Moss and VB Tiger/Alpine parts

Austin Healer

Austin Healer

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I just rec'd a note from my management contact at Moss Motors. They do plan to issue a on line catalog for the Sunbeam parts that they bought from VB (Long Motor co)... They are figuring out which parts to include. I have offered to help them evaluate parts for suitability and quality... I have advised them of what is currently NLA and what is acceptable.... We'll see! I know that VB had brake rotors and there was nothing wrong with them... I also asked about sun visors and Tiger false trunk floors as these are NLA from Rick... I also asked about dashboards... But I think the the VB ones were probably solid walnut, instead of veneer. I told them that if they were veneer, they could probably sell them quite quickly... if they were solid, they were crap.
 
Austin Healer said:
I just rec'd a note from my management contact at Moss Motors. They do plan to issue a on line catalog for the Sunbeam parts that they bought from VB (Long Motor co)... They are figuring out which parts to include. I have offered to help them evaluate parts for suitability and quality... I have advised them of what is currently NLA and what is acceptable.... We'll see! I know that VB had brake rotors and there was nothing wrong with them... I also asked about sun visors and Tiger false trunk floors as these are NLA from Rick... I also asked about dashboards... But I think the the VB ones were probably solid walnut, instead of veneer. I told them that if they were veneer, they could probably sell them quite quickly... if they were solid, they were crap.
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Over the years I bought a lot of spare parts from VB when they ran their over stock or winter sales simply because the price was right and the parts would help repair the car if needed. Items such as hydraulic parts, bearings, etc. never proved to be a problem. Many of the parts were the same brands as ones I buy from the suppliers in the U.K. as well as from Rick over the years. Much of what someone may see as unsuitable or not of the highest quality may be OK for many owners such as many Alpine owners that want to "keep the cars on the road". Not everybody holds things to the same standards, expect things to fit perfectly and may not be able to afford the highest standard parts. Cutting off supply to the average Joe simply because they don't meet expectations of some but do let an owner continue to use the car isn't something that should be done. If Rick goes and Moss doesn't step in then that leaves Curt at Classic in New York and I think he's around the 70 mark so we may face the problem of not having a supplier in the states. I would say Moss management understands that due to common sense and the years in the LBC world as well as the sources they have to get parts reproduced. VB rubber parts such as trunk seals left a lot to be desired and the repair panels were really bad due to the steel that was used. Not able to be tweaked or adjusted. If you have the chance to work with Moss I'm sure you can show them what the parameters would be for parts that would meet standards, be usable and affordable for all owners. I would say drawings from the Archives would be a big help if Moss decides to jump in or buy SS.
 
when I restored the Series V alpine all the rubber parts and seals came from VB -In retrospect they did the job but were a long way from the quality we expect today -Karl
 
Looks like a few other items pop up as Alpine/Tiger right of the windshield.
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michael-king said:
I think they have just listed the parts that cross over with sunbeams that their BMC/Stanpart stock has... I'd hope they realise there is a sunbeam market and make the more specific parts that VB did stock ( that weren't bodgy) available
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Their management is probably looking at the initial cost to get into the Sunbeam parts business. There is an initial inventory cost, cost of printed catalogs, ETC. ETC. as well as how long to start showing a return on their investment.
 
Over a year ago, I sent a letter, as President of TEAE, to Moss Motors management. I offered a team of TEAE volunteers, pro bono, to inventory what they had at their Virginia location. I only asked that we be allow to purchase items at that time.

I never received an answer.
 
VaCat33 said:
Over a year ago, I sent a letter, as President of TEAE, to Moss Motors management. I offered a team of TEAE volunteers, pro bono, to inventory what they had at their Virginia location. I only asked that we be allow to purchase items at that time.

I never received an answer.
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I made the same offer, several times... I didn't even ask about buying anything... I have a 40 year track record with Moss. They call me regularly for technical help or for evaluating a new Healey part.

When they bought XK's Unlimited several years ago, they had kind of the same issue... They didn't really know how to integrate that business into theirs. It took quite a while. It took several attempts to get my distributor discount to apply to XK's inventory... for about a year I couldn't order Jaguar parts from my Moss dedicated sales guy, and I had to call the old XK's staff... it made no sense at all.
 
Austin Healer said:
I made the same offer, several times... I didn't even ask about buying anything... I have a 40 year track record with Moss. They call me regularly for technical help or for evaluating a new Healey part.

When they bought XK's Unlimited several years ago, they had kind of the same issue... They didn't really know how to integrate that business into theirs. It took quite a while. It took several attempts to get my distributor discount to apply to XK's inventory... for about a year I couldn't order Jaguar parts from my Moss dedicated sales guy, and I had to call the old XK's staff... it made no sense at all.
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I've been involved in integrating quite a few buyouts of distributors into our company so it makes sense to me. We always tried to retain key folks of the company we bought in order to retain relationships with their accounts since they knew folks and had knowledge of what those accounts needed. Some of their employees stayed but over time some moved on. The same pertains to their inventory. We sometimes put their old inventory that wasn't of use to us in a dumpster or properly disposed of items that required a different way of getting it out of the way. We sometimes put together a blow out sheet that was sent to all of our accounts with a price that moved it quickly. It seems that Moss just did that with the windshields. What Sunbeam items are next to be disposed of?
 
That's good. Will grab some rotors for sure. How's the quality of the front valance that they've released?
 
o2bdriving said:
That's good. Will grab some rotors for sure. How's the quality of the front valance that they've released?
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I have no idea where they sourced the valance... I have bought them from Jeff Howarth in the UK previously... My only complaint with his valances is that the hole for the starter handle is too small...
 
Austin Healer said:
Trying to get them to offer the front brake discs, horn rings and a couple of other parts that should sell quickly....
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Thanks for the heads up on the windshields Sean. Got one for each of my Tigers. It seems they sold out almost immediately.

Rick
 
RIX260 said:
Thanks for the heads up on the windshields Sean. Got one for each of my Tigers. It seems they sold out almost immediately.

Rick
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I bought a couple myself... I told the guys at Moss they'd sell them all in a week... they were mighty surprised!
 
Austin Healer said:
I have no idea where they sourced the valance... I have bought them from Jeff Howarth in the UK previously... My only complaint with his valances is that the hole for the starter handle is too small...
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I have one of their front valances in the garage. Doug wouldn't use it on my green car because it needed some tweaking and the guage of the metal was thicker than original and he couldn't move it around. He built a new one using one of Martels valance tops and parts of several others we had laying around.. Their repair panels aren't close to being the correct profile.
 
65beam said:
I have one of their front valances in the garage. Doug wouldn't use it on my green car because it needed some tweaking and the guage of the metal was thicker than original and he couldn't move it around. He built a new one using one of Martels valance tops and parts of several others we had laying around.. Their repair panels aren't close to being the correct profile.
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I get my valances from Jeff Howarth in the UK. the only thing I can complain about is that the hole for the starter handle is slightly smaller than the original. I had no problem, at all, fitting it.
 
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