Total Perf. interior
- Thread starter TexasT
- Start date
donsrods
Member
jersey jim said::sad: jeez, talk about kicking someone when they are down, I bought my basic kit from total on 4/1/04. everything worked great, they were always helpful,knowledgeable, and courteous.
jersey jim petrucci
As someone who has been somewhat frank about my feelings regarding TP, let me respond. On a personal level, I like Mickey.........always enjoyed talking to him on the phone or at Turkey Run. I also respect the fact he was able to sustain a niche company for so many years. However, I have some different feelings about his products, especially his latest offerings.
IMO his bodies are not the best built.........way too thin and the way he leaves the back of the body unconnected is pretty lame. The only thing that seals it up back there is upholstery foam. I have two Speedway bodies and one TP body and the Speedway bodies are a much heavier layup and much straighter. The bodyshop that painted my Speedway 23 was able to get it straight enough for black paint with only a little work. However, they had fits trying to get the TP body straight enough for blue paint, and they even commented on the difference in quality between the two.
I also think some of Mickeys parts are not of the best quality. I have mentioned the interior not only being a bear to install, but the vinyl is pretty cheesy. It shows nicks and abrasions very easily and doesn't compare in any way to the vinyl I had installed locally in my T........it is very thin and is starting to pull apart at the seams after only one year.
Then there is the steering arm that I bought from Speedway, that they bought from TP. It was made of cast steel and broke in half with me going down the road. Luckily, I was only going 35 mph and the car ran off the road to the right. If I had been going faster or if it went to the left into traffic I might not be typing this right now.
Speedway stepped up to the plate and pulled the arms from inventory, but told me TP would not do the same when they contacted them.I agree that companies like Spirit have taken a chunk out of the market. I've never owned one, but hear many good things about them. There are still some things I would buy from TP, but just as we all tell each other about our good experiences with any company, I have to be fair and tell of some of the not so good things I have experienced with TP. It isn't personal, just business.
In case you haven't seen it, here is the steering arm that broke in half. It had about 100 miles on it, and was the second one we had to buy. The teeth on the first one were so soft they rounded out. This is a critical steering component and should be made from the best stuff they can buy, not the cheap cast iron they are using. If you have one of these chromed arms, I would suggest you get an original Corvair arm and use it.........that is what we went to.
So, if you want me to lie or not mention things like this simply because Mickey is a nice guy, I can't do that. We all trust each other to pass along the correct info, and that is exactly what I am doing.
Don
donsrods
Member
Yep, Ron has em I've heard, and there is a guy on Ebay who sells them occasionally. You have to turn the 4 flat spots inside into teeth to match all the other teeth, but with a hacksaw and small three cornered file it is pretty easy. If you don't do that you can't index the arm the way you need it to sit. However, you will never break one of those original arms, they are forged.
A year ago when that arm broke on me I posted it and it got reposted onto several other forums. A couple of other guys came forward and said theirs had broken too (from TP). One guy said he was coming off an offramp and his broke and he did a 360 spinout. Luckily got it stopped. Another guy examined his arm after reading my tale and found the beginnings of cracking in the same area. Speedway bought both arms back from us, no questions asked.
Don
A year ago when that arm broke on me I posted it and it got reposted onto several other forums. A couple of other guys came forward and said theirs had broken too (from TP). One guy said he was coming off an offramp and his broke and he did a 360 spinout. Luckily got it stopped. Another guy examined his arm after reading my tale and found the beginnings of cracking in the same area. Speedway bought both arms back from us, no questions asked.
Don
donsrods
Member
In defense of TP's products, particularly those chromed steering arms for the Corvair box, he has sold a lot of them over the years, and evidently has had no significant numbers of problems. My guess is that like many other companies TP started buying more and more parts from overseas, and say what you will, but the quality of those parts are not as good as ours. The standards they build them to are not as high and the Governmental controls are pretty much non-existant. As much as most of us hate our Government getting their noses into our business, many substandard products have been kept out of our hands by them watching over us.
Even some very good companies have been forced to buy parts from overseas. A couple of things we got from SoCal and Pete and Jakes had little stickers on the back reading "made in China.":sad:
Don
Even some very good companies have been forced to buy parts from overseas. A couple of things we got from SoCal and Pete and Jakes had little stickers on the back reading "made in China.":sad:
Don
TexasT
Member
I was going to have mine chrome plated and the guy told me he wouldnt chrome it because it had a small pit like void at the top of the pitman arm on the box side, contacted TP and they said to send it back and they would check it but never got it sent to them and now im stuck with it. By the way, anyone know where I can get a TP performer windshield?
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