why arent good parts so good any more???

This is just my rant but here it is .I bought a set of pistons from a reputable supplier custom .Well when installing the rings I noticed the second ring was difficult to install .I squeezed them and they wouldnt go in all the way .Come to find the piston groove wasnt deep enough .185 the rings are .200 .Sent them back gave them a call yeah we screwed up we will cut them deeper .They screwed my pistons up cutting the groove deeper ! So still waiting it is one month now .Bought a set of rocker arms for scj heads froma reputable company in 1.73 ratio .They were short on lift !! after checking with my dial indicator .After doing the math they were 1.60 ratio.Sent them back finally got the right ones .Pre lubing my engine no oil at the rocker arm .Check this and that the lifter wasnt drilled ! The cam company wouldnt talk to me luckily summit swapped with me .This is something not many check bolted my flex plate and convertor to the back of my new forged crankshaft .I put clay in the convertor pilot hole to check how much clearance convertor to crank .My damn clay was about .005 thick !to tight for me so got another convertor no way to make the hole deeper on an assembled engine .What is going on at these big companies? The guy that cut my pistons even put the .185 depth for my ring groove dimensions .I never would gotten them installed the rings stuck out .015 .My thinking is well they screwed up and will get on this quickly .NOT This is a warning to all engine builders back yard or pro. CHECK everything twice .This is really frustrating to me I just wanted to get my short block together before christmas kinda hard to do so without pistons .Sorry for this rant it is mine just dont let it become yours.Doug

Seems to be happening a lot more now days.

Bunch of the “conglomerates” are squeezing the companies for profit and that means less employees and faster production time, plus a lot of the old timers with the experience are pulling the plug and not being properly replaced or even not being replaced because they can’t find some one qualified or willing to work to replace them.

Other issues are the government no fossil fuel goals killing interest in going into the business.
Who wants to spend all kinds of money on something that’s going to be put out of business???

Add to that younger generations just don’t like tinkering with stuff anymore, they don’t want to get their hands dirty.

That is what engine builders have been dealing with for the last 20 or so years.

Check everything and fix whatever you can, if you can, without sending the part back to the manufacturer.
As far as the ring grooves,  back-cutting the rings, would have been my plan.

Gotta make the bolt on parts bolt on they say... Even the custom stuff I wonder what the speed part and machine business will be like in 10 years ???

IMO it seems like after Covid and people paying attention to their cell phones and not their jobs is why things have went to shit!! I give Randy credit i know Keith Craft Racing Engines closed up he got tired of the customers bitching their engines weren't done!! He couldn't get engine parts but yet the customers couldn't understand why their engines weren't finished!!

Been calling nothing done yet .Supposedly a machine has been giving trouble .If that is the case why dont they have a backup ? I shipped those pistons before thanksgiving .Still waiting sometimes I think No parts are coming for me I told them I have lost confidence in them we will see .Doug

Weekly I call about the status of my pistons they have been telling me the valve relief machine is broken .That has been the story for six weeks or more .When I shipped them back the received them the week of thanksgiving .Somehow I am having doubts about getting any pistons .They keep blowing me off .Doug

manofmerc wrote:Weekly I call about the status of my pistons they have been telling me the valve relief machine is broken .That has been the story for six weeks or more .When I shipped them back the received them the week of thanksgiving .Somehow I am having doubts about getting any pistons .They keep blowing me off .Doug

You already paid them ... I would guess that they are doing money making jobs first and yours are at the end of the line.