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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / Parts books & vender catalogs

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Posted By Discussion Topic: Parts books & vender catalogs -- page: 1 2     kubes40 05-31-2012 @ 6:48 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3423 Joined: Oct 2009 I was prompted to bring this subject to the forefront as it was recently touched upon (once again) in a separate post. It probably bears repeating often but no one should trust a vendors catalog insomuch as to think their stated application may (most likely not) be concourse correct. Like the Ford parts books, just because it is listed to FIT a particular model does not mean it matches what was originally installed upon the factory assembly line. This is a common malady I hear on the concourse and one that could be avoided with a bit more research during any restoration process. Also, simply because a vendor has a "Ford licensed part" listed does not mean that part is correct or will even fit properly. The licensing does mean the vender is paying a royalty to Ford and little beyond that. Yes, the part I am confident, has met a minimum criteria of The Ford Motor Company's license department. One example: Upper radiator hoses for 1939 Fords... They are a licensed part. Are they correct for a concourse restoration? No way. Another example: Upper hoses for a 1940 Ford... They too are a licensed part. In fact the identical part as being sold for a 1939 Ford. Are they correct for a concourse restoration? Once again, no way. The list goes on and on and on and on... Remember the burden is upon the owner / restorer to present his car upon the concourse with the factory (authentic) installed pieces. An argument that "well, such and such (insert vendor name here) said it was the exact / correct part" does not carry any weight when deducted point are being discussed. 42wagon 05-31-2012 @ 9:18 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 586 Joined: Oct 2009 kubes40 Well said! It is my understanding that the parts books were issued to allow the dealers to find repair parts easily. As such they are a guide but Ford was only interested in providing a part that would fit not in providing an exact match for the part the car was assembled with. As I understand it, and my brother is one of those who has a license, the license only gives a vendor the right to use the Ford logos on the part he or she is manufacturing. It does not make any representation that the part in question is an exact reproduction of the original part. Ted supereal 05-31-2012 @ 10:37 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Mike: I lost your e-mail address when I purged my address book. Please PM your address to me so I can reply to your message. Bob. ford38v8 05-31-2012 @ 10:39 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2780 Joined: Oct 2009 I'm glad Mike brought this subject up. When a part was modified for whatever reason, Ford would always design the replacement in a way that would interchange with the old version if possible, to avoid excessive parts inventories. The Green Bible, for that reason, was intended as, and should be thought of only as an interchange catalog. To find the Concourse correct part, restorers need to get hold of a parts catalog as near to the year of their car as possible, although, some lisings in the "year" catalog were never supplied, and corrections were made to the catalog in the following year's catalog. These issues do continue to come up from time to time, and tend to make life interesting! Alan kubes40 05-31-2012 @ 3:43 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3423 Joined: Oct 2009 Alan is correct in that you are best to obtain a parts book as close in print date as the date your car was manufactured. However, even having said book in hand, be aware that there are numerous discrepancies between what was "built" and what was supplied even a month or two later. The more we research, the more information becomes available to allow us to narrow down what was built and when. trjford8 05-31-2012 @ 7:41 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4232 Joined: Oct 2009 O.K this is all well and good and an owner should use the correct part on the restoration. But what happens if there are no NOS parts available and all the repos of a certain part are not correct? In my view I would not deduct points if the correct(authentic) part was not available. ford38v8 05-31-2012 @ 10:51 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2780 Joined: Oct 2009 Tom, this is in fact what is done many times, and the practice draws the ire of those who did go the extra mile (and the extra dollar) to assure that their restoration is as correct as it can be. Indeed, there are some guys that really take it personal that some cars rate a high point Dearborn with these non-authentic features. There is no hard and fast rule, and some items get by pretty much automatically because there is no correct reproduction. I'm kinda in the middle on this, and apply the "best available" formula perhaps more than some purists would like, but I do think that fairness should take into account the viewpoint of the vast majority of restorers as opposed to those few purists on the fringe. Now I just made some enemies, but know that I do consider my judging to be somewhat stricter than most, as I think most Judges are way too lenient. Alan kubes40 06-01-2012 @ 7:10 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3423 Joined: Oct 2009 I am one of those guys that don't allow for the "best available" part, etc. There are hard rules about this. That being the car is deemed to be a "perfect" restoration when the judging begins. Any deviations from authentic result in a point loss. It is not an excuse if you can't find and / or afford any given part. EVERYTHING is either available or can be produced. If it was made once, it can be made again. Sure, that can be costly. That is the "game" you, as a con=course participant choose. If you apply the theory that "the best available part is "acceptable" the founding principles of our Club will vanish completely. Sooner or later all authentic (correct) parts will not be available unless someone makes them anew. Does that mean our concourse is filled with cars that all have "the best available" junk on them? At that point, count me out. I realize some judges look the other way and I am strongly against this practice. If we as judges KNOW the part is wrong or a poor reproduction, a point loss should be forthcoming. If not the new "A" cars will become in reality a bunch of "C" cars. Are we really wanting to get our concourse akin to the modern little leagues wherein they don't keep score so there are no losers and all the kids feel great? We know how that theory has worked on our society. Not for me, thanks. If we do subscribe to the aforementioned theory how about we just give all who enter the concourse a trophy right away. The savings in time and efforts would be great. Plus, everyone can go home and tell their friends they won. Me? I'd rather earn my award(s). Let's be completely honest here: We all do not play on the same field. Some have more talents and / or more play money. Regardless of the participants talents / monies, once on the concourse we all are SUPPOSED to play by the same rules. Fair is fair. There are touring classes, etc. for those that judging is not so important. By the way, I restore my cars to see what I am personally capable of accomplishing. Each one is a challenge that I welcome. Often it has been a strain on my knowledge level and / or play money. Still, I find a way. MY choice. I do not offer any excuses when I may have over looked something. By the way Alan, you did not make an enemy out of me. I do disagree with you this time (that rarely happens) but you still have my respect. This message was edited by kubes40 on 6-1-12 @ 7:12 AM 40guy 06-01-2012 @ 7:28 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 270 Joined: Oct 2009 What is wrong with the current reproduction upper radiator hoses for 1940 Fords? I haven't bought any in 15 years. kubes40 06-01-2012 @ 7:53 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 3423 Joined: Oct 2009 In response to: What is wrong with the current reproduction upper radiator hoses for 1940 Fords? I haven't bought any in 15 years. Authentic 1940 Ford hoses did not have any markings on them. It is well documented that the markings did appear until early 1944. I would hazard a guess here and say that many venders (Drake comes to mind) copy service replacement parts. You know, the Green Bible theory. The part fits, it functions but is not necessarily correct.

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