Year One

[Joe R.]

Re: Year One v. Year25

Geoffrey,

Just look at all the wonderful responses from your loyal customer base above. There are thousands of Corvette owners that respect you and the business you have provided thru the years.

Relax and enjoy the compliments. People understand that selling quality parts sometimes costs more and the service provided by knowledgeable corvette people carries a price tag. People are willing to pay for information above and beyond the price of the part. That's why this board does so well and leads the hobby as a source of information.

Thru the years, I have talked to thousands of quote (ordertakers) and there is no one person in this business that is any nicer than your wife (Debbie). Not only on the phone taking orders but in person. She is a gifted individual and we are all lucky she can tolerate all the knowledgeable Corvette buyers.

Most people have no idea of your background and that you have done ALL the illustrations in your catalog and web site. I might also add that your catalog has been a service to the Corvette community for years. With your accurate illustrations and descriptions I have heard many a knowledgeable Corvette person herald it as the bible of Corvette parts catalogs and source for accurate information.

Well, off the soapbox and I apologize for taking the time of this board to preach instead of teach.

Regards,

JR

[Chas Kingston]

AMEN, brother *NM*

[Roger Legge]

Re: Year One v. Year25

I have had good service and received good, quality parts from Year One for a 2nd generation F-Body project.

Roger

[Joe L.]

Re: Who was hateful to you?

Larry-----

I have, too. Retirement brings about recovery.

[Paul L.]

Re: Year One

I am not familiar with Year One. But I can comment on Dr. Bebuild service. In fact I received a small shipment today as I am heading towards a paint job and needed some odds-and-ends. The people at the end of the 'phone line are courteous and have a great knowledge of Corvette parts. And the quality of the parts is outstanding.

What particularly impresses me is their understanding of the Canadian situation: shipping by US Postal Service avoids the terribly taxing brokerage fees by the likes of UPS/FedEx. Nice touch, nice people.

I re-did my seats with head-rests last winter with parts from Dr. Rebuild. The parts were drop-shipped from another vendor but that is common in the Corvette industry. All was just fine with shipping and quality. I proudly displayed my interior last summer at shows.

Geoffrey, I know you are listening. We engaged in a heated debate here and over in the Forum about three years ago. But it basically boiled down to professional disagreements. Much of it was deleted but that was fine. Hope you are enjoying your retirement! Kudos to your staff!

My 1967 should be pristine in two-months time. Not entirely NCRS but very clean. My best wishes to you and thanks for your support for the Corvette hobby.

[Russ T.]

Re: Year One

From my experience Year One is a top-flight outfit that really bent over backwards to work with me while I was restoring my '66 and '67 Chevy-II's.
They seem to be a very efficient and conscientious organization. I've dealt with a lot of different aftermarket outfits and they're at the top of my list.

[Myron Sleeva]

Re: Year One v. Year25

I am confused. Perhaps you can offer up some clarification. You make reference to "....undisputed, "the most informative catalogue"." Correct me if I'm wrong but you do your own catalogue, do you not?

On page 11, and I quote "Blem Products Copied Errors that we Put In Every One of the 68-82 Head Lamp and Wiper Door Vacuum Hose Diagrams. Every single diagram from 68 through 82 has several wrong hose connections."

How many C3 vacuum kits were bought in good faith and did not work? If what you write in the catalogue is correct, then it was "every single diagram". I find it unconscionable to use all the C3 customers as sacrifical lambs just to prove a point about a competitor. It's not as if the design of the vacuum system originated with DocRebuild.

Which is correct? Is the catalogue the "most informative" and is to be believed at face value OR is it booby trapped? It can't be both.

And since you mentioned your web site, can you explain how to view the picturers?

[Geoff C.]

[Myron Sleeva]

Re: Year One v. Year25

You still did not answer the questions. Platitutes will not suffice.

When the recipient of idle threats from a competitor, you feel justified to produce a bogus product so as to entrap the perp, without giving a second thought to where and who the "friendly fire" might affect?

Based on your previous business acument "Mr.Year 25 aka Doc Rebuild", what will be the next product to come out of your company that will be sabotaged to teach these new competitors aka Year One a lesson?

I had occasion to purchase a few items from your representative at Old Town in Orlando this spring. Also had occasion to meet/pet two members of the security team. Fine individuals, all. Do recall seeing an individual who was slouched down in a chair next to the RV who appeared to be totally above the proceedings. Was he the bus driver or a roadie?

[Geoff C.]

[Mark #28455]

likely the parts were ordered

If the person from the competing vendor ordered the parts in his own name, it would be easy to make sure that person's part had bogus info. I really doubt you would stay in business very long if you either 1) sold faulty parts to the suffering masses or 2) allow your competitors to use your research to reverse engineer a product that will undercut your price.

Funny they all have pet names for Dr. Rebuild! I have personally called him in the past (not on the 800 number) and though he didn't waste any time with idle chit chat, he was very willing to provide lots of free advice and useful info. I don't consider him to ever have been grumpy etc, he's just a very busy man with a business to run and doesn't have a lot of spare time. But he did always answer my questions and check on a lot of oddball parts for me.

[Myron Sleeva]

Re: likely the parts were ordered

Read the catalogue, page 11. It says "every one" not some or selected ! These are the words of the good Doctor. That same paragraph goes on to brag and I quote ""They never even knew it until our lawyer told those "researchers" during a law suit" The diagrams were KNOWING and INTENTIONALLY produced to misrepresent the actual system. Read the article and then offer your defense.

As far as reverse engineering, the subject is drawings of a vacuum hose system, engineered, by the way, by GM. What's to reverse engineer? Pop the hood of any C3.

[Mark #28455]

shortsighted attitude

Is it any wonder the world is full of cheap knockoffs? One company goes through the trouble to figure it out and then a second steps in and copies their work, undercutting the original supplier on the price and putting the original supplier out of business. Happens everywhere, just look at the American stereo industry, you'ld never guess the CD was an American invention as they are all imports now. How about the pharmaceutical industry, I can tell you it's a real bummer when we can't even buy Ampicillin for the hospital pharmacy because the big suppliers stopped making it (yes, that really happened about a year ago). How about American auto parts manufacturing - can you say "all overseas", even AC Delco is frequently import stuff. By the way, even a drawing is "work" and can be protected under copyright law. How would you like it if you wrote a novel and somebody else started selling bootleg copies at half price?

Have you ever actually personally received a part with a wrong drawing. If so, then I would say you have a legitimate complaint. If not, then you don't get it. There are a lot of companies who sell Corvette replacement parts but only a few that pride themselves on knowing which ones are "accurate reproductions" or REAL NOS vs. some junk that kinda looks like the real thing. Unless the good companies can turn a profit they will all be run out of business by the Bubbas of the world as most Corvette owners don't even know about the NCRS. Where will WE all be when you can't get correct parts anymore? We need to support those people who try to produce exact reproductions, even if the part actually costs more.

[Myron Sleeva]

Re: shortsighted attitude

This is waaay off track. The discussion was "accurate reproduction" to borrow a phrase from your desertation.
It a real leap in logic to go from a discussion of replicating a schematic of a bunch of hoses to people being denied proper health care to the shift to off shore manufacturing. Also thanks for thinking I have the ability to write novels - all superfluous to my original post.

Answer one question - what is the rudimentary philosophical difference between a "reproduction" and a "knockoff"?

I read with interest your last few statements. Couldn't have said it better. Did you just switch sides? What do you think of companies that knowingly produce bogus drawings and brag about it, in print, for the next 10 years? What good are "proper parts" if the accompanying instructions were designed to deceive? Do you not perceive a credibility issue?

If there is any thing to be thankful for is the fact that the original subject was not titled How to Install your New Brake Parts.

[Mark #28455]

Re: shortsighted attitude

Hard to define, but easy to see. For example, a knockoff Rolex may pass for real to someone who's never seen a real one, but side by side they are very different.

Look at the Corvette parts market, lots of knockoffs exist - you can buy door panels for a 1969 that aren't even made of the original materials (no cardboard backing), carpet with the incorrect heel pad, parking brake handles with the wrong grain pattern, headrest covers with exposed stitching and so on. Very few suppliers bother to accurately reproduce the original parts. Heck, even the GM Restoration Parts program is chock full of inaccurate garbage (they even sell blank build sheets -DC0861, "original" LS-7 hood decals - 3977830, blank data plates -5922, and rear leaf springs that are totally incorrect)

Lots of suppliers out there willing to take your money, very few who really know or care if they really sold you the right part. The "joy" of Corvette restoration is learning which vendors you can trust and which are a gamble. Each person may have a different opinion but in the end all that matters is if you are happy with your hobby (or business if you do it for a living). Good luck in your journey to discover the truth! Did I switch sides? Who knows - maybe in a Zen sort of way!