by I find most parts made in the USA by SMALL companies are made to good standards.
The bigger the company and the bigger their output the more chance quality can slip. I understand your frustration.
You buy MP parts and then have to modify them to actually fit or work. Done that quite a few times.
Or get a Firm Feel power steering box that has more play than the old one you just took off.
Or buy an expensive "Be-Cool" bolt-in replacement radiator and find it does not bolt in at all but needs the holes re-drilled and the brackets cut.
But it is very easy to remember the bad parts. I have had FAR MORE parts that have been VERY good quality and fit/function perfectly.
You just have to check everything though. I have heard lately that many timing sets are way out when you check the cam timing.
But do you know where it was made and who made it?
Because we live in a world market with cheap labour in third world countries that have no enviromental controls or health and safety, many companies have their parts made there so that they can compete with price.
On the whole parts made in these countries are sub-standard in my opinion.
The exception to this rule is China. They were rubbish at one time but the government there has put HUGE resorces into manufacturing. They can produce extreamly good quality parts at a fraction of what it would cost to be made in America.
So the bottom line is you just don't know what you are going to get these days. These are difficult times for traditional industries in many "western" countries. And there is not a lot we can do about it because being unable to compete many good engineers find themselves on the scrap heap.
Where i live was one of the cities that started the Industrial Revolution. The first successful steam trains were invented and built here. The steam turbine was invented and built here. The best and some of the biggest ships were built here. There were coal mines everywhere exporting quality coal (real nice smooth shiney stuff) to the whole country and even around the world. We were a world leader in heavy industry building the worlds electricity generators and even the big telescopes that look into space. Armstrong armed the world with big guns. Parsons powered every powerful ship. Even modern ship propellers were designed and built here.
All gone now. Not a single mine shaft. Not a single ship in the Yards. Nothing. I couldn't even find a place to get my crank ballanced and I would struggle to even get a half decent re-bore.
Err..
I seem to have lost the point here a bit. But what the hell. I needed to get that off my chest. 
