Mitchell Overdrive etc

F

Forditude

Senior Member
Hello Everyone,

This is my first post in a forum. This past weekend I attended the Turlock Swap meet in California. While I was there, I stopped by and talked with the Mitchell Family, producers of the overdrive and transmission that many of us have in our touring cars. Mrs Mitchell expressed concern that someone on the Ford Barn had posted that they are now sourcing parts from China.

THERE IS NO TRUTH TO THIS RUMOR. ALL MITCHELL PRODUCTS ARE 100% AMERICAN MADE. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE GO TO THE SOURCE, MITCHELL MANUFACTURING AND GET YOUR ANSWERS. 800-859-2088

Misinformation on this site can do real damage to Mitchells and other suppliers business.

I wanted to post this to help get the true story out in front of the Ford Barn Forum's.

Jay McCord-Santa Maria CA-805-598-8133
President Santa Maria A's
Former board member MAFFI
 
I did a search of the forums and cannot find one single post saying the Mitchell overdrives are sourced from, or use parts from China. Can you link the post you are referring?
 
It was here of Fordbarn, LINK

I can understand Mitchell being concerned, but their sanctimonious aloofness assumed by not having a web page or at least a contact person that occasionally posts on one of the 'A' sites does nothing to rectify such inaccuracies.
 
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It is here on Fordbarn in a couple of places.I know one is under either syncro tramsmission,or under Mitchell transmission.I printed one post about that out to ask somebody about it.That post was by Patrick L.I have a friend that has dealt with them for years,I wanted to ask him about it.
 
I did say that. I called and spoke with a friendly person that said what I then repeated. I only asked about the transmitters and was told about the different ratios available, core charges and availability[thats when the China statement came up]. I'll repeat, they were friendly and we spoke for quite a while. If their stuff is all American made and they made a mis-statement or I mis-took something they said, then my choice to get one of their products has just been made a lot easier.
 
I was asking a vendor about something a couple of years ago,(the guy I printed out your post for)and I heard,all China,and the guy next to me heard,not China.I don't believe yours was the only post that mentioned China,unless you posted it in another thread.I only knew about yours because I had saved it.
 
MikeK said:
but their sanctimonious aloofness assumed by not having a web page or at least a contact person that occasionally posts on one of the 'A' sites does nothing to rectify such inaccuracies.
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questionable business strategy? possibly
sanctimonious aloofness? not a chance.
you apparently have never spoken to or dealt with the Mitchell family.
I have bought 2 OD units and numerous other Mitchell products and enjoy seeing them at national meets.
wonderful people providing great products.
and yes, they seem to be doing just fine without the distraction of an internet presence.
 
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Just because someone has no website, and has better things to do then follow any website forum, does not make them aloof, or questionable in their business plan. In my opinion, making a good product is a very good business plan. If you want any information on their products, there is this thing called a telephone. It is easy to use and many great businesses still use it, and it worked well for decades. If I were Mitchell Mfg. Co, I would be insulted by those remarks. I have used, owned , driven and sold Mitchell's products for years, and when I read all three threads that implied that some of their parts were made in China, I gave them a call. In 30 seconds, I had the answer that I expected. Guys, just because they do things differently then you do, does not make it wrong. They make good stuff, they stand behind it , and they make it here in the USA with USA people. Wish more companies did that.

Sorry for the rant, but I hate seeing good people getting a bad rap.
 
SteveB31 said:
Just because someone has no website, and has better things to do then follow any website forum, does not make them aloof, or questionable in their business plan. In my opinion, making a good product is a very good business plan. If you want any information on their products, there is this thing called a telephone. It is easy to use and many great businesses still use it, and it worked well for decades. If I were Mitchell Mfg. Co, I would be insulted by those remarks. I have used, owned , driven and sold Mitchell's products for years, and when I read all three threads that implied that some of their parts were made in China, I gave them a call. In 30 seconds, I had the answer that I expected. Guys, just because they do things differently then you do, does not make it wrong. They make good stuff, they stand behind it , and they make it here in the USA with USA people. Wish more companies did that.

Sorry for the rant, but I hate seeing good people getting a bad rap.
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This summer I hope to finish a '29 Coupe that will be my driver. I will be installing a Mitchell Overdrive in it.

When in Marquette Michigan this summer at the MAFCA national meet I had a chance to talk to several members of the Mitchell family. First, it was great to see 3 generations involved in the family business. Everyone I talked to was polite, friendly and informative. All my questions were answered at a level that I could understand. Well to be honest, the man (name?), who is in charge of making the units, did lose me a couple times as he spoke about the intricacies of the unit. However, they were more than willing to answer all my questions.

I gave them a down payment. In a couple months I received a phone call that the overdrive was done and that it was time to pay the balance. I did. Later they called to say that they received the check and told me the date of delivery. I look forward to installing it.

Personally, I'm happy to deal with a family owned business. All of my life I have looked to buy American products first. This will probably be my first, last and only dealings with the Mitchell family but I am more than happy to share my insight on dealings with them. I have no doubt that when installed I will continue to praise their business and their product.

Dean
 
I have the opportunity to visit their facility several times. They work very hard to do a service to the Model A hobby and put out an excellent product. I know Steve spent hours of his own time helping people at the repair tent working on problems that were not related to his overdrive or transmission. He loaned out pullers and tools to also help people out. I hope the lack of a website isn't going to make someone make a decision about doing business with a company. I guess you could order one through a parts vendor that has a website then everyone would be happy.
 
Mitchell is an outstanding company to do business with. I have installed numerous Mitchell overdrives in years past. Each member of the family is friendly and helpful.

A number of years ago I hosted a seminar to install a Mitchell overdrive in a club member's car on a Saturday. When the task was finished we found we could not shift it. Investigation revealed there was a hole in the shipping container the exact size of a fork lift blade right where the shifter had been located. Fork lift operators at shipping depots have a practice of scooting a container around that they cannot get the blades under by pushing on the sides with the end of the blades. The blade that had come through the box had bent the shifter

Monday morning the owner called and spoke to Sue Mitchell and told her of the problem. We suggested she ship another overdrive minus the stub shaft, etc. She shipped it that same day and it arrived here in Southern California two days later on Wednesday. In the meantime I had pulled the rear end back out. On Thursday the owner and I installed the second overdrive and shipped the first one back to Mitchell. Mitchell covered the cost of the shipping of the second overdrive and the return of the first one.

I suggested to them that they reinforce the sides of their containers with some plywood in the area of the shifter to prevent a reoccurrence, and they did just that.

I don't think you can get better service than that.

Tom Endy
 
I did a quick search on Google for Mitchell Model A transmissions and could not find any mention of "MADE IN THE USA".

If they had their own website, it would have been at the top of the Google results page. I would have gone to their website and probably have seen the Stars and Stipes, Uncle Sam and the "100 % Made in the USA" sign.

If the Mitchell family needs a reason to have a website they've got one.

Being they make good quality USA made products that are not cheap, it does seem very strange they do not have a website to provide information and promote and protect their brand.

The company that makes the KC Warford Model T transmission have a website.
 
They advertise in the the A trade journals, word of mouth, swap meets, and maybe even SSEMA. Why have the expense of a webpage when obviously they are working with a backlog of orders. Simple business school 101. JMO
Paul in CT
 
1931 flamingo said:
Why have the expense of a webpage when obviously they are working with a backlog of orders.
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Because the "me generation" is rasied to assume that if you don't have a website, then it isn't legitimate.

Imagine... How did the world function without the WWW? Oh, the humanity!!!
 
P.S. said:
Because the "me generation" is rasied to assume that if you don't have a website, then it isn't legitimate.

Imagine... How did the world function without the WWW? Oh, the humanity!!!
Click to expand...

OH I love that... and I have a Mitchel and they are a great company!
 
Paul, in less than three years you've posted almost 4000 times on this forum. So it's rather strange you're suggesting the WWW is a less important place to have a presence than swap meets and trade journals. Also remember there are potential customers for your USA made products in Australia, Europe, South Africa, etc...for them it's not easy to ring because of cost and time differences, or to go to Hershey every year to meet the Mitchell family. Having a website costs very little money...mine for example costs $30 a year in total (for the domain and hosting). It's not too difficult to make a website by yourself if you have the time...I made mine without any training.

Mr. P.S. Yes, you are correct. No website in today's world if you're a business that sells items costing over $2000 is not okay. It's like being a business without a business card or a telephone number. Guess what? The world changes. When I was in high school there were typewritters...I'm glad they're now gone. 30 years before the Model A there were horses...I'm glad Henry put them out of business. I'm sure you know all this as you've posted more than 500 times on this forum in less than one year...GO DUDE! (isn't that what the "me generation" say?)
 
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