Aftermarket Car Parts for Hot Rods and Classic Cars

Custom performance parts manufactures claim that their precision crafted engine parts are far superior to those that the original equipment manufacture’s (OEM) can produce for the assembly line. This debate dates back to the mid 1950’s when hot rods and muscle cars competed drag races were the craze. The movie American Graffiti was a classic film that not only launched a number of movie careers for Hollywood heroes like Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard and Harrison Ford. It also launched a number of boutique custom parts manufacture that focused on a quality made part over volume production parts.  Machinist’s and their machine shops started popping up all over the United States to help support those looking to shave off a few seconds of their quarter mile times. Drag racing was organized as a sport in the 1950’s with the help of the National Hot Rod Association but it was tough to keep the kids from setting up their own quarter mile strip on the outskirts of towns. 

The big three car manufactures started divisions called Chevy Performance , Ford Racing Performance (FRPP) and Mopar Performance to improve the quality of their performance engine parts but struggled with balancing the needs of management to generate higher revenues by controlling production costs, increasing speed of production and mass producing the parts for different models. The smaller shops were able to invest time into specifically designing auto parts like after market pressure regulators , fuel pumps, water pumps and engine brackets for a single vehicle. The result was often a finely engineered product custom designed for one type of make and model car. Those buying these custom parts were often someone into racing their vehicle in return for bragging rights and perhaps the pink slip of the loosing driver’s car.

Quality Over Price Question

Over time, many of these custom parts manufactures discovered an area of expertise and focused attention on making a specific part for the bulk aftermarket auto parts.  A smaller group focused on precision performance parts  manufacturing for the racing car industry. The vast majority of these startups had trouble balancing costs and quality to a point where they finally could not survive financially. Rebuilders and classic car restoration  hobbyists realize the importance of making engine components high-quality and reliable for use in their cars. Modern CNC milling or computer controlled machining takes its precision measurements directly from a 3d prototype CAD model  program removing much of the human error found in lower quality parts manufacturing. The prices of these machines are more affordable than ever without sacrificing quality.

Numerous tests are conducted by non-profit organizations like the Certified Automotive Parts Association (CAPA) to help maintain a high integrity within the high performance car parts field. Racing enthusiasts cover the globe and are very serious about the classic car performance parts  they are installing into their vehicles. The best manufacture of water pumps for a small block Chevy  for example may be different from the guy making the brackets for the fuel regulator . There are some that consider the quality of most aftermarket auto parts  inferior to the parts that come with the original vehicle. Often that is not the case since the competition for aftermarket parts is fierce and the bad news of poorly crafted parts will travel fast to these regulating bodies. It is always important to follow the general rule of “buyer beware” as more and more foreign made parts make their ways into US homes and garages.