DOA: Corvette Repro�s (or soon thereafter)

[Ian G.]

[Frank D.]

I bought a repo heater core many years back. Should I take a chance on it? It sounds like not.
Is it really as bad as folks are saying?
Sadly I threw out my original. Should I try and get an original and recore it? I really don't want to deal with one leaking all over my brand new interior when I get to that point.

I would think a radiator shop would pressure test it for you. I've had some TERRIBLE repro heater cores for early Mustangs...didn't even install them...

[Richard M.]

Here's another one........

Put a reproduction 4spd shifter into my 58 the night before taking to its first show. Finished up kind of late so I was on the fence about a test drive. Decided to go for a quick spin around the block. First, second - what no third - fourth. Wouldn't go into third AT ALL. Called the guy who did the trans, thought may be a slider issue - pulled side cover - nope all looks good. Tried it again - still no third, seems like a hard stop when going for third. Now its midnight - figured I get up early to address it. Woke up at 2AM with an idea. Went out to the garage and pulled the rear mounting bolt from the shifter - now it goes into third!

Long story short - put the original shifter back in (which had a worn / vibrating cross shaft thus the replacement) to get me to the show.

Figured out that the bottom section of the shifter handle was not cast properly - too much material which would hit the rear mounting bolt preventing going into third. I ground down the shaft for clearance and all was well again........

Tom

Tom, To follow up on my shifter. No problem like you had with this one. However, it was purchased about 5 years ago for this car. So if the supplier changed their supplier of the casting since then, it may be a problem just on the newer shifters.

However, I still had a issue that required some machine work in another area of the shifter.

The shifter actuating levers had to be checked and one had to be drilled out. All 3 rod ends test fit into the Reverse and the 1-2 levers, but the 3-4 lever hole needed to be drilled out. The hole was about 5 thousands too small. Since we installed the shifter on the engine assembly BEFORE engine installation(to set linkage then remove it all), it was a easy fix, just drill it out a bit. But if the engine assembly and shifter was in the car it would have been much more difficult.

So new shifters should be checked for what you found, and what I found, and probably more.

[Dan D.]

[Eric E.]

[Frank D.]

[Joe L.]

What I find disconcerting is how the simpler electronic repro devices can be so bad. I put a repro fuel sender in my '61....a piece of junk, I wound up fixing the original. A repro headlight light switch in my '63 would strobe with the high beams on (internal thermal relay), apparently a common problem with the repros - I sourced an NOS original and no more issues. I mean - really; how hard is it to make such things that are worth a hoot ?

Frank------

Inferior tooling = inferior parts

Factory tooling was expensive but they could amortize the cost over a very large number of pieces manufactured for PRODUCTION and SERVICE. Reproduction sources just cannot afford that type of tooling considering the market for these parts is now so very limited.

[Dan D.]

[Dan D.]

[Richard M.]

[Gary J.]

[Richard M.]

[William F.]

[Richard M.]

Which vendor is selling you all this junk, Rich?

All vendors. I use just about all of them. Each vendor has issues. They all get most items from the same suppliers, or each other.

I will contact them all with my list of disappointments and report back..........eventually. Too busy right now making these things fit, then missing them landing in the rubbish barrel, and repairing and restoring original pieces to do my task and make up for lost time.

I must say that in the last 5 to 7 years of restoring, it has never been this bad. Before it was one or two items, now it's dozens. The junk factor is quickly creeping up.

I'm getting fed up, and for me that's unusual. I think I may need to walk away before I do something really stupid with a hammer or something sharp.

I probably shouldn't try to break-in this fuelie engine today either We've been getting rain on and off and on so I can't get the car outside, but maybe just as well I'm feeling a bit like a cinder with all of this wrong stuff.

[Gary J.]