Not all parts created equal?

[choppa]

I refer to the parts offered by various vendors.

Specifically, electrical parts.

I gather reading old posts that, for instance, waterproof plug wires. there are some that are new production NOS and some are potentially NOT NOS but perhaps cheaply (or less quailty built) remanufactured wire sets

Also, things like inner distributor caps.

I just ordered my inner distor cap from Midwest Mil. On the phone with the rep, he stated these are the "real deal" the "reddish" in color NOS type, and they are running out fast. and that not everyone carries these "real" ones.

So I got one along with my order.

Any input to this claim by anyone here? are they getting rare and harder to find?
I see Adirondack Dodge has them.. are these NOS?

Second. I havent ordered the plug wires yet, but I am hoping for some guidance on who carries the true, NOS type OR at lease a good quaility set when it does come time to order.
I see Adirondak Dodge also has sets of wires for $195...any input from someone who purchased a set? are these quility made? NOS or new manufacture?
If not, please point me to where you bought

(BTW...I am on my way to going pointless this weeked, hence the distro cap purchase... bought a pertronix ignition and it arrived) hopefully along with all the other parts I got, and all of your past input I can find out the reason from my trucks latest issues.. thanks!

[w30bob]

Hi Choppa,

I've been told there are two varieties of spark plug wires available.........the good ones and the not so good ones. These are new production wires, not NOS. Like a lot of things that are NOS I'd be a little hesitant to use 60 year old spark plug wires......even if they were never used. The insulation breaks down over time, etc, etc, etc. The wires in the Newstar catalog are I think the good ones and sell for $275 retail. If Adirondak is selling a wire set for $195 I'd suggest asking why they are so much cheaper. I believe ABLinn sells the Newstar wires also. I also don't know what the differences are between the "good" wires and the "not so good" wires other than price. Maybe someone on here can chime in.

The Newstar distributor cap is red in color and I've seen black and dark gray out there as well. Again, don't know the difference, but maybe someone does.

Here's the link to the Newstar catalog; http://www.sandstruck.com/pdf/Military.pdf

I believe Charles Talbert sells Newstar also......so a quick call to him might shine some light on all your questions.

regards,
bob

[MSeriesRebuild]

Well it has been said in the above post that maybe I could shine some light; yes I can.

S&S has really gone down hill in numerous ways under new management in the military parts section of that Company. I might add that prices have really gone way up too. This is where the $275 amount for the plug wires comes from. $195 use to be the going price, and if they have been on some ones shelf for a while, I expect that vendor is cutting customers a deal at the old retail price until stock is depleted. They will be forced to go up when they restock if they buy from S&S. Here is 1 other example, we were running low on distributor caps a while back, I called S&S about restocking, their wholesale asking price was $98 each; this quote was from the top guy. Of course I didn't go for that; instead I went to one of their competitors who sold me exactly the same cap for $35 on the same day, and yes they were the red higher quality caps. S&S has since lowered their price to $36 last I was told. I just recently restocked M37 water pumps; price was considerably lower on those as well, exactly the same pump. In fact cost has been significantly less on everything I've ordered; brake parts, etc., etc.

You can draw your own conclusion; but if you are one who believes S&S prices are higher because what they sell is higher quality, think again. You have obviously not done your homework.