STS Corvette Forum

brettq · Member

Suspension and Brakes Kits Experience

kensmith · Guru

Have you done any checking with VB&P? I have used them for suspension parts and they specialize in brakes too. They are very knowledgeable and if you call them for tech support, they may be able to help you with some answers. Good luck !!!

ffas23 · Guru

brettq wrote:

I have a 64 I am doing a body off restoration and recently ordered the drum brake and suspension kits from Zip Corvette.� None of the parts have any company names on them only numbers like on the ball joints. I googled one of the numbers and it sent me to several forums that were saying the joints were Dana/Spicer and that they had been failing after only a year. Have any of you bought the Zip kits and what has been your experience. I am about to send the kits back and buy Moog parts for the suspension even thought after checking around today I still can't be sure if I order Moog�they will be made in the US.�There are Moog parts out there now made in Mexico and China. What are we going to do??

brettq,
They may not even be Dana/Spicer but a part number that many chassis parts company's have been using for years. I have been in the auto parts business going on 32 years now. Most of the parts being made today as we all know are coming from over seas. Chances are what Zip is selling you is coming also from China, Taiwan or who knows where. Sad thing is no matter who you buy from today you will probably get the same thing. You would of very well purchased most of those parts from a reputable parts store and may of saved some money. Not everything especially chassis parts need to be purchased from a Corvette Vendor. Zip is a good company though for Corvette Parts. They are one of the company's that I never had a problem with. Most chassis parts should last a long time if you keep them greased. What you should do is use what you have and�just make sure you grease them at least every other oil change depending on the mileage you put on your car. A good idea would be to grease chassis parts at least every 6,000 miles and they should last 100,000 miles without any problems.
You are right about the Moog parts probably coming from all over now like�everything else. Moog doesn't make brake parts though but the same is true with brake parts. Being in the parts business a few years ago I saw that a warehouse that I deal with still had (Made In USA) Raybestos brand rotors in stock. My '67 Coupe�still had�the original GM�Brake�Rotors�on the car�and I didn't like the way they looked after 40 years so I grabbed all 4 brand new Raybestos USA Rotors and put them on my car. Some of this stuff like I said you should be able to buy locally. At least if you walk into a parts store you can have the parts store check with their warehouse to see if they have any USA made product still on the shelfs. You may be surprised being these old part numbers aren't selling like they use to that you might still find some USA parts around. biggrin

-- Edited by ffas23 at 03:23, 2009-01-06

brettq · Member

I bit the bullet and sent the parts back to Zip and purchased Moog suspension parts and Raybestos brake parts from Rockauto.� They had the best prices I could find on the web and I know I have quality stuff on this restoration.�I agree with you I think it is probably better to source as much of our�parts as possible away from the corvette sites and buy through parts stores where we can at least feel and touch what we are buying. It seems all of the corvette sites are selling the same thing and most of the parts have no name or identifying information on them to judge parts quality.

ffas23 · Guru

Good for you brettq. Just curious though. Did you find your Raybestos or Moog brand parts to be USA made? Hopefully you were able to still buy USA.

brettq · Member

I received the shipment from rockauto this week and all the Moog parts were made in the USA except the control arm bushings and they were made in Mexico.� I felt like I did great to do that well.� The parts looked so superior to the stuff I sent back to the corvette supplier.� Thanks for your insight on this subject.� I haven't ordered the brake parts yet, still waiting for the refund on the brake and suspension parts from the corvette supplier before I order the brake parts from rockauto.

ffas23 · Guru

brettq wrote:

I received the shipment from rockauto this week and all the Moog parts were made in the USA except the control arm bushings and they were made in Mexico.� I felt like I did great to do that well.� The parts looked so superior to the stuff I sent back to the corvette supplier.� Thanks for your insight on this subject.� I haven't ordered the brake parts yet, still waiting for the refund on the brake and suspension parts from the corvette supplier before I order the brake parts from rockauto.

Good for you. I am happy I was of service. Now most of us know what I did here in helping brettg out. Most of us would think no big deal. Steer our STS�Corvette forum member�to the right place. We all know what would of happened if I did this on the other Corvette Forum. I would of gotten a warning for what the whacko moderators on the other Corvette�forum would of thought that�I spoke up against a Corvette forum Supporting Vendor whereas this is really�not the case. This is one of the main reasons why I left the other�Corvette�forum. brettg if you really want to thank me help another Corvette forum member from the other forum over to this forum with a PM to them on that forum. We need more members here that could understand what�we are trying to put together over here. The more members the better. smile

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kensmith · Guru

ffas23 wrote:

brettq wrote:

I received the shipment from rockauto this week and all the Moog parts were made in the USA except the control arm bushings and they were made in Mexico.� I felt like I did great to do that well.� The parts looked so superior to the stuff I sent back to the corvette supplier.� Thanks for your insight on this subject.� I haven't ordered the brake parts yet, still waiting for the refund on the brake and suspension parts from the corvette supplier before I order the brake parts from rockauto.

Good for you. I am happy I was of service. Now most of us know what I did here in helping brettg out. Most of us would think no big deal. Steer our STS�Corvette forum member�to the right place. We all know what would of happened if I did this on the other Corvette Forum. I would of gotten a warning for what the whacko moderators on the other Corvette�forum would of thought that�I spoke up against a Corvette forum Supporting Vendor whereas this is really�not the case. This is one of the main reasons why I left the other�Corvette�forum. brettg if you really want to thank me help another Corvette forum member from the other forum over to this forum with a PM to them on that forum. We need more members here that could understand what�we are trying to put together over here. The more members the better.��

I second that! Members are hard to come by. As Fred has mentioned, things don't get rolling until there are enough members to support the forum.

brettq · Member

Just received my Raybestos brake parts from Rock Auto.� Pretty disappointed with Raybestos.� Almost all of their parts where from China. Only the brakes shoes and spring kits were US.� The�brake hoses were from China and the rubber matierial and metal fittings didn't even match.� So I am having Rock Auto send me another brake hose to try and match the hoses.� Otherwise I will just send them back and go to the local auto store and buy them.� At least they will match.

I don't know maybe it's me but the non US parts just look cheap and poorly made.� I know it's Raybestos but the quality control is the issue. We see this everyday in the newspaper how poorly the overseas factories are being monitored by the US corporations.

kensmith · Guru

If you have a local NAPA parts store you may want to go talk to them. I find good parts and service from them. You can also order parts from them and if you don't like them, you just give them back and NO charge.

ffas23 · Guru

This is happening everywhere you go out there for just about anything that was once made here in the USA. All coming from China now or some other country. As I mentioned you really need to look around to still find some USA made parts. Being in the parts�business�31 years I�got to see when�it started happening. That is why when I saw the USA Raybestos�rotors still on the shelf at one of the local warehouses I deal with a few�years ago I�figured it was time to make a change out before I couldn't get USA anything anymore. I have to admit the replacement Up/Down head light switch a made in China copy of the original works well in my car. I purchase it from Wilcox not too long ago.�Not really much of a difference that I can tell in the switch. ��