to ourselves in many many ways.

Idk, beginning of the end? lol

 

[fancyTBI]

Idk, beginning of the end? lol

Sure taking its sweet time! Born too early to discover America, born too late to go to Mars. Born just at the right time to experience 4-5 global economic downturns before I was 30.

 

[Caman96]

…ahhh, the good ole days, when you needed a new axle, you just chopped a tree down and carved one.

 

[Hipster]

Always expect change, just don't expect it will be for the better.

 

[Schurkey]

Kissinger or someone like him was stating that they thought if they started trading with China that it would bring about political change.

It was let-on that the change would happen in China.

In fact, it made the Free-world move Way Left, towards Communism and repression.

 

[1998_K1500_Sub]

There's one machine shop left in Saginaw (that does heads / auto engines...) and I know the guy who owns it. Nice guy, known him for... 10+ years maybe, he's one of a group of irreplaceable friends I have there.

A few years back his flywheel grinder crapped out on him on account of some electrical problem, and it was so old he didn't know where to turn to get it fixed.

So I got a call. And I'm 5.5hrs away. I got there mid-afternoon on a Friday.

While a it's a simple machine, I spent maybe 4hrs just tracing wires to and from the two motors and motor controllers, "making sense" and "taking notes" of everything b/c I didn't know if someone else had messed with it at some prior time and maybe f'd it up... because it was obvious that mine weren't the first hands on the machine.

After about 6 hrs on site and a few more hours browsing the web for replacement parts, I had a plan for him and parts on order by Saturday afternoon... basically, it was a motor speed controller and potentiometer (which was used to select the speed) that needed replacement, maybe $130 total.

I never "charged" him anything -- that wouldn't have been appropriate -- but he did the heads on my Pontiac 455 for free in return.

 

[Erik the Awful]

I get tired of hearing people complain that "nobody wants to do this any more". Make it worth their while and they will. Unfortunately, the auto hobby has become far more difficult with the increasing complexity of cars and kids don't have an interest in rebuilding engines. There's a low return on the work required. Plus, shops get a higher markup on a crate motor than on having old parts machined, so the customers get shafted and the machine shops lose business. There's just not enough market to keep a reliable machine shop in business any more.

or example, rod bearings are now made too thin resulting in 390 and 401 crank grinds needing to be ground .0085, .0185 or .0285 under standard rod journal size yet all but one machine shop in the entire Phoenix area refused to do anything other than the standard .010, .020 or .030 grinds.

Wow, I'd say those machine shops don't deserve to be in business. When I rebuilt the original 350 out of WCJr, the Sealed Power pistons I got were exactly 4.030" - they're supposed to be 4.028" so that they'll fit a 4.030" bore. My machinist measured the pistons before boring, so my bores ended up being 4.032". Mark's Machine in Nicoma Park, Oklahoma.

 

[618 Syndicate]

It was let-on that the change would happen in China.

They knew then it was bullshit.

In fact, it made the Free-world move Way Left, towards Communism and repression.

Plenty of repression on either end of the spectrum. The "free" world is restrictive in its own way.