Gauge?

[70' GMC]

I was wondering why don't you see the exact gauge of steel when you are browsing for parts? Give me all the information you have.

[Old Chevy Mech]

Foreign steel is in milimeters. I think quite a few of the replacement panels are made overseas.

Frank

[special-K]

They`re all about the same,whatever the thickness is.My concern is fit and quality of stamping when I`m comparing repro parts.There alot of mystery around the whole replacement parts business with these "specialty" vehicles.Who actually makes what and where it`s made.Alot of people say Goodmark makes the best parts when they don`t make any.They are distributing parts you can buy from other vendors made by another company.Looking at one vendor`s parts you could be looking at parts made by three different companies.Some will tell you who made what once you let them know you know what`s up.
The other mystery is whether some parts are repro and which are either N.O.S. or just straight off the GM dealer`s current stock.There are many parts available from GM still that these catalogs are selling marked up.Then,there`s GM deciding to have a part made again by a company that reproduces parts,or already does reproduce the part,and packaging the part as genuine GM since it was already approved to GM specs.Sometimes these are the same companies that made the parts originally and sometimes not.

[70' GMC]

Originally Posted by special-K

They`re all about the same,whatever the thickness is.My concern is fit and quality of stamping when I`m comparing repro parts.There alot of mystery around the whole replacement parts business with these "specialty" vehicles.Who actually makes what and where it`s made.Alot of people say Goodmark makes the best parts when they don`t make any.They are distributing parts you can buy from other vendors made by another company.Looking at one vendor`s parts you could be looking at parts made by three different companies.Some will tell you who made what once you let them know you know what`s up.
The other mystery is whether some parts are repro and which are either N.O.S. or just straight off the GM dealer`s current stock.There are many parts available from GM still that these catalogs are selling marked up.Then,there`s GM deciding to have a part made again by a company that reproduces parts,or already does reproduce the part,and packaging the part as genuine GM since it was already approved to GM specs.Sometimes these are the same companies that made the parts originally and sometimes not.

You told me about Tri pro, where does the parts come from over seas or from here???

[special-K]

Overseas,like all the new parts.Tri-Pro is who Goodmark sells,mostly.

[mbgmike]

There are some parts still made in America. Like floor pans. quarter panels and others. Unfortunatly most of them are not for our trucks but for other classic cars. Many parts are still made in Canada. ALot o companies seem to want to hide who the Mfg was but anyone with a computer or go to a swap meet can find out. No big secret. I know of one company who goes through the trouble of carefully cutting the mfg marks off the boxes. We've sold from just about every TW company I know of. Tri-Plus is still IMO a good bank for the buck. We have sold fenders etc from other Mfg's and while they cost a little less I like TriPlus.

[70' GMC]

Originally Posted by mbgmike

There are some parts still made in America. Like floor pans. quarter panels and others. Unfortunatly most of them are not for our trucks but for other classic cars. Many parts are still made in Canada. ALot o companies seem to want to hide who the Mfg was but anyone with a computer or go to a swap meet can find out. No big secret. I know of one company who goes through the trouble of carefully cutting the mfg marks off the boxes. We've sold from just about every TW company I know of. Tri-Plus is still IMO a good bank for the buck. We have sold fenders etc from other Mfg's and while they cost a little less I like TriPlus.

Is tri pro made in america??? What are the parts that are made in America???

[special-K]

It`s mostly patch panels that are made here.Fenders,hoods,and all that are made overseas.It`s the way the world is now.They are American companies using cheaper foreign labor.Whoever you deal with,just ask them who made the part.

[mbgmike]

Originally Posted by 70' GMC

Is tri pro made in america??? What are the parts that are made in America???

Tri-Plus is a Taiwan Company.
American Designers is one company making parts here. Like I said they do not offer anything for our trucks but they do for mustang camaros etc. Like Special K said most are repair panels. But there are some companies here stamping out some floor boards etc

[special-K]

Mar-K makes a Stepside bed in OK,for instance.

[70' GMC]

Whats the gauge of steel for 67-72 chevy, and gmc pick up trucks????

[mbgmike]

Originally Posted by 70' GMC

Whats the gauge of steel for 67-72 chevy, and gmc pick up trucks????

The gauge on all vehicles will vary depending on the part. It also will thin out in certain areas during stamping. Really just depends on the part. Stamping parts years ago compared to today is a whole new deal. The technology in making dies today is a whole lot mo better. alot more accuracy

[mbgmike]

Originally Posted by special-K

Mar-K makes a Stepside bed in OK,for instance.

Yes and we sell their products too. They make the finest quality parts you can find for our trucks. You can always stand behind their stuff. I just wish they made more products

[Old Chevy Mech]

I believe original was 16, and replacement is a "light" 18 (no guage conversion for metric). Anyone can correct me if I am off.

Frank

[MAR-Ktech]

Originally Posted by mbgmike

Yes and we sell their products too. They make the finest quality parts you can find for our trucks. You can always stand behind their stuff. I just wish they made more products

Thank you for the kind words! Our parts are made in Oklahoma City, USA. Some of the parts:
Front Bed Panels - made of 16 gage electro-galvanized steel
Cross Sills - made of 14 gage for most (depends on what was original for year/make/model)
Bed Sides - made of 16 gage electro-galvanized steel
Tailgates - it depends on what part of the tailgate and what was original, but most are made of 16 gage electro-galvanized steel

I have posted a question on another forum, and I'll post it here as well. What do we need to do to get the word out that these are USA made parts? Many times I see posts from your readers asking where they can find USA made parts. We make our parts in Oklahoma City, USA and advertise it as so.

Any thoughts or ideas/suggestions would be appreciated!

[shifty]

I didn't realize yours were made in the USA either, and it looks like I will be in the market (finally) for a new bed soon. My wife and I have made a commitment this year to buy "made in USA" as much as possible. This has been really fun - especially with furniture - some things, like electronics, are impossible. What I'm noticing lately is a lot of trends with people printing "Designed in the USA" on products, or using similar ambiguous words because they can't say "Made" in the USA.

Anyway, to your question:

* In all of your truck ads (I get a lot of the mags, so I see them), try to put a more prominent "Made in the USA" logo (with a flag) and use bigger print with bolder colors to advertise this.

* Change your avatar on the forums to include a clear, distinct "Made in USA" at the bottom, similar (but brighter and equally sized) as your company name.

* Change your banner adverts here and at other forums to include the same logo/flag and text as the print ads in your magazine.

* Change your signature to something like: Get MAR-K Quality! MADE IN THE . USA!! .

The BBCode for this is: [b][size=4]Get MAR-K Quality! [COLOR="DarkGreen"]MADE IN THE[/COLOR] . [COLOR="Red"]U[/COLOR][COLOR="Silver"]S[/COLOR][COLOR="Blue"]A[/COLOR]!![/size][/b] .

This is all that comes to mind. Making your parts domestically is something you should be absolutely proud of, and you should flaunt it. I am absolutely disgusted by American companies who send labor overseas, which is destroying our economy and will have us in the crapper within a couple more decades!

Bravo to you!

[MAR-Ktech]

Thanks for the kind words.

We also have some great dealers who sell our parts as well, like Mike's Bump and Grind (who posted above). So when you are shopping around it is important to ASK if the part is made in the USA and who makes it.

Thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming!

[70' GMC]

Originally Posted by MAR-Ktech

Thanks for the kind words.

We also have some great dealers who sell our parts as well, like Mike's Bump and Grind (who posted above). So when you are shopping around it is important to ASK if the part is made in the USA and who makes it.

Thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming!

Mar-K do they make 8ft bedfloors???

[Old Chevy Mech]

Let me ask this question. The bed reinforcement cross sills for a fleetside are longer except for the one that goes between the wheel wells. I see you have something available but they say they not to be attached to the frame. My Blazer has one sitting on a body mount just forward of the rear cross sill. It is rusted very bad and needs to be replaced. I would be happy to purchase one of these from you if the one listed with part number 100708 is the correct one. They are about 1' tall with 3/4" tabs and extend the full width of the bed.

Thanks!

Frank

[MAR-Ktech]

to 70 GMC - Yes, we make 8 ft bed floors. What are you looking for specifically?

Old Chevy Mech - Let me do some research and see if this would work for you. What is the overall width you need? Also, you would probably want it without holes, because the hole pattern in a bronco would not be the same as that of a fleetside. You can PM me on this information or respond to the thread.
Hope this helps.

[MAR-Ktech]

Frank:
The part number you gave us is for a steel floor cross sill. Is your Blazer a steel floor?
This part is not going to be tall enough for you. Part number 100892 which is the 72" no holes cross sill might be closer. It is 1" tall, 1-3/8" wide (at the top flat area). However, the flanges at the bottom are only 3/8" instead of 3/4".
Let me know if this will work for you.

[Old Chevy Mech]

First I'll forgive you for calling it a "bronco" in your first reply!

It is a steel floor.
You are correct that I wouldnt need any holes. I dont believe that I have to have flanges any wider than 3/8", as long as i can tack it in that width should be fine.

The height...well mine were replaced a long time ago so I dont have a stock measurement to reference to so I cannot be sure. I believe that 1"tall and 72" long should be fine.

One more question, do you produce the side repair panels for a Blazer? What I am looking for is the full side skin. A panel that goes from top to bottom and covers the full length.

Thanks for the help!

Frank