Ok, being in the tool and die industry, have you had any problems sourcing materials up there in your area? We have had nothing but trouble sourcing quantities of the T7 aluminum billet and also 316 stainless here in the Nashville area, even at some of the alternate metal dealers rapists prices. Heck, I had to wait 8 weeks to receive an 8' section of C93200 SAE660 bearing grade bronze for the custom Oldsmobile specialty roller cam thrust plates that I also produce - twice the originally quoted time frame. The metal shops here wanted stupid money for this bronze stock, so I ordered it in from a supplier we used to use while we were still back in Detroit. Even with careful wood crating handling / shipping costs, it was still half the cost of what the Nashville area metal houses were quoting. Pre-Covid, this was not a problem.
This area has also been hit with a large amount of counterfeit T7 billet. Check out what happens:
It gums brand new cutters up and butters right out - incredible that these melted down Yugo's are being passed off with fake certifications. Grab a piece and check it for Rockwell hardness, and it may as well be a bunch of Miller Lite cans. Get a whole truck load of this, and now you have serious headaches. Shipping back the junk billet and trying to source real T7 has been a bitch. The machine shop won't accept delivery now until a bar in the delivery is checked for proper Rockwell harness and examined very carefully with a test cut, as it might check right for hardness, but still could be counterfeit junk with the alloy mixture not machining cleanly.
What am I getting at? Besides all of the other details I have spelled out causing delays, this is another substantial factor that I haven't mentioned. We have just been a lightning rod for troubles, contributing to delays. Like I said before, NOTHING leaves this building unless it is perfect. If that causes a delay in the name of proper quality control, then so be it. Building custom lifeline parts is critical. It is also WAY out of the average everyday scope of business, as it is not just being a vendor for some other companies products, it is instead being the manufacturer. With that said, even being a Wilwood direct dealer, we just had to wait 4 months for our master cylinder stock order to come in. We were initially given a date of 3-4 weeks, which then got pushed back four times without any notice or communication. Any request for an update received for timing turned out to be useless. This of course then ends up holding up our customer orders that have Wilwood MC's and proportioning valves included in them. Aeroquip is also still 3-6 months out on specialized items used in our systems. Some other specialized parts we have ordered are heading into the 5 month mark. Maybe an incredible business man could find a way to peddle cell phones or whatever other pedestrian item faster, but that same MBA superhero would be hiding under his desk if faced with the challenges we have been through in the course of this last year.
I really need people to understand, but nope, they just want to swipe a card and then have something jump into their outstretched arms...
Brian Hobaugh SCCA National Tour June 2014
First Hemi 'Cuda Convertible Ever Built
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