I was just about to post a similar rant myself after a very frustrating weekend putting my grill together with all new reproduction hardware. What should have been a simple 1 hr process of assembling all new parts into a NOS grill turned out to be an afternoon of frustration.
- Headlamp Adjusters that all the vendors sell do not fit our grills, no way these would ever go in as is. Had to file down plastic to get them to start in the slot before being able to press/tap them in.
- Headlamp buckets and headlamp retaining rings that do not fit together. Bucket trim edge OD was too large and therefore would not allow the holes to line up for the trim ring screws. The really sad part is these parts came from the same repo manufacture. CHECK YOUR PARTS!
- Grill trim, come on...what surface are these supposed to fit. No where close to being formed correctly to lay properly on the grill stamping.
- J-nuts for the headlamp trim rings, supposed to be correct but not like the OE clips and would not allow the trim rings to sit flat on the grill surface. They actually stuck out past the rim and could be seen. Went to the local hardware store and found the correct j-clips. Why couldn't the well known Bronco vendor of NOS parts have sold me the correct clips when they are readily available?
- Grill stamping, in the past I bought and returned one of those grills advertised as off Ford tooling that was so twisted and miss formed I was actually pissed that they were allowed to trade on the Ford name. Obvious nobody was checking the part against any kind of jig let alone on a vehicle.
I grew up as a mechanic and now work in the big 3 auto industry for our favorite mother ship. I have done part engineering, quality engineering, manufacturing engineering, program management, etc.. I get this is the aftermarket industry and the volumes and margins don't pull the same level of attention or level of manufactures for these parts, but if you're going to spend the money to tool the parts why not tool them correctly.
For example, the dash bezels for our headlamp switches, heater controls and such, if your going to tool these why in the hell wouldn't you tool them with the correct font ?!
So I'd like to make a suggestion, actually two...
First to the vendors, if you take the time to inspect and get to know the parts you're selling us, check them for fit and finish and then give us an honest review you would stand out and draw my business. Let us know if its an accurate reproduction or will need minor fitting. Is the font concourse correct or just a good looking fresh part. Don't sell me a repo headlamp bucket and a repo headlamp ring in a kit if the two parts have no chance of going together. Check these parts before you sell them this way. I don't fault you for the parts, I get that you are just a reseller but you are the first line of defense for our hobby, you can pressure the manufactures of these parts to do better.
Second to the moderators here, can we start a thread or sticky for part related experience good/bad etc. ? Not to shame vendors but to simply have awareness of the good the bad the ugly. Rules would be part info only with specific details and photos when possible. For example... I bought x part, it fit perfect or it had issues and this is what I had to do to make it work. This does a few things, helps other understand what to expect, helps vendors understand where issues are, and hopefully helps the manufactures do better.
