Interesting update on "crappy" repro fan shrouds

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Hi Bill (gtx6970),

Thank you for your reply and great customer service.

It is obvious to me that you have been trying to get the plastic formulated correctly. I am a degreed chemist and have been working as an analytical/polymer chemist for 25 years. Just out of professional curiosity would you mind answering a few questions regarding the development of your shroud product?

1. Did you ever have an original shroud material analyzed to find out its polymer base and its additives?

2. Are you able to get the same plastic material today?

3. Some environmental laws now force plastic parts fabricators to change casting techinques/formulations that were used 40 years ago. Is this the case for your business?

4. Has the newer formula plastic, rated for 350 degrees, resulted in an increase in the cost of your raw material and final product? (I imagine it would and I ask this question so that your customers on this thread appreciate your customer service.)

Thanks,

Art
 
DFX 340 Duster said:
Hi Bill (gtx6970),


1. Did you ever have an original shroud material analyzed to find out its polymer base and its additives?

2. Are you able to get the same plastic material today?

3. Some environmental laws now force plastic parts fabricators to change casting techinques/formulations that were used 40 years ago. Is this the case for your business?

4. Has the newer formula plastic, rated for 350 degrees, resulted in an increase in the cost of your raw material and final product? (I imagine it would and I ask this question so that your customers on this thread appreciate your customer service.)

Thanks,

Art
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Art,
I am not the manufacturer, but a retailer.
but I do my best to answer these

#1 - An original was used for the mold but I seriously doubt any plastic materials tests were done.

#2 - I am sure the oriignal material is avail but problem is said material requires a much different manufacturing process and ultimately drives the per cost price up, and most likely out of a reasonable cost per piece price range.

#3 - I'm afraid I can't answer this one

#4 - Price per piece has not changed since there original inception , at least not to me anyway.

The different materials used have changed slightly since there 1st introduction, and actually it's a mixture of materials combined to allow the molding / forming process.
The most recent material has a lighter color but allows a higher heat range . Where as the 1st material used offered a better color match to an original, but obviously was not of a high enough temp range to function as designed.
 
Welcome to the board Bill and thanks for the great service you provided me to deliver a shroud that works.
 
1 year ago mine from Mancini shrunk so much it started to hit the fan. Over 1". I sent it back and bought a OEM Chrysler one of this site. No Problems.
 
Bill, while I respect that you are stepping up on the issue now, the fact of the matter remains that I and many others wasted a signficant amount of money buying what we thought was a quality product. I installed mine in the summer of 08 and it was destroyed by the fan within a week. Why did you market a product that was incapable of performing its function?
 
67Redfish said:
Bill, while I respect that you are stepping up on the issue now, the fact of the matter remains that I and many others wasted a signficant amount of money buying what we thought was a quality product. I installed mine in the summer of 08 and it was destroyed by the fan within a week. Why did you market a product that was incapable of performing its function?
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Redfish,
I feel your frustration. But keep in mind, I am not the manufacturer. But simply a retailer of someone elses product line. So I am at the same mercy as the end customer to a certain degree .
Had you contacted the retailer from whom you bought it from, a free replacement would have been sent , no questions asked.

Although , i've worked with Todd Hoffman on a few products from beginning to end in order to have them brought to market ( fan shrouds were NOT one of them btw ) .

I hold my product line to a high standard, even more so than my customer base does.
As an example, the current brand of repop fan belts from Quanta . I bought a set for use on my own car, as a test so to speak. They failed miserably. They stretched, squeek and overall I felt it would be a mistake to take on the product line . There for I do not sell or encourage anyone to buy said belts because of it.
But when a product doesn't perform as expected. I do my best to make it right, then and now.
Trust me , I've done my share bending over backwards to get these taken care of for any of my customers,,,,, one way or the other. I even went to bat for a few customers that bought there shrouds from other retailers, simply because other retailers said tough luck.
A couple of them I ate because the customer wanted a refund instead of a replacement.
I quit stocking any of the repop shrouds because of the past issues. Even though the feedback on the latest material is quite favorable.
 
I'm thinking about purchasing a re-pop 614 shroud for my 67 Barracuda. Since this thread is a few months old, I wondered of anyone could give an update on the performance of the 3rd generation of plastic.

Are the new shrouds more heat resistant? I'd sure hate to throw away that much money on something that warps the first few times I use it. If anyone having the problems mentioned in this thread can give an update, it would be much appreciated.
 
As the OP, I have the 3 gen one but haven't installed it yet so I can't comment. However, the second has held up pretty well - significantly better than the first (which was 100% junk). After a couple of years it has cracked though at the lower two mounting points.

I expect the third one (which is lighter in color) to perform as it should. There's a chance I won't find out as I'm changing the cooling system as part of a new project.
 
mmdoctor said:
70Duster440,

Just wondering where/from who you purchased your '3rd generation' shroud?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

At the time, I was dealing with Todd at Hoffmans Winners Circle who was the one who brought them to market. It was drop shipped to me directly from the manufacturer. I would contact him for more information on getting your hands on one.
 
DFX 340 Duster said:
Hi Bill (gtx6970),

Thank you for your reply and great customer service.

It is obvious to me that you have been trying to get the plastic formulated correctly. I am a degreed chemist and have been working as an analytical/polymer chemist for 25 years. Just out of professional curiosity would you mind answering a few questions regarding the development of your shroud product?

1. Did you ever have an original shroud material analyzed to find out its polymer base and its additives?

2. Are you able to get the same plastic material today?

3. Some environmental laws now force plastic parts fabricators to change casting techinques/formulations that were used 40 years ago. Is this the case for your business?

4. Has the newer formula plastic, rated for 350 degrees, resulted in an increase in the cost of your raw material and final product? (I imagine it would and I ask this question so that your customers on this thread appreciate your customer service.)

Thanks,

Art
Click to expand...


Art,
I'll try my best to answer these here.
But I am not the manufactuer, simply a dealer for said products.

1- I have my doubts an original was chemically tested for material construction/type

2 - Can't answer this one

3 - IMO, it's probably more of a cost related decision to use a more user friendly material that flows better for use with the molds being used. making a steel tool that requires use of a more complicated pressure injection method has a lot to do with how these shrouds are made today.
Considering such a limited market for the shrouds I have my doubts it would be cost effective.

4 - I can't answer this one, I am not the manufactuer .

Bill
 
I purchased this fan shroud a while ago, and am in the process of adding electric fans to the stock fan shroud. When I first took the fan shroud off, I noticed it has warped also, as the opening measureed 19" top to bottom, and 21" side to side. Well, I am not sure which generation this is, but I am going to fix the problem with adding a round sheetmetal end cap that is 19-7/8" od into the shroud, and use some small black rivets to hold it in place. This will keep it round, and also allow me a spot to place some fans on the metal endcap. I plan on using (3) 7" fans, and this will allow enough room for my electric water pump, as I only have 3" from there to the radiator. So, I will see how this end cap helps to maintain the shape of the fan shroud.....
 
Just my $.02, but I do know the whole Hoffman clan and I can say that they are a 'stand-up' family. Known them for about 16-17 years, glad to hear that they are helping everybody with this issue- would be shocked if they didn't
 
I finally installed my repop shroud along with many other small updates. Typical problems surfaced. I had to drill new holes in the radiator to mount the shroud. I had good clearance from the shroud to the fan except at the top. There was not enough room for the fan and the shroud to fit below the upper hose.........I knew the top of these things tended to droop when getting hot..........so I cut it off. Will see how well it holds up, upon first fire up in the garage I can tell it is running cooler as the temp never got over 180.
 

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Wow - this is concerning. I snapped mine in half trying to get it to fit, repaired it and then had to drill new holes to get it to work. Thought I had the wrong part number. I haven't even run the car since installation so I guess I be seeing warpage once I do. And I think I payed a sickening amount of money for it also.
 
jabdusty57 said:
Wow - this is concerning. I snapped mine in half trying to get it to fit, repaired it and then had to drill new holes to get it to work. Thought I had the wrong part number. I haven't even run the car since installation so I guess I be seeing warpage once I do. And I think I payed a sickening amount of money for it also.
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The newest version of these is not supposed to droop anymore...I bought mine over a year ago, tried to put it on last summer and it didn't fit correctly so I let it sit until this summer.....You are right about the $$ for these things.....
 
I bought a repro fan shroud and had a bad experience with it drooping. I lucked up and a fellow member had a "real" mopar fan shroud for sale. I have both shrouds here and comparing the hardness of the plastic is like night and day. Far as I'm concerned the supplier owes me money for this thin worthless piece of junk. Like that will happen.

I thing this newer non drooping shroud is not going to be any better. I mean if it's not going to fit properly then how is it any better? If it's not going to fit correctly send the damn thing back. I don't know about you guys but I work my *** off to the point that sweat is pouring off my forehead into my eyes. I send these rip off artist money for a shroud that supposed to work but does not (false advertising) (poor quality) and they don't care...... they got my money. rant over
 
I actually put a sheetmetal end cap or ring in the round part. This will keep it from drooping and also stiffen it up. The only drawback is that the aerodynamics is affected slightly.....
 
Drove my car to a show Sat and coming home in 100 degree heat in stop and go traffic it never got over 190........the shroud made a difference for sure.
 
Weird that 40+ years ago they didn't have this problem and mine still fits fine even with a MP viscous fan and a re-cored 3 row radiator, but the repro companies are having to "improve their plastics" lol.
 
mplex2000 said:
Weird that 40+ years ago they didn't have this problem and mine still fits fine even with a MP viscous fan and a re-cored 3 row radiator, but the repro companies are having to "improve their plastics" lol.
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Maybe they should import the raw materials from America so they can get it right.
 
67Redfish said:
Bill, while I respect that you are stepping up on the issue now, the fact of the matter remains that I and many others wasted a signficant amount of money buying what we thought was a quality product. I installed mine in the summer of 08 and it was destroyed by the fan within a week. Why did you market a product that was incapable of performing its function?
Click to expand...

Bill, I respect what you are doing for your customers and I don't know if you supply to RPM in Canada, but my story is the same as 67 Redfish, bought a fan from RPM, told it was suppose to fit, tried to fit it, the shroud didn't fit, took it back, they told me it fits and that they have had no problems and wouldn't refund my purchase. So I took it home, reworked the holes and in a week the shroud expanded hit the fan and piece flew. I just won't buy any more parts from RPM, but what upsets me is the the shroud exploding damaged my new redone 3 core rad
 
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