Half-life” (denoted in scientific equations as t½) is the principle typically used to measure how long radioactive decay takes to reduce something to half of its initial value. Scientists, of which I am certainly not one, seem to think t½ is constant. I, perhaps due to the previously mentioned lack of education in this realm, do not — at least not as it applies to old car parts. To me it seems like this half-life thing is accelerating at an alarming rate.
Or, in other words, “they just don’t make them like they used to.”
I’ve been around old cars my whole life — many since they weren’t so old. I’ve worked on cars as my profession for my entire adult life. So I think I am uniquely qualified to say that we’re getting fed a bunch of crap these days. Ever notice how you replace a 50-year-old part that just failed and the new one makes it eight months? You’re not alone. It appears to be an epidemic.
The question is, what should the acceptable full life of any given component be? It seems the lowest bidder has been deciding for us.
Manifold problems
For example, when my wife and I were about to leave on the Copperstate 1000 road rally in our unrestored 289 Cobra a few months ago, I noticed a little extra exhaust noise. Turns out one of the cast-iron “Y” exhaust manifolds had a little casting flaw right at the hot spot, and it had turned into a pinhole.
This, while inconvenient, didn’t bother me in the least, as this hunk of cast iron had lasted 53 years and 134,000 miles before developing a tiny hole. This thing far outlived any reasonable expectation of longevity — and it was easily repairable with a quick braze job. But when I replaced the manifold, I also had to replace the old exhaust-manifold gaskets.
About 250 miles into the rally, these new gaskets completely burned out on the way into the Grand Canyon. I figured maybe it was operator error — maybe I didn’t re-torque the bolts soon enough. So I removed the manifold in a parking lot and replaced the gaskets again. Two-hundred miles later they had again transformed into a potato chip-like crispy substance. I did this swap one more time, and you guessed it, 200 miles later the newest ones were toast, too.
On the final go-round I just used some copper RTV silicone — no gaskets at all. Guess what? That repair has held just fine.
What’s going on?
I did a little research and found that the gasket supplier decided to use a non-heat-resistant material to make their exhaust-manifold gaskets.
I know I may be in the minority of people who drive their old Cobra extensively, but surely gaskets only designed for cars that idle in and out of trailers can’t be acceptable to anybody, right? And yet this supplier is selling them without issue.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident. We see all kinds of new part failures in our shop. Countless ignition rotors made out of a material that quickly burns through, immediately causing the car to stop running when the coil’s spark is shorted directly to ground through the distributor shaft. New brake cylinders whose rubber seals self-destruct in two years or less. New ball joints that are loose before they are even installed. New spark plugs with ceramic insulators that fall out right from the box. Fuel-system components — supposedly “ethanol safe” — that melt when exposed to ethanol.
And while fuel leaks and brake failures are no laughing matter, I’ve also seen far more serious things, like new steering boxes with gears inside that literally break apart because they are poor-quality castings or were machined improperly.
We’re the source, and the solution
All of this might help explain why it seems so much harder to maintain old cars today. You take your time to do a repair, buy the best parts available, and find yourself having to do it again either immediately or in short order simply because a new part has failed or didn’t work right to begin with.
Let’s not even get into non-critical components like reproduction sheet metal, trim or soft parts. How many of you have had a reproduction fender or door fit like an original? Or a new pre-stitched seat cover or carpet set fit properly without major surgery? How about getting a door or trunk lid to close with new weather stripping installed?
The sad part is once you do go through the struggle of getting this stuff to work, it just doesn’t last. Why does an original factory starter last 40 years but the “premium quality” parts-store replacement barely makes it clear of its two-year warranty? I’d be thrilled with a component that offered a guarantee against half-life decay!
Of course I’d be irresponsible if I didn’t point out that we, as consumers, are mostly to blame for all of this. We are conditioned to shop for the best price on parts and the lowest bidder for a repair. Somewhere along the line, the idea of value has been lost during the drive for lower cost.
It’s kind of hard to unring that bell, and after all, these parts manufacturers are playing the odds that big profits will outweigh warranty claims and returned product. And from what I can see, that bet is paying off. So are we being forced to accept poor quality, or are we happily allowing it under the premise of “it’s available, and it isn’t expensive”?
I wish I could offer a solution, but I can’t. All I can suggest is if you find a good product, supplier or manufacturer that offers reproduction parts that are of a superior quality, please keep using them and spread the word. Stick with the guys that might cost a little more but know the product and stand behind what they sell. Network with owners of similar cars and share experiences on suppliers and even the shops doing the work. Don’t shy away from paying more for quality. Let’s do what we can to stop the spread of half-life!