Was quality really this bad in the 1970s?

[Frantz]

I was pulling my farm stuff out of the back of my shop and moved my brothers unmolested '77 Granada out and saw something I never noticed before on it. At the light pull it looks as though it got stamped twice, the first time being too low so it wasn't really readable. Rather than put a new piece of trim in, they just stamped it again! Is that what happened here? I know I've heard horror stories but this is pretty darn lazy.

 

[vermontboy]

I had a '78 Fairmont with a Fairmont logo on the hood and a Zephyr logo on the trunk lid. I bought it new.

[Frantz]

I had a 18k Chrysler Lebaron, and the "S" of "Chrysler" on the truck was upside down. It took me awhile to notice. I don't think it had ever been repainted. But that seemed like more of a "whoops" not a "I don't give a darn"

[keiser31]

Sounds like Monday or Friday cars, to me. On the inside of one of my cars under the door panel and under the plastic on the door it read, "Help...." scratched in the paint. I don't think the door panel was ever off before I got the car.

[John_S_in_Penna]

I have read reviews of 1950's cars written in that decade,

and they noted the sometimes-careless workmanship then too.

 

And the Edsels, especially ones built in the Ford plant,

occasionally had missing parts as they left the assembly line.

Gayle Warnock, Edsel's Public Relations man, later recalled 

in his book, "They were shippable as soon as off-line repairs

brought them to a pre-determined percentage of acceptability.

There was a minimum of quality control and minimum repair

of problem units."  Some cars were shipped to dealers with

a list of what needed fixing, and occasionally, due to a shortage

of spare parts, Edsel dealers were cannibalizing one car

on their lot to fix others!

 

Here's a comforting thought:  There may be challenges in the present,

but the past wasn't perfect either.  Excellence is what you make it.

 

 

[F&J]

Mopars also were shoddy in 75-76 when I worked at a Dodge dealer.  They had drum brake and disc brakes on the Darts and Valiants.  As many of you know, one guy on the assembly line does the right side and other guy on left... we got a Dart in with drum on one side, disc on other.  The drum style uses a 4" bolt circle, disc uses 4.5" circle.....read on..

 

One brutal cold morning when night temps went to below zero and barely climbed, a meek timid small guy in a suit comes to service desk, arrived by wrecker driver., he calmly says he got a flat on the Highway, opened the trunk to look in the deep tire well for the tire..

He said it was buried in thick ice (from trunk leaks that were so common on mopars).  ...He then goes on to say he had no gloves, but spent an hour to chip all the ice with a jack handle to get the tire out..

 

you guessed right, it was the wrong bolt pattern.  The service desk guy was biting his lip so hard to hold back his laughter, he said later.  The guy just kept his whole story in a timid soft way, which seemed even funnier to him.

'

 

Yea, I wanna drive to Hershey to look at modern junk 

 

.

[Guest]

My brother took me and a friend to the Dodge dealer to pick up the friend's brand new 73 Charger with a 340. I was looking forward to the 40 mile ride home with him. He drove it gently about 11 miles, when bad engine noises ensued. After getting it towed back to the dealer ( remember, no cell phones to help out then) it was found that a pressed in rocker arm stud had pulled out of the driver's side cylinder head.

 

Edited May 8, 2017 by Guest (see edit history)

[SC38dls]

We bought a 72 Camero that the engine blew after two weeks. When the tow truck driver lifted the front end the windshield shattered. They replace all and four weeks later that engine blew and again the windshield shattered. The third engine finally work ok. The 70's bad music bad cars. 

[Guest]

In 1965 I was driving a new IHC Loadstar for a local cartage.  The day after its first 1000 mile oil change and inspection I was fully loaded and noticed that the steering was funny when I braked.  Being only a couple of block from the dealer I drove there.  There are supposed to be four bolts holding the backing plate on the front wheels, one side only had one bolt.  They said it was okay for me to drive it 5 miles to where I was unloading and then to bring it back.  I called the dispatcher and he sent another truck and we transferred the load right there without moving the truck.  They fixed it and the company I worked for never bough another international.

My best man bought a new Firebird in 1967.  The first time he drove it towards me I noticed the front wheel wobbling.  Guess what, no cotter pins through the nuts on the spindles..

[Dave B.]

I was selling new Chevys in the early '70s. We received a new Caprice coupe in "Covert Tan" with a darker vinyl top and interior. Our sales manager loved combinations like that, so he ordered the car to be detailed for showroom duty. After the clean-up guys parked it on the showroom, my fellow salesman Dennis and I noticed that it had a big dent in the passenger-side rocker panel, which we immediately reported to the sales manager. Now, this dent had absolutely no scrapes or scratches in it, which led us to believe that the panel was installed WITH the dent and then painted.

 

While I was out to lunch, a customer came in and fell in love with the car. Dennis later told me that, not wanting to lose the sale, he did his entire spiel standing in front of the dent. The customer bought the car and later brought it back when he found the dent. Dennis, being the slick salesman that he was, feigned surprise when the customer showed him the problem but - of course - offered to have it repaired at no charge...

 

Then there was the two-tone Nova coupe that had the Exterior Decor Package (bright window moldings, full-length body side moldings, etc.) on the driver's side but not on the passenger's. The list goes on, but yes, quality control was often spotty at best!

[oldcarfudd]

You don't have to go back as far as the '70s.  Didn't the AACA raffle off a brand new car just a few years ago, that had some major problem (like seizing up on the highway)?

[Curti]

There was a black 38 Chevy coupe with a cream pinstripe on one side and a red one on the other. The car lived it's entire life that way. 

[Guest Skyking]

In 1972 I ordered a brand new AMC Hornet and when I went to pick it up the salesman,  also the owner,  told me this was the first car in a long time they unloaded without having to repaint a panel from shipping.

[joe_padavano]

9 hours ago, SC38DLS said:

We bought a 72 Camero that the engine blew after two weeks.

 

Apparently the quality on that car was so bad that they even misspelled Camaro on the logos... 

[Paul Dobbin]

All this during a time the Japanese imports where gaining market share and American manufacturers where dismissing foreign cars as junk.  I was beginning a 20 year run of Datsun 240 Z, 280 Z, & Nissan 280 ZX and 300 ZX, all great cars that are now collectible.  I wish I still had the 1979 280 ZX, the best of the lot.

 

[jeff_a]

About 10 years ago someone here on the forums told about a late Seventies Firebird he ordered new. The right front fender was for a Firebird...the left one was for a Camaro. Refused to accept it because, if they couldn't get the fenders right, who knew about the rest of the car.

Edited May 8, 2017 by jeff_a (see edit history)

[JACK M]

13 hours ago, 31 Caddy said:

My brother took me and a friend to the Dodge dealer to pick up the friend's brand new 73 Charger with a 340. I was looking forward to the 40 mile ride home with him. He drove it gently about 11 miles, when bad engine noises ensued. After getting it towed back to the dealer ( remember, no cell phones to help out then) it was found that a pressed in rocker arm stud had pulled out of the driver's side cylinder head.

 

 

I have never seen a 340 that the rockers ran on studs. All on shafts.

[28 Chrysler]

I had a 1969 Toyota Corolla, it made it to just over 41,000 miles it before it needed a new head. The repair was going to be almost the same price as a new new 1973 Corolla.

I was working in a body shop and a almost new Fairmont wagon came in. Opening the rear the gate it moved every which way. the left bolts were out a good 1/2" and one right one had one bolt that was kind of tight.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, JACK M said:

 

I have never seen a 340 that the rockers ran on studs. All on shafts.

I'll defer to your expertise. It was a long time ago, and I was 17 years old. Certainly not the car expert that I am now, lol. That's how I remember it - but I'm sure I have the particular problem wrong. I remember going out into the shop area with my friend and the mechanic had the driver's side valve cover off. I recall him mentioning some drilling and tapping involved. A few hours later we were on our way. Lesson learned - don't try to share 45 year old memories.

[John348]

2 hours ago, jeff_a said:

About 10 years ago someone here on the forums told about a late Seventies Firebird he ordered new. The right front fender was for a Firebird...the left one was for a Camaro. Refused to accept it because, if they couldn't get the fenders right, who knew about the rest of the car.

 

Well my new 78 Camaro had a Firebird door panel on the passenger side door. I did not notice it for a week

[5219]

I worked for a Ford dealer in 1975. Those cars were atrocious.

A body man friend of mine worked for a Chevy dealer at about the same time. He says that new cars used to arrive with rust already showing around the trim.

My late father-in-law bought a new 1976 Cadillac. In three years, it was showing rust around the vinyl roof, as well as the side, hood and trunk trim.

 

With a very few exceptions, most cars of the seventies and early eighties were piles of (shall we say) disappointment. 

[Harold]

A couple of events that showcased poor production quality...

 

My cousin sold Dodges and got the first new Demon his dealership received as a demo.   One fender said 'Demon' the other said 'Duster'.

 

A friend bought a new '74 Corvette.  He brought it to my house before even going home with it so I could see what a mess it was.  I took it for a spin (brand new with under 25 miles on it) and the car had lots of issues.   After several trips to the service department, the dealer informed him that they didn't build the car and were not going to do any more work to it.   He dumped it soon thereafter and got a Datsun 280Z.

 

The fifties had their share of quality issues as well.  My father was a NYC cab driver and the company test driver when new cabs came in.  One DeSoto lost a wheel on Columbus Circle, and another caught fire because of a wiring issue.

 

 

[SC38dls]

7 hours ago, joe_padavano said:

 

Apparently the quality on that car was so bad that they even misspelled Camaro on the logos... 

So you must be so perfect you never make a typo. Must be nice. 

You should read the post on why the AACA has a hard time getting younger people involved. Your attitude will surly be a big help. This is such an old boys club it's just not fun being a part of it. Certainly not worth spending  time on 

Edited May 8, 2017 by SC38DLS (see edit history)

[Frantz]

I got the sense he was just playing and the typo went along well with the notion of imperfect car production. Internet sarcasm can be hard to read sometimes.

[padgett]

I went over my special ordered goat wagon when it arrived at the dealer in '72. He could not understand why I wanted it on a lift. There was no fluid in the posi diff. 70 GS had so much engine sealer that it clogged the radiator and I never made it home from the dealer before it overheated.

 

Remember hearing of a car that was a Volare on one side and an Aspen on the other.

 

Every car I have had has been a learning experience. Can't think of a car that wasn't better when sold than when bought (except when bought new and even some of those).

Edited May 9, 2017 by padgett (see edit history)

[Mark Gregory]

i worked at the Brampton AMC factory in the early 1970's building the Gremlins and Hornets . We had car doors shipped in from Kenosha that were banged all in the same spot and they would run a grinder on them to smooth them out . I assume that was the first place for rust . We ran out of the proper colour dashes for the car and they would paint as an example a blue one beige to match the rest of the car . Before the windshields were installed . I always wondered how the owner would react if the paint came off when he was cleaning his car .

My father had a 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood and it too rotted out everywhere . I heard they were using Japanse steel ? True or False ?

 

This whole topic bothers me as all the incompetence helped to destroy a good industry here in North America .

Edited May 9, 2017 by Mark Gregory (see edit history)

[nick8086]

Yes . We had a 1972 Newport.. the automatic transmission . gave out at 42,000 miles..

 

 

[Joe in Canada]

If I am not mistaken did Honda have to replace fenders in the 70s on the Civic do to premature rusting?

[5219]

You are correct. My former sister-in-law had an early seventies Civic. The front fenders rotted out very quickly and the dealer repaired the car under the recall.

 

At least the Japanese tried to make it right. The Big Three would look at you like you were crazy if you dared to complain.

[cahartley]

I recall window shopping at a fairly local Oldsmobile dealer (and some other marque which might have been Buick) sometime in the 80's.

At any rate I was looking at a fairly high end Olds on the floor and the first thing that struck me was the logo medallion on the trunk lid was crooked.

I had the same thought that if they couldn't put on one of the most visible pieces of trim straight what attention to detail was paid to the rest of the car....... 

[Spinneyhill]

I can't recall seeing a Triumph 2500 of the '70s where the curvature of the boot lid matches its opening. It is usually high in the middle.

 

There was a Corolla model of about 1980 (?) that suffered from serious rust. I doubt any survive. And we don't use salt in the winter! I suppose the unpainted interiors plus acid rain and so on resulted in the bottom half of cars being galvanised now.

Edited May 9, 2017 by Spinneyhill (see edit history)

[Guest]

I found weld slag on the rocker panels of my 1973 Impala when prepping it for its first repaint.  The slag was just painted over at the factory, it chipped off cleanly when I hit the side of it with a putty knife and hammer.

 

A friend found a Fisher Body paper coffee cup in the rear quarter of his 1976 Eldorado when doing some interior panel work.

 

Not quite on topic since it's an 80s car, my 1986 Olds 442 had a massive vibration above 60 mph when I first drove it, the vibration was so bad that the inside rearview mirror was useless at speed.  Balancing the driveshaft solved that problem.  Also found missing fasteners in a couple of spots on the car.

[John_S_in_Penna]

I suspect that quality has had glitches ever since

the first wagon wheels rolled out of Wheelwright Willie's

shop in 1630.  It's just that no one's around to recall

1630, 1830, or even 1930.

 

I've heard that the Scripps-Booth car was jokingly

called the "Slips Loose!"

 

 

[Curti]

14 hours ago, SC38DLS said:

So you must be so perfect you never make a typo. Must be nice. 

You should read the post on why the AACA has a hard time getting younger people involved. Your attitude will surly be a big help. This is such an old boys club it's just not fun being a part of it. Certainly not worth spending  time on 

Yikes, lighten up !!   Misspelling a word in a sentence is one thing, but on a printed letterhead or envelope is something else

[plymouthcranbrook]

I could go on and on about 70's cars I owned and what I found wrong but I was really amazed with the shoddy workmanship of my 1980 Volare that I bought in 2007 with 8500 miles on it. Primer not overcoated, glue spread allover the  doors, weather seal leaking on the front and back windows. I spend ages fixing stuff just to keep it from rusting away. I was so amazed when I bought my first new car since 1983 in 2012. A Kia,  it was the only new car I ever bought where  nothing was needed to be fixed under warrenty. Amazing what we put up with back then that now would set people to running in the streets with signs.

[emjay]

But the question is with all these examples of cars with wrong parts etc.  How do you restore them?  The way they were or the way they should be? 

[oily rag]

17 hours ago, Joe in Canada said:

If I am not mistaken did Honda have to replace fenders in the 70s on the Civic do to premature rusting?

Subaru Brat had a recall on the front fenders. The problem was there was not much to attach the new replacement  fenders to.

On one truck I pop riveted on a strip of sheet metal to each inner fender and bent it over to bolt it on.

[Rusty_OToole]

On 2017-05-08 at 1:24 PM, 31 Caddy said:

I'll defer to your expertise. It was a long time ago, and I was 17 years old. Certainly not the car expert that I am now, lol. That's how I remember it - but I'm sure I have the particular problem wrong. I remember going out into the shop area with my friend and the mechanic had the driver's side valve cover off. I recall him mentioning some drilling and tapping involved. A few hours later we were on our way. Lesson learned - don't try to share 45 year old memories.

It was Chevs and Pontiacs that had rocker studs, also some Fords. Chevs used to pull rocker studs all the time especially with a hot cam and heavy duty valve springs. But, it was cams that used to wear out all the time. They were well known for bad cams and valve seat recession.

[Rusty_OToole]

Quality was very bad in the seventies. One reason so many people switched to Japanese and German cars, they had the reputation of being better built. They looked good on the showroom floor and usually ran flawlessly for a long time. There were a few exceptions. I remember owners loved the first Honda Civics but they started to burn oil after 50,000 miles or so. If the owner checked the oil and topped it up no harm was done, if not you could burn out the engine in a few miles. One dealer I know took to tearing them down and putting in new rings before putting one on the used car lot. He knew he could sell them like hot cakes but they often came back with blown motors, and there were no used motors to be had.

 

Then there was the front fenders on the 240Z. I saw one in a body shop no more than a year old having new fenders put on, I hefted one and was surprised how light it was. The metal must have been paper thin.

 

Even so they were better than American cars. Chrysler turned out some rough looking Valiants and Darts, and the early Volares and Aspens must have ruined their reputation. Even the slant sixes were failing, and they had built up a bulletproof reputation over 15 years of service. But somehow they cheapened them to the point where they were failing under warranty.

[GK1918]

Don't put a thumb tack on the 70's!    My father bought a new 1948 DeSoto Black Deluxe 4 dr.  I thought this was very

well built must have been fluid drive? I think.  Anyway he trades that for a new Grey 1951 4dr DeSoto.  Those days you go

on a picnic or drive to some 200 mile day trip.  Got into about 100 miles motor blew up came back on the hook.  The dealer

I think was good they said they will take it and for $50.00 more he got a new Sportsman top of the line.  First week flat tire

well the ole man has a shop and when tire was apart the tube said Ha Ha you need a patch?  Next was a rattle around the

left kick panel which rattled since day one but its only one week.  The finding was a Coke bottle welded in there?  Since then

I believe in the built on Fridays or Monday theory.  Then I grew up out of school, father got me a job in Raytheon.  I was

working on the Apollo project i'm like 19yrs .  Things like this:   a worker joker put locktite or glue in everybodys tool box

locks so Monday was a wash out.   The FBI got in here when the joker put super glue on toilet seats meaning the

ambulance  first aid and such.  How these wire harnesses are made.  In the cable dept. has asphalt floors in which the

actual harness print was nailed to the floor,  all breakouts have finish nails nailed in the floor, wire is strung throught nails

so far good, but the joker 3M'ed the print to the floor so that print is for not.  What this means prints are saved for the next

print.  The consuls we made were the actual  ones in the "blockhouse" and those were the acutal ones that sent the men to the moon in 1969. 

So I was trusted to carry vent screens for the cousules each $3500 each made out of space titanium /gold and this joker ice

picked them as I walked to the job,  maybe 10 of them.  Now I got to meet the big Brass like Army Navy Nasa. 

I can't say no more about this  but this is what goes on in industry.   

 

2017 I still may be investigated  but I was not guilty per Military back then;;;;;;;;;;;;;;