eBay traction bars ———--caltracs copy

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Donnie514 said:
I do not know of any one who uses traction bars on a Mopar.
I know I am old school, but either a four link or super stock springs.
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Dam guy, u been living under a rock? The world is full of mopars w/ caltracs !
 
70wayfarer said:
that's what they said about the chinese turbos and there's plenty of those holding there own against brand name turbos. just saying
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Go buy a hundred of each and see how you fare using them. Statistics gonna statistic, and I've seen a few more inhaled Chinese turbo parts than name-brand.

With the China garbage, it's not the product. It's the consistency.
I have a 2.5 lb sledge in my toolbox. China made, I've had it over 20 years, and it's held together perfectly. Will the next one hold together? I don't know, but not worth the risk. You know that smell when you walk into a harbor freight? That's the smell of Chinese rubber, disintegrating while you shop.

The key for me when I worked where stainless was en vogue, was the Chinese food-handling machine that had 'stainless' stickers on some cast-looking pieces. It was silver paint on cast iron! So now, Chinese stainress. Like the Chinese stainress steel sink I just tossed that was covered in rust underneath.

The problem with China is, you just do NOT know what you're going to get. Will you get the same thing from a Chinese subcontractor in a month after the American QC guy goes home?
 
I decided to roll the dice and buy the last set of copies on ebay for $255 shipped. (They're available again, now $300).

They look really good on my bench with decent welds, certainly better than I could have done! I still need to find out if they fit in the boxes, the front spring eyes, and shock mounts, like they're supposed to. One observation - the welds on the shock mount "ears" are only done on the outsides and a short distance around the ends and back inside. I think they should have welded the ears fully - more work to reach in there but would add strength. I'm considering having the rest of the welds completed, but they look plenty strong as-is.
 
I doubt if they are made in China....or anywhere "offshore". It takes numbers / volume (like thousands) to build outside USA. IMHO, a nice copy by a stateside fabricator for the budget conscious buyer.

The shock mount ears would not bother me as long as the welds on one side are good (penetrated). Please keep us posted on your success....or not.
 
HemiDenny said:
I doubt if they are made in China....or anywhere "offshore". It takes numbers / volume (like thousands) to build outside USA. IMHO, a nice copy by a stateside fabricator for the budget conscious buyer.

The shock mount ears would not bother me as long as the welds on one side are good (penetrated). Please keep us posted on your success....or not.
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Good to know. I'll post back when I have the car on the road again... but with street tires and (maybe) 600 hp I doubt I'd break anything either way :)

The company that sold them on ebay was "tuningfans-feast" shipping from NJ, but what actually arrived was from "WIN.IT America" in KY. A quick Google shows:

WIN.IT™ America, Inc., established in October 2013, is the US branch of WINIT Information Technology Co. Founded November 2012 in Shanghai, China, WINIT Information Technology Co. is an integrated supply chain solution provider for cross-border e-commerce.​

They have that Chinese smell and look (hard to describe but you know it when you see it) ;)
 
surprises me. Never would have even thunk that the Chinese would want to get into the Caltrac market.
 
jos51700 said:
Go buy a hundred of each and see how you fare using them. Statistics gonna statistic, and I've seen a few more inhaled Chinese turbo parts than name-brand.

With the China garbage, it's not the product. It's the consistency.
I have a 2.5 lb sledge in my toolbox. China made, I've had it over 20 years, and it's held together perfectly. Will the next one hold together? I don't know, but not worth the risk. You know that smell when you walk into a harbor freight? That's the smell of Chinese rubber, disintegrating while you shop.

The key for me when I worked where stainless was en vogue, was the Chinese food-handling machine that had 'stainless' stickers on some cast-looking pieces. It was silver paint on cast iron! So now, Chinese stainress. Like the Chinese stainress steel sink I just tossed that was covered in rust underneath.

The problem with China is, you just do NOT know what you're going to get. Will you get the same thing from a Chinese subcontractor in a month after the American QC guy goes home?
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Ha Ha Ha,
Oh so your Horror Freight has that smell too, my Ol' Lady won't even go in there with me because of the smell.
 
WTF.....the Chinese stole / copied the Mopar launch technology????....whats next?, some crooked politician will sell them our missile techno....oh wait.
 
HemiDenny said:
surprises me. Never would have even thunk that the Chinese would want to get into the Caltrac market.
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Denny,
Another (alleged) simple let's just get it going car project has essentially drained the Piggy Bank that was squirreled away for your HDK and I ain't out of the woods on it yet. Not that i'd consider it but maybe ChingHo will be making HDK/AlterK tubular C/Over front ends when Piggy is full again (Hopefully) later this year.
 
Hemioutlaw said:
Denny,
Another (alleged) simple let's just get it going car project has essentially drained the Piggy Bank that was squirreled away for your HDK and I ain't out of the woods on it yet. Not that i'd consider it but maybe ChingHo will be making HDK/AlterK tubular C/Over front ends when Piggy is full again (Hopefully) later this year.
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no problem here....I got plenty to do just havin' fun,.... as usual. :)

at almost 65, might slow down a little, but the day I stop messin' with my Mopar hot rods is the day they call the coroner....at least that is my plan.
 
supertruck said:
I contacted those E-bay guys when looking for my Cal-Tracs. Their response to my questions proved they were foreign made and that I was dealing with an off shore company. I paid the little bit extra and bought directly from Cal-Trac. Not sorry.
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Consider caltracs decided to mass produce their stuff in China.. and they have a a limitation or stipulation of which nine or 10 years goes by and the design can be mass-produced 'sold to anyone else to manufacture' overseas.
So if it's just missing the caltracs label , but same and cheaper...I'd buy it
 
MOPAROFFICIAL said:
Consider caltracs decided to mass produce their stuff in China.. and they have a a limitation or stipulation of which nine or 10 years goes by and the design can be mass-produced 'sold to anyone else to manufacture' overseas.
So if it's just missing the caltracs label , but same and cheaper...I'd buy it
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Yeah,
Because the ChiComs are sticklers for following the rules on IP.
Pulleeeeeeeze!
 
I spent the afternoon wrestling with them... and I'm less pleased at the moment.

The box had no protection for the exposed rod end threads, and a couple needed some work with a rethreading file. I don't have a die that big (0.790" = 20mm, fine thread). Besides, two of them are left hand thread...

Not only that, the welder made no attempt to protect the female threads in the bar. They are chock-full of fine welding sputter, not to mention paint. Again, I have no thread chaser that big. I'll have to use a pick and spin the bar. Tedious but it works.

Finally, the bellcranks are (I think) made for the standard spring hangers. They are too narrow for my 3" relocated spring boxes. I was able to shim them with 9/16" washers, one on each side (really fun to get them in place from underneath). This isn't a Chinese problem, I know Caltracs come in a different model number for the relocated spring kit (probably for different width!) Anyhow I got both sides on there.

It turns out to be a good thing that I removed the springs totally (made pressing out the bushings and pressing in the aluminum ones much easier). Back in 2013 I'd had Moser narrow the B-body 8-3/4 housing to A-body width and true it up, install a back brace, and put the perches in the stock location. As I took off the left shock plate... the perch fell right off. They had made a decent looking weld with absolutely no penetration into the axle tube! The right side has a large crack too. So I spent some more time removing the housing from the car. Off to the welding shop tomorrow (they DO know how to weld). I sure hope the same moron didn't do the back brace, or worse yet, the ends... :eek:
 
DrCharles said:
I spent the afternoon wrestling with them... and I'm less pleased at the moment.

The box had no protection for the exposed rod end threads, and a couple needed some work with a rethreading file. I don't have a die that big (0.790" = 20mm, fine thread). Besides, two of them are left hand thread...

Not only that, the welder made no attempt to protect the female threads in the bar. They are chock-full of fine welding sputter, not to mention paint. Again, I have no thread chaser that big. I'll have to use a pick and spin the bar. Tedious but it works.

Finally, the bellcranks are (I think) made for the standard spring hangers. They are too narrow for my 3" relocated spring boxes. I was able to shim them with 9/16" washers, one on each side (really fun to get them in place from underneath). This isn't a Chinese problem, I know Caltracs come in a different model number for the relocated spring kit (probably for different width!) Anyhow I got both sides on there.

It turns out to be a good thing that I removed the springs totally (made pressing out the bushings and pressing in the aluminum ones much easier). Back in 2013 I'd had Moser narrow the B-body 8-3/4 housing to A-body width and true it up, install a back brace, and put the perches in the stock location. As I took off the left shock plate... the perch fell right off. They had made a decent looking weld with absolutely no penetration into the axle tube! The right side has a large crack too. So I spent some more time removing the housing from the car. Off to the welding shop tomorrow (they DO know how to weld). I sure hope the same moron didn't do the back brace, or worse yet, the ends... :eek:
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Not a Steller endorsement for the DUMBASS that welded that perch on at Moser which could have had Not Good Implications. Good Lord Above sometimes works in strange ways and Glad that you found the weld issues the Easy Way!
 
DrCharles said:
I spent the afternoon wrestling with them... and I'm less pleased at the moment.

The box had no protection for the exposed rod end threads, and a couple needed some work with a rethreading file. I don't have a die that big (0.790" = 20mm, fine thread). Besides, two of them are left hand thread...

Not only that, the welder made no attempt to protect the female threads in the bar. They are chock-full of fine welding sputter, not to mention paint. Again, I have no thread chaser that big. I'll have to use a pick and spin the bar. Tedious but it works.

Finally, the bellcranks are (I think) made for the standard spring hangers. They are too narrow for my 3" relocated spring boxes. I was able to shim them with 9/16" washers, one on each side (really fun to get them in place from underneath). This isn't a Chinese problem, I know Caltracs come in a different model number for the relocated spring kit (probably for different width!) Anyhow I got both sides on there.

It turns out to be a good thing that I removed the springs totally (made pressing out the bushings and pressing in the aluminum ones much easier). Back in 2013 I'd had Moser narrow the B-body 8-3/4 housing to A-body width and true it up, install a back brace, and put the perches in the stock location. As I took off the left shock plate... the perch fell right off. They had made a decent looking weld with absolutely no penetration into the axle tube! The right side has a large crack too. So I spent some more time removing the housing from the car. Off to the welding shop tomorrow (they DO know how to weld). I sure hope the same moron didn't do the back brace, or worse yet, the ends... :eek:
Click to expand...



I'd be pissed off they used metric threads. That's idiotic. But I hate the metric system.
 
HemiDenny said:
WTF.....the Chinese stole / copied the Mopar launch technology????....whats next?, some crooked politician will sell them our missile techno....oh wait.
Click to expand...
BILL CLINTON ALREADY DID THAT !!
 
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