We Deserve Better Reproduction TPI Emblems.
#1
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We Deserve Better Reproduction TPI Emblems.
The original TUNED PORT INJECTION emblem was starting to show some wear on my black '89. I touched it up with a paint pen, but in certain light and angles I could tell. Today I replaced it with a new one from Hawks.
This is the original one. Actually it looks pretty good in this pic.
The new one from Hawk's
The new one is not perfect, though. It looks bent. It was shipped to me bent and the silver paint is not perfect on some of the letters.
Am I being too picky?
Also this:
My touched up original looked so much better than this one. I should have kept it.
This is the original one. Actually it looks pretty good in this pic.
The new one from Hawk's
The new one is not perfect, though. It looks bent. It was shipped to me bent and the silver paint is not perfect on some of the letters.
Am I being too picky?
Also this:
My touched up original looked so much better than this one. I should have kept it.
Last edited by chazman; 07-09-2017 at 08:54 PM.
#2
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Based on your photos, I'd run the original. The new one looks bent relative to the straight line in the rear bumper indent.
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Also this:
My touched up original looked so much better than this one. I should have kept it.
My touched up original looked so much better than this one. I should have kept it.
Last edited by chazman; 07-04-2017 at 12:05 AM.
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Car: 1989 IROC-Z. Original owner
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Re: Do little things bug you?
True. I probably wouldn't care if this were a daily driver, or maybe I would. But this definitely bugs me now on this car.
Last edited by chazman; 07-03-2017 at 03:44 PM.
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Looks Pretty Damn Close To Me,The Letters Are Slightly Different.
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#10
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Sometimes better is the enemy of good enough. Should have left the original on.
#12
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Re: Do little things bug you?
I keep forgetting I need one too. Mine wasn't great when I got the car, so last year I took it off. Any place besides Hawks to get one? Isn't classic industries or year one doing third gen stuff? How about anybody playing around with 3D printing? Surely someone can make a better one?
#13
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Whether its center caps for early 16" IROC-Z wheels, window switches, washer fluid bottles, your TPI emblem, IROC-Z grille inserts, parking lights etc, most every aftermarket reproduction piece for a third gen is pure crap. Designed to look good in an ebay ad, and thats it. The little "GM Approved" sticker that is sometimes included doesn't fool me or anyone here either.
Its too bad your original broke Charlie. I would hold out for a NOS piece.
Its too bad your original broke Charlie. I would hold out for a NOS piece.
#14
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Ya know... The only way any of those parts get any better, is if we insist on them being better. If they don't meet expectations, call, email, whatever but contact the seller and let them know what's wrong with the part. Send the part back for a refund. Eventually they should get the message and either fix the part or stop offering it altogether.
#15
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Re: Do little things bug you?
I would contact hawks and get a better one. That would bother the crap out of me.
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Whether its center caps for early 16" IROC-Z wheels, window switches, washer fluid bottles, your TPI emblem, IROC-Z grille inserts, parking lights etc, most every aftermarket reproduction piece for a third gen is pure crap. Designed to look good in an ebay ad, and thats it. The little "GM Approved" sticker that is sometimes included doesn't fool me or anyone here either.
Its too bad your original broke Charlie. I would hold out for a NOS piece.
Its too bad your original broke Charlie. I would hold out for a NOS piece.
Ya know... The only way any of those parts get any better, is if we insist on them being better. If they don't meet expectations, call, email, whatever but contact the seller and let them know what's wrong with the part. Send the part back for a refund. Eventually they should get the message and either fix the part or stop offering it altogether.
#17
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Re: Do little things bug you?
I have in fact, PM'd Hawks this thread. These seem to be the same "GM Approved" reproduction emblems lots of people are selling. I think we deserve NOS quality on a simple part like this.
Last edited by chazman; 07-04-2017 at 12:18 AM.
#18
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Car: 1989 IROC-Z. Original owner
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Whether its center caps for early 16" IROC-Z wheels, window switches, washer fluid bottles, your TPI emblem, IROC-Z grille inserts, parking lights etc, most every aftermarket reproduction piece for a third gen is pure crap. Designed to look good in an ebay ad, and thats it. The little "GM Approved" sticker that is sometimes included doesn't fool me or anyone here either.
Its too bad your original broke Charlie. I would hold out for a NOS piece.
Its too bad your original broke Charlie. I would hold out for a NOS piece.
#20
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Car: 1989 IROC-Z. Original owner
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Ya know... The only way any of those parts get any better, is if we insist on them being better. If they don't meet expectations, call, email, whatever but contact the seller and let them know what's wrong with the part. Send the part back for a refund. Eventually they should get the message and either fix the part or stop offering it altogether.
Exactly right, Drew.
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Same thing with the covered T Top replacement ABS Headliners, the fabric grain runs from, front to back , it should run left to right.Yes Chaz, little things **** ME OFF
#22
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Re: Do little things bug you?
I try to avoid repops at all costs for this exact reason. I'd wait until a nos gm one pops up on eBay and then buy that and call it a day. I personally would've been happy with your original one actually but that's beside the point since that part is no longer an option.
#23
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Re: Do little things bug you?
I would be all over fixing / replacing that TPI emblem too.
It bugs me that "most" re-pop items are at such a low level of quality for most cars. I never knew weather it was because no body wants to invest in the tooling to make things correct, or if it's a licensing thing? But stuff like that crooked emblem drives me crazy. Not, crazy on your car Chaz, but crazy from the perspective that somebody is making those & thinking they are good enough. So many aftermarket parts like that out there. We have so much better technology in the world today but nobody can make replacement parts that fit or look the way originals did decades earlier in a mass production environment. its sad.....
It bugs me that "most" re-pop items are at such a low level of quality for most cars. I never knew weather it was because no body wants to invest in the tooling to make things correct, or if it's a licensing thing? But stuff like that crooked emblem drives me crazy. Not, crazy on your car Chaz, but crazy from the perspective that somebody is making those & thinking they are good enough. So many aftermarket parts like that out there. We have so much better technology in the world today but nobody can make replacement parts that fit or look the way originals did decades earlier in a mass production environment. its sad.....
#24
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Are you sure you did not bend that down when applied? Those are kinda flimsy. I bought mine from Classic Industries. If I remember right unless they re popped the box it looked to be NOS. I am not 100% as it was over a year ago. If it did come bent I wold hope Hawks would replace it. Yes the little things bother me also and that bend would drive me nuts!
#26
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Re: Do little things bug you?
I try to avoid repops at all costs for this exact reason. I'd wait until a nos gm one pops up on eBay and then buy that and call it a day. I personally would've been happy with your original one actually but that's beside the point since that part is no longer an option.
#28
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Re: Do little things bug you?
When I ordered all my decals & emblems for my 87 at the GM dealer the TPI 5.7 emblem in gold was already unavailable & this was in 1999. So, I started watching for one to show up on eBay & finally found one new in the GM bag, but it took a few years of waiting. And, I had to pay up for it.... I should probably take it out of the bag to inspect it closer after all this talk......
#29
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Are you sure you did not bend that down when applied? Those are kinda flimsy. I bought mine from Classic Industries. If I remember right unless they re popped the box it looked to be NOS. I am not 100% as it was over a year ago. If it did come bent I wold hope Hawks would replace it. Yes the little things bother me also and that bend would drive me nuts!
#30
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Re: Do little things bug you?
I try to avoid repops at all costs for this exact reason. I'd wait until a nos gm one pops up on eBay and then buy that and call it a day. I personally would've been happy with your original one actually but that's beside the point since that part is no longer an option.
I got a repro gold one for my yellow car several years ago and it was perfect. The quality of this one is so far below that one.
#32
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Re: Do little things bug you?
I have been painstakingly collecting all of the parts I want and need for my TA, only NOS or clean original gm for over 2.5 years now. And I did so on the two other third gens I've owned in the past too. Of course it's true that there are a finite amount of nos parts available, but they're out there if you're patient and don't mind spending a little extra money over repop stuff. If you're getting nos, buying nos parts with the old blue GM label also helps you to get closer to assembly line correct parts too as sometimes the parts suppliers changed and made small variations in some of the later production of parts for our cars.
Last edited by 1992 Trans Am; 07-04-2017 at 12:43 PM.
#33
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Just paid through the nose for an NOS one. I will examine this one carefully when it comes in before installing. If it's perfect, it's worth the cost to me.
#35
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Re: Do little things bug you?
The funny thing is that I've been helping a friend freshen up his RA II '68 GTO this year. The repro parts for that car are usually super accurate and super high quality.
I think Drew said it. Nothing will happen, unless we refuse to accept low quality parts.
I think Drew said it. Nothing will happen, unless we refuse to accept low quality parts.
#40
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Re: Do little things bug you?
I have a feeling that this thread is going to turn into way more than one about a crappy repro part.
#41
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Lol! For me, I have just seen how low quality most of the repop parts are and whenever possible I try to avoid them at all costs. If you're restoring a first gen Camaro or something like that, using a few repop parts is a necessity and some of those are pretty decent. But for third gens, our cars are still new enough that we can find most of the parts you want or need NOS or clean used original gm still, so it's hard to justify putting cheap inaccurate low quality parts on our cars at this point in time. In 10 years from now that might be a different story...
#42
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Lol! For me, I have just seen how low quality most of the repop parts are and whenever possible I try to avoid them at all costs. If you're restoring a first gen Camaro or something like that, using a few repop parts is a necessity and some of those are pretty decent. But for third gens, our cars are still new enough that we can find most of the parts you want or need NOS or clean used original gm still, so it's hard to justify putting cheap inaccurate low quality parts on our cars at this point in time. In 10 years from now that might be a different story...
The thing is, like I said earlier, I bought a repro TPI badge for my yellow '85, 5 or 6 years ago, for like $20-$25 and it was PERFECT. Because of that, I didn't even think twice about getting this one. Obviously, there is someone else manufacturing them, now.
#46
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Re: Do little things bug you?
I bought the 5.7 Tuned Port Injection emblem from Hawks a few years ago and it wasn't perfect relating only to size, but visually it was in perfect shape.
#47
Re: Do little things bug you?
I'm not gonna make a generalization about all repops, but with regard to the TPI emblem, I bought a gold one a few months ago from hawks and the paint was perfect. Now, it WAS bent....but it was so flimsy that I just straightened it out while installing.
#48
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Just a small update. Hawks accepted the return, which I never had doubts about. I would like them to comment on this thread though. So many of us depend on vendors like Hawks for our parts and it'd be good to know what action they might take with their supplier.
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Chazman when I read the title of this thread I knew you were the OP before I even checked...
I just replaced 3 weeks ago my "tuned port injection" emblem and I got it from Hawks. Looks perfect. Sorry yours came bent.
NOW I have gone through 2 front bumper emblems from them. The red/white/blue stripe piece falls off and is not sufficiently glued to the backing. Laziness and the unwillingness to reinstall a replacement (those are a real bitch to install) prevented me from calling Hawks and asking for $$$ back. But I should have.
Have a new emblem on there now. See how long this one lasts. If I remember when I get home I'll take a picture of the tail emblem.
I just replaced 3 weeks ago my "tuned port injection" emblem and I got it from Hawks. Looks perfect. Sorry yours came bent.
NOW I have gone through 2 front bumper emblems from them. The red/white/blue stripe piece falls off and is not sufficiently glued to the backing. Laziness and the unwillingness to reinstall a replacement (those are a real bitch to install) prevented me from calling Hawks and asking for $$$ back. But I should have.
Have a new emblem on there now. See how long this one lasts. If I remember when I get home I'll take a picture of the tail emblem.
#50
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Car: 1989 IROC-Z. Original owner
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Re: Do little things bug you?
Chazman when I read the title of this thread I knew you were the OP before I even checked...
I just replaced 3 weeks ago my "tuned port injection" emblem and I got it from Hawks. Looks perfect. Sorry yours came bent.
NOW I have gone through 2 front bumper emblems from them. The red/white/blue stripe piece falls off and is not sufficiently glued to the backing. Laziness and the unwillingness to reinstall a replacement (those are a real bitch to install) prevented me from calling Hawks and asking for $$$ back. But I should have.
Have a new emblem on there now. See how long this one lasts. If I remember when I get home I'll take a picture of the tail emblem.
I just replaced 3 weeks ago my "tuned port injection" emblem and I got it from Hawks. Looks perfect. Sorry yours came bent.
NOW I have gone through 2 front bumper emblems from them. The red/white/blue stripe piece falls off and is not sufficiently glued to the backing. Laziness and the unwillingness to reinstall a replacement (those are a real bitch to install) prevented me from calling Hawks and asking for $$$ back. But I should have.
Have a new emblem on there now. See how long this one lasts. If I remember when I get home I'll take a picture of the tail emblem.