Fit of repro coolant overflow insulator from John's

[Gokou]

Does anyone else out there have the reproduction coolant overflow bottle insulator from John's Performance? I finally got around to putting mine on tonight and the fit is real sloppy around the cap on top-- the hole in the insulator is almost 1/2" too big in diameter, way looser than the pic on his website and the one I've seen in person on another car.

The jacket looks very good (much more shiny, albeit thinner than the stocker) but the sloppy oversized hole on the top really bugs me. Do all of them fit this way or did I end up with a bad one?

 

[SHRPTTA]

hey Idonthave one but I do have car# 1457!!!!!

L8R

 

[mark b]

My cover is not on the car, has never been installed. Meaured the hole last night - 1.75" wide at most points. Is yours larger than that or the same? I didn't measure the cap on the tank, but I think the cap is definitely smaller than that...

 

[Gokou]

Hmmmm... I took a measurement on mine and therin lies my problem-- the hole in mine is 2.5"! No wonder it's such a sloppy fit.

Guess I'll give John a call and see if I can exchange it. Thanks mark!

And SHRPTTA... very cool! Do you have 1455 also?

 

[mark b]

I just realized - I got mine from Rich's Custom Auto! He started marketing them a few weeks before John. I jumped on Rich's offer because the planned one from Atlanta Buick got delayed or scrapped. I was surprised when John offered one a few weeks later, but I now I realize I did not get it from John!

 

[Gokou]

I bet they're the same piece. The other one I've seen on a car did come from John and the hole was the proper size... guess it all depends how much the person running the sewing machine had to drink the night before

 

[tta583]

Was the one from Rich's Custom Auto thinner than the stock one? I was going to order one from John but it just happened to be one of those things I never got around to doing in favor of other things on the car. I heard from a few that it was thinner that factory.

Brent

 

[mark b]

It did not seem thinner to me, but I did not have them side-by-side. They are definitely not "paper-thin". The one from Rich seems to be an excellent repro.

 

[Gokou]

I bet John is selling Rich's piece, it would be silly for 2 people to spend the money to reproduce the exact same item given the VERY small market for these cars.

John's piece isn't thin by any means, but it is a bit thinner than the stocker. As I said, the other one I've seen in person from John fit VERY well, I just happened to get stuck with a bad one. The hole issue aside, the piece is very, very nice.

 

[Jan Larsson]

I got Rich's as well and it's much thinner. I think for the price and that it was advertised as a 100% reproduction we got ripped off.....

 

[tta583]

Well, not wanting to add to speculation as it seems that there are various "versions" of this thing floating around as well as several opinions....but....I was under the impression the repros were a little off from stock, perhaps quite a bit off. I did see one in Dayton in a TTA that was WAY off. It was about half the thickness of the stocker and looked very odd at the edges. I would have liked to have talked to the car's owner but that did not work out. Any one have any pics of what they ended up getting?

Brent

 

[Jan Larsson]

Here's photos of the one I got from Ron's custom auto November last year. I paid 70 USD + shipping for it I think.

The fit is pretty good and it looks great but maybe a bit too shiny, and it's about half or less thickness compared to the original one maybe because the material used now adays is more heat resistant I don't know .....

I got no recipet or nothing from them

Any way here's pictures of what it looks like:
http://la.rsson.com/mixed/blanket.htm

 

[Gokou]

Thanks for the pics Jan. Mine fits almost the same as yours-- good for the most part but loose around the filler cap. I'll still keep it to put on at shows, because it looks a LOT better than my original.

 

[tta583]

I see what you are talking about. It is a little thinner, and I guess the "fit" issue is on the front side of the tank facing the battery? The one I saw in Dayton had the same look in terms of thickness but I remember it being folded, or creased if you will, at the corners. It was almost like it was cut square at the edges. I should have talked to the guy but when I first saw him he was setting up a tent so his hands were full and I never managed to catch him latter.

Brent

 

[Alan Faircloth]

Reproduction Overflow Insulator

Originally posted by mark b
I just realized - I got mine from Rich's Custom Auto! He started marketing them a few weeks before John. I jumped on Rich's offer because the planned one from Atlanta Buick got delayed or scrapped. I was surprised when John offered one a few weeks later, but I now I realize I did not get it from John!

You are right about ours. When we heard that a couple different versions were already out there, we sort of scrapped the idea. Maybe we should reconsider if the repros aren't of sufficient quality as the originals. I can assure you that we will do it right with spot on quality.

With all our reproductions, the factory part is what we view as our "minimum" standard of quality. There's a careful balance between producing a part that maintains factory original appearance, but that is superior in quality.

BTW, Atlanta Buick is now CAR Motorsports at www.carmotorsports.com

Thanks,

Alan

 

[Gokou]

Alan, any ETA on the new covers? I preordered mine on the list a while ago, just looking for an update.

 

[Alan Faircloth]

Covers

I am told that the TTA covers are due in any day. I have a call in tomorrow for a status check. Rest assured, as is our policy, you WILL NOT be charged until your cover is ready to ship. Thanks for the order.

Alan