"Rare Parts" Out-Perform OEM Steering And Suspension

"Rare Parts" Out-Perform OEM Steering And Suspension PICKUPS Accessories 33-3-39 If the folks at Rare Parts can't find the steering or suspension component you need, they'll make it for you. The company carries 15,000 different part numbers in stock. The full service machine shop also makes and markets heavy-duty replacements for OEM steering components known to fail early, as well as custom parts as needed. "If we don't have the part you need in stock, send the old one to us," says Marshall Giorgi, Rare Parts, Inc. " Often it only takes a day to make a duplicate." In addition to older vehicles, Rare Parts specializes in hot rods and muscle cars, collector cars and motor homes. However, parts have also been designed and manufactured for tomato harvesters and more traditional farm equipment, ATVs and even missile carriers for the military. On custom-made parts, the original is duplicated down to the markings on a cover plate. Although the company's focus is on steering and suspension, they have the ability to do injection molding as well as heat treating. OEM parts up to 2 1/2 in. can be strengthening by heat treatment. Rare Parts maintains a full testing and inspection facility. Their parts are compared to OEM through cycle, impact and tensile testing procedures to make sure they're better than original. The company warrantees parts to buyers for as long as they own the vehicle. Two popular products the company offers includes a heavy-duty track bar for Dodge trucks and a heavy-duty tie rod assembly for Chevy and GMC pickups and SUV's, as well as the Hummer H2. Rare Parts says its track bar offers an additional 13 degrees of stud swing over the OEM bar, and is bigger and stronger, withstanding twice the force in tensile testing. "In the case of the tie rod assembly, we heard the same story from a number of customers. The shaft where the inner met the outer was bending and snapping," says Giorgi. "The Chevy Silverado was the vehicle that was first brought to our attention. Anytime we have people tell us about parts failure and we can see the need, we build and stock the parts." Like the track bar, the new tie rod assembly has been designed to eliminate the weak point, with both inner and outer components enlarged and strengthened. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rare Parts, Inc., 621 Wilshire Ave., Stockton, Calif. 95203 (ph 209 323-3923 or 800 621-2005; fax 209 948-2851; rparts@rareparts.com; www.rareparts.com).

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