Now it's junk from Carpenter!

tiger.1000 said:
Maybe before making a purchase ask the vendor for a description of the quality. If it turns out to be rubbish just "sue the *** off 'em" ?
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Yeah, like that would be productive. $300 an hour attorney fees for a $10 set of gaskets (or a set of $100 struts), Or you could save some money and waste a day in small claims court. You have more faith in the legal system than I have experienced.
 
tubman said:
Yeah, like that would be productive. $300 an hour attorney fees for a $10 set of gaskets (or a set of $100 struts), Or you could save some money and waste a day in small claims court. You have more faith in the legal system than I have experienced.
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It's still refreshing to see, on rare occasion any more, someone still able to use just a little common sense. You go, Denny! DD
 
Tinker said:
Don't be petty.... Make your own. Gasket material is available from napa.
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I made the last water pump gaskets from cereal box and they never leaked or suffered in any way, only took them off to change the leaking pumps.


Dennis makes his gaskets from compressed tissue paper soaked in diarrhea.
 
I prefer gasket stock from napa, for a lot of engine and body gaskets. No way would I attempt to "make" a head gasket. With a good roll you can make an intake gasket. But gaskets are pretty straight forward and can be bought, certainly if you are doing a rebuild. Makes all the sense in the world to buy a set for a rebuild. Best gaskets is great.


My point was about finding resources. The resources are going to get smaller as time goes on. If, something works great. The quality of larger suppliers may be suspect, but still a great resource and most of the time is great. But, If you feel that way, support other avenues. Been a while since I've had to buy things from large suppliers. And I do not have to rely on them. My 38 truck mat from Carpenter 4 yrs ago was great. Love it

Guess I might change my tune when I really need something. But I'm in maintenance mode now and there are some real champs here that know how to service parts.
 
Tinker said:
I prefer gasket stock from napa, for a lot of engine and body gaskets. No way would I attempt to "make" a head gasket. With a good roll you can make an intake gasket. But gaskets are pretty straight forward and can be bought, certainly if you are doing a rebuild. Makes all the sense in the world to buy a set for a rebuild. Best gaskets is great.


My point was about finding resources. The resources are going to get smaller as time goes on. If, something works great. The quality of larger suppliers may be suspect, but still a great resource and most of the time is great. But, If you feel that way, support other avenues. Been a while since I've had to buy things from large suppliers. And I do not have to rely on them. My 38 truck mat from Carpenter 4 yrs ago was great. Love it

Guess I might change my tune when I really need something. But I'm in maintenance mode now and there are some real champs here that know how to service parts.
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Yep I agree, I got best gasket head gaskets in my engine, only had to re torque twice from new.

I want to buy a new fuel pump or even a rebuild kit in NZ but all the shops say bob and Dennis are having trouble finding a place to make them
 
Ask charlieny. Not to put pressure on him. You are on the other side of the world, It's the same here sometimes. My last pumps were from carpenter and still running them, maybe I bought them at the right time. 5 yrs later. Knock on wood
 
My Bob drake crab distributor cap has the contacts sticking out too far so it broke the NOS rotor, and I got a new bob drake rotor that is so long you cannot even get the cap on, have to grind 2.5mm off the brass tip
 
Kube said:
I have been a loyal customer and well, a fan, of Carpenter since 1973 or so.
It has become apparent that in the most recent years things are changing there.

Received a pair of hood supports for a '40 today. Vintique manufactured. Had I known that, I'd never have ordered them. As most of you seasoned V8ers realize, Vintique is synonymous with "junk".
The problem?
I am unable to swivel ANY of the pivot points. I may not be the strongest guy alive but Lord knows I should be able to move these.
I called Carpenter a moment ago and told them the issue. The fellow said they were aware of it. Really? And you still ship this garbage?
Got the return authorization but absolutely NO refund for my shipping fees to return.
So I am out $12 because they chose to ship a known bad product?

This is BS. My wife and I own a few businesses and on the rare occasion we "goof" we suffer ALL associated "damages". It is simply unfair for a client to lose a cent for our oversight.
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While it may seem odd to quote my own post, it is quite apparent by how these threads go so far away from the original topic, I figured I needed to bring it (the thread) back to the original intent.

Follow up:
Carpenter finally came through and refunded my return shipping costs. It took speaking with the "right" person - one that had agreed the parts sent were known to be inferior.
Bottom line? With a little prodding, they did the right thing.
Thanks Carp's!
 
I always buy from Joe's when possible. He will tell me the quality or lack of, of the part and let me make the decision. Nothing like an old school / honest vendor.
 

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Ziggster said:
Haha. I was just talking to a coworker on Friday about this. This is apparently how Volvo operates, which I'm guessing is par for the course in the automotive industry. Bean counters, lawyers, banks, and insurance companies have completely deconstructed what is is to be a human being.
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So true.
 
I manufacture a few old parts. Quality is the primary consideration. So my stuff is always better than original. Nothing less will do.
 
real steeler said:
I manufacture a few old parts. Quality is the primary consideration. So my stuff is always better than original. Nothing less will do.
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For some reason, I get the feeling that you'd rather hang up the phone than to defend your pricing to a bargain hunter. :D
 
Still junk from Carpenter... just got a starter ring in today, and the ID is supposed to be machined. and severely ground leaving inconsistent waves in the mounting surface. If I knew it was made in India, would have shopped elswhere. Several spots were ground down .060 or more. Buying solely from Mac Vanpelt from now on...
 

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The sad fact is that in 2025 the parts available are drying up fast, and there won't be new production runs of any of this stuff. There just isn't a market for it anymore.

Kirk
 
When I was assembling my 40 V8 coupe, I ordered some rubber door seals, from Carpenter knowing what the part looked like. I got something with the right label on the bag, but it looked like it probably went on a road grader. I drew a line through the part number an put a question mark there and put $5 on it and it went away at the next swap meet. Yeah, I lost money on it but didn't have to deal with driving 30 minutes to take it where I could pay to send it back. The time factor and aggravation made me just eat the loss and move on. This was after Dennis had passed.
 
deuce_roadster said:
When I was assembling my 40 V8 coupe, I ordered some rubber door seals, from Carpenter knowing what the part looked like. I got something with the right label on the bag, but it looked like it probably went on a road grader. I drew a line through the part number an put a question mark there and put $5 on it and it went away at the next swap meet. Yeah, I lost money on it but didn't have to deal with driving 30 minutes to take it where I could pay to send it back. The time factor and aggravation made me just eat the loss and move on. This was after Dennis had passed.
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Thank you for making that distinction. I believe that Dennis ran a tighter ship.
 
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