[AT] Was Tractor hauler product--now foreign parts

[John Hall]

 About your engine--try Tom Underwood--he advertises in Antique Power. I 
think he is in Lawrence, Kansas. Deals in lots of engine parts dating from 
the '20's. Also, I think the Gibson (about the size of a Farmall M)  we 
rebuilt a few years back had a Hercules. I believe some forklift 
manufacturers used those engines.

Regarding foreign parts---there is a light hope (though it is dim) Cecil . 
The fact is the Chinese cannot and will not build the same quality as we 
Americans. We had a job pulled from us at work that went straight to China. 
I oversaw the production of these parts for 1 1/2 years. We were never late 
on delivery and NEVER had any deliveries scrapped out. The job went to China 
because they could make the parts for less than our raw materials cost. 
Those same parts are now coming to the US with a 40% scrap rate. Once you 
figure in delayed shipping of completed product and worry about what the 
inspectors did not find that will fail once in service, the bean counters 
don't seem to have the bargain they thought they did. Time will tell.
Wake up America!!

John Hall


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Cecil Bearden" <crbearden at copper.net>
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com>
Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2008 9:41 AM
Subject: Re: [AT] Tractor hauler product needed, probably doesn't exist


> Farmer:
> No use anymore trying to start up a new product.  Unless you can
> guarantee an entire shipping container full from China, than it won't be
> manufactured in the USA....   I havfe found this out the hard way with
> older engines I try to rebuild.  I have hit a brick wall with a QXLD5
> hercules..   One piston broke after a re ring job and I have to buy an
> entire set of pistons.  I have $1500 in this generator and anothe $500
> in parts and it is about to go to the scrapyard because I am so
> disgusted with trying to repair it.  It is the unit from hell!
> definitely.  I have spent nearly 40 hours researching piston suppliers
> on the net and in the old catalogs I have.  Federal Mogul bought out all
> the suppliers years ago. and no ne is left in the US....
>
> A young friend is traveling to France with an engineering group to look
> at the JD factory in France as there is nothing to look at in the US...
>
> The US gov't is going to  ail out the Big three so that they can send
> more money overseas through Federal Mogul, their largest supplier of
> parts....
>
> I have had enough and am ready to sell out.  I spend so much time
> hunting parts that I can never get anything done....
>
> Cecil in OKla
>
>