So everything new is mo better, huh?

[Mark]

If it's Boeing, I ain't going...

[Tabbysdaddy]

9 hours ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

And being poor quality cast iron, it'll break again almost immediately.

Yep, good as new.

[sfhess]

2 hours ago, Brudda said:

 

I have a friend who worked at Boeing. He said ever since Lockheed Martin was part of Boeing things went down hill. Boeing had three inspections per assembly, then it went down to 2. Then one. That’s when he quit. I’ll never forget his quote ( it will be amazing if the doors do not blow off this thing)  that was awhile ago and here it happened.  Bean counters are not always a good thing. 

 

Lockheed Martin was never "Part of Boeing".  They are two separate companies.  

[Dragline]

At 21 I put together my 71 Vega. In my Father's side yard with just a blue tarp over the proceeding. I installed an Art Morrison four link, front rack with pro stock style struts and brakes. Tied the chassis. The guy I bought the rolling part from was an aluminum fabricator, so the interior was all beaded hand formed with big tubs. The body was already Lazer straight. 

It came with a boat anchor high nickel 4 bolt truck 350. I bought a PAW (remember them?)stroker kit and built it myself. Put a T10 behind it with the biggest clutch it would take (Hayes).

In primer I took it to NE Dragway and proceed to put it on the bumper. After a year of tweaking it went 9.86 a about 130 or so. Really quick 60 foot but ran out at the end a little. Still a street car these days, it's painted some red color and the supercharger the guy who bought it off me put on is now gone. Back to where it started.

Got in lots of trouble with it in the mid 80s. It survived because I took the time and if I didn't know something, I ASKED.

I'll throw a picture in when I find a decent one. I think I have an early one that makes the rounds in the Internet when it was yellow and no wheelie bars.

But I see questionable stuff all the time. I see plenty of righteous stuff as well. 

If I could do it right back then there is NO excuse these days.

Edited July 5 by Dragline

[Brudda]

1 hour ago, sfhess said:

Lockheed Martin was never "Part of Boeing".  They are two separate companies.  

 

[robdebie]

5 hours ago, Brudda said:

I have a friend who worked at Boeing. He said ever since Lockheed Martin was part of Boeing things went down hill. Boeing had three inspections per assembly, then it went down to 2. Then one. That’s when he quit. I’ll never forget his quote ( it will be amazing if the doors do not blow off this thing)  that was awhile ago and here it happened.  Bean counters are not always a good thing.

Make that McDonnell-Douglas, instead of Lockheed.

Rob

[Ace-Garageguy]

4 hours ago, Dragline said:

But I see questionable stuff all the time. I see plenty of righteous stuff as well. 

Some really impressive stuff made in the USA comes from Motion Raceworks. It's not cheap, but it's gorgeous quality AND they get their prototypes 100% functional in reality BEFORE they commit to production. I'm using their breather/catch can setup on the Smeding Performance / Grumpy Jenkins "Signature" 750HP BBC in the high-end '66 Chevelle I'm wrapping up.

This catch can...   ...and these internally baffled breathers...   

4 hours ago, Dragline said:

...If I could do it right back then there is NO excuse these days.

100% correct, but you have to CARE enough to find out what's right if you don't know, and the interwebs offer a LOT of bad information.

And if you can't afford good parts...especially life-critical bits like front axles...you really shouldn't be trying to build cars.

There are plenty of places on any build to save money, but low-end suspension parts made from inferior material isn't one of them.

EDIT: Some of the Mopar pickups I know have forged aluminum front control arms as OEM equipment. Lowball aftermarket garbage is cast. Now THAT is scary.

Edited July 5 by Ace-Garageguy

[SpeedAndViolence]

6 hours ago, Brudda said:

The old guys that gave a sh.t made things to last because their name was on it. Now it’s just greed. I’m trying to teach this guy about (your name is on the repair) but some people do not care. I’m disgusted with the current situation. 

My dad taught me this back when I was a lazy dead-a$$ teenager, when he realized I was cutting corners on my chores.

It seems to be even *more* relevant now than it was back in the 80’s. 

It doesn't matter if you are pushing papers, cleaning a toilet or working a trade job. Your name is attached..in some form...to literally every task you do, paid or unpaid.

Quality will always matter, and in every capacity. The smart folks are willing to pay *a lot* of money for good, lasting quality products, and a 'handle it' work ethic. And as a bonus.. it's job security to always give 100% when you punch in on that time-clock(most of the time).

When COVID hit, I was fueling commercial aircraft. Only 4 of us continued working, the lazy employees got laid off. 

Edited July 5 by SpeedAndViolence

[johnyrotten]

1 hour ago, Ace-Garageguy said:

Some really impressive stuff made in the USA comes from Motion Raceworks.

Not blasting their products at all, I caught a video a while back where the screws on one of their throttle bodies came out and did some damage to one of Steve Morris's engines. Long story short, they now tack weld every screw on the throttle blades. Top tier company.

[Dragline]

And what is with all these stickers on people's windshields? I just don't get it. We couldn't get away with that BLAH_BLAH_BLAH_BLAH at all. I had a set of supertrapp mufflers on my Vega. They came with a nice sticker, so I threw it on the back quarter glass on the driver's side. I got pulled over and was told to remove it as it blocked vision. I couldn't see it with the mirror if I crained my neck!

Off it came.... But I see these Monster sized decals running up and down windshields on these little Asian fart rockets everywhere I go.

In my best Jerry Seinfeld.. What's the deal?

[peteski]

5 hours ago, Dragline said:

In my best Jerry Seinfeld.. What's the deal?

Deal is the same as with all the colored (other than white and amber) lights on the front of the cars, like purple, green, blue, red, etc. halos on many Jeeps aftermarket headlights and other cars.  I remember when just installing tiny "blue dots" in the taillights would get you stopped by the law enforcement. Same with dark tinted windows. Why do we have so many crazy drivers totally ignoring traffic rules?  Because law enforcement seems pretty much non-existent on the roads and in inspection stations.

[espo]

Used to live in Sacramento, not far from the CHP substation off I-80. Driving an '86 Monte Carlo SS that I never mounted a front license plate on and had tinted windows. California required a front plate, and it was death on the side windows tinted from the B pillar forward. So, I go in for the inspection by the CHP to get my ticket signed off, Sacramento can be really hot during the summer months. I had the front plate held in place with zip ties and parked with the windows rolled down. The Inspection officer steps outside and sees my car a good 100 feet away and its summer in Sacramento. He takes two steps out of the door, looks at my car, and motions me back inside and signs off the Fixit Ticket. When I sold the car years later the mounting bracket for the front plate was still in the trunk and the original window tint was still on the windows. Ya hot summers.   

[Beans]

42 minutes ago, espo said:

Used to live in Sacramento, not far from the CHP substation off I-80. Driving an '86 Monte Carlo SS that I never mounted a front license plate on and had tinted windows. California required a front plate, and it was death on the side windows tinted from the B pillar forward. So, I go in for the inspection by the CHP to get my ticket signed off, Sacramento can be really hot during the summer months. I had the front plate held in place with zip ties and parked with the windows rolled down. The Inspection officer steps outside and sees my car a good 100 feet away and its summer in Sacramento. He takes two steps out of the door, looks at my car, and motions me back inside and signs off the Fixit Ticket. When I sold the car years later the mounting bracket for the front plate was still in the trunk and the original window tint was still on the windows. Ya hot summers.   

Reminds me of the time I detuned my jeep to where it would barely run in order to pass emissions test.  The next time I painted a coffee can black, put some random hoses into it and screwed it to the firewall to mimic emissions control systems.  Passed through both times.

[Rob Hall]

43 minutes ago, espo said:

Used to live in Sacramento, not far from the CHP substation off I-80. Driving an '86 Monte Carlo SS that I never mounted a front license plate on and had tinted windows. California required a front plate, and it was death on the side windows tinted from the B pillar forward. So, I go in for the inspection by the CHP to get my ticket signed off, Sacramento can be really hot during the summer months. I had the front plate held in place with zip ties and parked with the windows rolled down. The Inspection officer steps outside and sees my car a good 100 feet away and its summer in Sacramento. He takes two steps out of the door, looks at my car, and motions me back inside and signs off the Fixit Ticket. When I sold the car years later the mounting bracket for the front plate was still in the trunk and the original window tint was still on the windows. Ya hot summers.   

Reminds me of my friend Steve in Denver.. Colorado is a two plate state, the front plate is required.    He bought a '91 Acura NSX back in '99 from a one plate state, didn't have a front bracket..he's driven it the last 26 years with the front plate lying on the passenger side of the dash against the windshield...don't think he's ever gotten a ticket for the plate.  

I bought my current Jeep Grand Cherokee in Arizona, no front plate or bracket...moved to Ohio and had to get a front bracket installed for the front plate..2 years after I moved back, Ohio dropped the two plate requirement.. 

[Dragline]

On 7/7/2025 at 11:51 PM, peteski said:

Deal is the same as with all the colored (other than white and amber) lights on the front of the cars, like purple, green, blue, red, etc. halos on many Jeeps aftermarket headlights and other cars.  I remember when just installing tiny "blue dots" in the taillights would get you stopped by the law enforcement. Same with dark tinted windows. Why do we have so many crazy drivers totally ignoring traffic rules?  Because law enforcement seems pretty much non-existent on the roads and in inspection stations.

Blue dots were another one here in Mass. If you had a tri five Chevy or a 32 no problem. Anything else? Get rid of it.

I had one on the tombstone taillight of my 78FLH. Got my chops busted constantly. And anytime I went into Connecticut? Stopped immediately! Check helmet, lights, license. The entire thing. The man with the rubber glove was surprisingly gentle....

Edited Wednesday at 12:43 PM by Dragline

[Carmak]

I design medical devices (30+ years). As you might imagine my industry is highly regulated (we sell around the world, so we comply with multiple sets of regulations).

The high level result of these regulations are:

• The good: Our products are safe and work as intended at a very high percentage. By law only properly trained individuals can use our products.
• The bad: The cost of the rigorous testing is included in the cost of our products and the regulations can limit innovation.

 

The aftermarket auto parts industry is nearly the opposite. Sure there are some voluntary industry standard groups, but they pale when compared to the medical requirements.

In the absence of any regulation the free market will tend to drive the cost down to the point where everything is garbage.

As a car guy I am not a fan of regulation but currently the pendulum may have swung a little too far.

[johnyrotten]

2 hours ago, Dragline said:

Blue dots were another one here in Mass.

They really give you that hard of a time over that. I'm barely legal on my kawasaki (no directional lights and just over minimum seat height) and have had no issues in NY. Inspection sticker isn't on the fork,either. I thought NY was bad.

[Ace-Garageguy]

So...ummmmm...where are the consumer class-action lawsuits for billions in punitive damages?

 

[Dragline]

5 hours ago, johnyrotten said:

They really give you that hard of a time over that. I'm barely legal on my kawasaki (no directional lights and just over minimum seat height) and have had no issues in NY. Inspection sticker isn't on the fork,either. I thought NY was bad.

This blue dot thing was in the 80s. With all the relaxation I imagine that now it's no big deal. In my initial post I was trying to juxtapose then and now. Perhaps I didn't do as good a job as I may have hoped.

Edited Wednesday at 01:43 AM by Dragline

[peteski]

1 hour ago, Dragline said:

This blue dot thing was in the 80s. With all the relaxation I imagine that now it's no big deal. In my initial post I was trying to juxtapose then and now. Perhaps I didn't do as good a job as I may have hoped.

Blue dots or not, stickers all over the windshield, etc., what you pointed out happens likely due to the fact that there is severe lack of laws enforcement.  You were right on target. It is like we live in a modern Wild, Wild West. It is a free for all without suffering any consequences.

[Dragline]

Then I did indeed highlight my frustration. Some of it is envy and some is anger over lack of enforcement. Yet I suspect if you asked me then as a younger man, lack of enforcement would have been fine with me. My own hypocrisy shines down on my head as I ask why the now is as it is.

[Ace-Garageguy]

16 minutes ago, Dragline said:

 My own hypocrisy shines down on my head as I ask why the now is as it is.

Amen, brother.

[sfhess]

DARK tint on windshields and front side windows

[Dragline]

NOT being able to see the drivers eyes is big to me. 

[sidcharles]

On 7/4/2025 at 10:05 AM, Ace-Garageguy said:

Current production aftermarket "offshore" cast '32 Ford front axle, failed in use...

    

the owner wanted a suicide front end?