[s14unimog]

As said already by a few, Japanese sourced parts don't ensure quality - especially these days and paying for it to make it to our shores can sometimes price it out. E-commerce has done a lot to down sizing this planet and that ease of mfg. sourcing has translated to lower priced parts all over though. A lot of that "quality" is built in the very same practice as the "junk" so it can be tough to justify/identify what makes something "better" than another. Obviously there are clear examples of where they're different.

Either way, I think the "purist" we're trying to label here is a late 90's / early 2000's group that did not have the ease of access to information (sourcing) that we have now. We're still out there though (believing I'm probably in this group) and do more lurking than posting simply b/c a newer generation seems more interested in what time it is; not how the clock is made. Who knows, who cares. You either do it for you or the wrong reason.

Sheesh, I have posted anything A WHILE....