You can find much the same "make it with what you got" craftsmanship in the Middle East. I had a Chevy Cavalier when I was in Turkey, I had a minor problem with the cooling system. It turns out that the water inlet tube on the block was made of aluminum and was corroded. The Turkish shop that fixed it fabricated a new one by making a casting that was better than stock. My alternator went out there, too and it was rebuilt by Turkish craftsmen. They don't have the throw away mindset of the average American. The guy that rebuilt my alternator was the Studebaker dealer there at one time, he kept many of them on the road long after Studebaker went bust.
