[Fot] [Spits] County Pistons Quality Control Issue

[Stutzmans]

Usually U.S. sourced parts are made in China or Taiwan and U.K. sourced 
parts are made in India.
Bruce

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Glenn Franco" <gaf3 at charter.net>
To: "Doug Braun" <doug at dougbraun.com>
Cc: <spitfires at autox.team.net>; <6pack at autox.team.net>; "Friends of triumph" 
<fot at autox.team.net>
Sent: Friday, January 11, 2013 5:01 PM
Subject: Re: [Fot] [Spits] County Pistons Quality Control Issue


> Yes the County Rockers are made in India.
> They usually have better quality control than most.
>
> On 1/11/2013 4:33 PM, Doug Braun wrote:
>> Another horror story:
>>
>> A while back I replaced my Spit's rocker arm shaft with the part that
>> most vendors sold.  I believe it was "County"
>> branded, and it was made in India.  I went to adjust the valves a few
>> days later, and I noticed that the front four rocker arms
>> seemed rather oil-starved.  When I ran the engine with the rocker arm
>> cover off, I could see that only the rear four rocker
>> arms were getting lubricated.
>> It turned out that the shaft was not completely hollow:  They had
>> rifle-drilled it inwards from each end, but they did not drill
>> deep enough, and the two holes did not meet up in the center.
>>
>> Doug
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Jan 11, 2013 at 4:14 PM, Glenn Franco <gaf3 at charter.net
>> <mailto:gaf3 at charter.net>> wrote:
>>
>>     FYI
>>     I am in the midst of a TR6 Rebuild with an engine that is .020"
>>     overbored.
>>     While fitting up the pistons and checking clearances everything
>>     checked out and the bore was concentric and to specs.
>>     With the piston installed in the bore I noticed increased drag
>>     with #1 piston installed.
>>     With rings gaps, skirt clearance correct I pulled the piston and
>>     didn't see any  issues.
>>     Further inspection showed that the piston was cocked in the bore
>>     and had score marks on the bottom of one skirt with the same wear
>>     just below the oil ring on the other side.
>>     After inspecting it with the machine shop we noticed that the ring
>>     grooves were not fully machined on one side of the piston.
>>     The rings would not move far enough in the groove and was proud of
>>     the surface causing the piston to cock in the bore.
>>     We collectively have not seen this before and have a new set of AE
>>     pistons not County on the way.
>>
>>     Having spent many years in Automotive Engineering at one of the
>>     former Big Three, these events are usually not one of's.
>>     There likely are many more out there that ran down the line in the
>>     same batch at the same time before it was caught.
>>
>>     These are new County Piston sets (I think made in Israel now).
>>     I would inspect their parts very closely before you install them.
>>
>>     I also noticed machine chips in the machined groove of their
>>     Tri-Metal Main Bearings (Israel).
>>     The chips were in the machined groove and were plated over with
>>     the babbit and copper.
>>
>>     I have had very good experiences with their parts in the past.
>>     Just thought I would provide a heads up.
>>
>>     Glenn
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