Ordering from TRF

[TR3driver]

I could not download the parts manual from the link.

Sorry to hear that, Ron. What happened when you tried?

Some people have reported that it works better if you create an account with Google first https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount but others say it works even without a Google account.

Unfortunately the file is too large (~30Mb) to send via email and I've never quite gotten around to setting up a FTP or web site with it.

 

[DNK]

I have so I can send it to you no sweat

 

[swift6]

As one of the younger Triumph enthusiasts (I'm 40) I think that TRF will face marketing challenges attracting new enthusiats as customers. You older guys who remember how it used to be (You know, catalogs with seperate price lists etc.), are both nostalgic, and patient.

I'm only 40 myself but have owned Triumphs for 22 years. I do remember seperate price lists though. Dave Bean Engineering still has one of the most complex seperate price lists that I have ever used. They sold mostly Lotus and English Ford parts but they also had some parts that crossed over to Triumph.

 

[TR3driver]

but I think they really need to invest in a little market research to aid their business plans for the next decade.

I agree that the clunky web site is a minus; but I'm not sure I could put together a compelling business case for redoing it. My perception is that Charles would rather invest whatever spare capital he has in having more parts reproduced (or better reproductions); rather than spending it on spiffing up the web site (which after all does nothing to advance the marque).

Besides, Charles, John & Dave are all near retirement age; and possibly they feel TRF already has all the business it needs. Maybe when Charles retires...

 

[TR6BobNF]

I've been ordering from TRF since acquiring my TR6 in 2004. With the exception of the odd times an item was back ordered I have not had a problem. I find their bearings to be of better quality than Moss's "Made in China" stuff. For the TR6 I use the on-line TR250 - TR6 Glove Box Companion catalog and then use the alphabetic drop-down menu to find the part(s) I need. I cannot comment on other Triumph models or other British marques but find their site quite user-friendly. I also use my hard copy of the Blue Book and the On-line Green Book to supplement my search and as a restoration and assembly tool. My opinion only. I also found their toll-free ordering line and their user pay tech line immensely helpful in my projects. I like 'em!
Cheers,

 

[TRDejaVu]

I could not download the parts manual from the link.

...Unfortunately the file is too large (~30Mb) to send via email and I've never quite gotten around to setting up a FTP or web site with it.

I use YouSendIt. The free version only keeps the file in the cloud for a while, but it works OK for my large file needs.

 

[TR3driver]

I use YouSendIt. The free version only keeps the file in the cloud for a while, but it works OK for my large file needs.

Ok, Ron, if you'll PM me your email addy, I'll give YouSendIt a try.

 

[Willie_P]

Seconding the "younger generation (I'm 36)" comment and a counterpoint as well:

I am reassembling a TR4 from parts as we speak. Have never done this before on any car for that matter. I like computer/web technology and this forum is proof of the power of the web.

Anyway, Moss's interactive exploded diagrams allowed me to run all kinds of permutations of what I needed and even told me when I had redundant parts ordered (from the kits vs. individual stock items) - this was helpful when I was not sure what to order - and also that I could "point and click" since I did not even know what the majority of the names of the parts were. If I had questions I could call Moss. They put a TON of money in developing that web technology, so my "reward" to them was to do business almost exclusively rather than spend less elsewhere (as Moss prices seem to be kinda high). Also, the shipping speed due to the East Coast dist. center was pretty amazing.

I grew up near Charles, know his kids and went to his parties, etc. Really wanted to do business with them from a romantic perspective of the "small guy," etc. but the cumbersome ordering process was too much for this neophyte. I do agree their phone ordering is effective for single-straightforward orders. Unfortunately, the deliberation/ruminations I went through in preparing several thousand dollars worth of small parts was not something I fancied going through with Dave H! (Dave's a good guy, just not super chatty).

Counterpoint, I needed some Hypoy oil this weekend and sent a late email Friday night to TRF and Albert Runyan responded Saturday morning saying that he'd be around for a bit Saturday but he'd leave the oil "by the door" (I was going to be driving by their place, about an hour from me) and I could pay whenever. I'll try to do some more business with TRF!

wp

 

[Gordon_Dedrick]

When do you EVER find someone in this day and age who will "leave the part by the door and pay me whenever?" That ALONE gives me more reason to do whatever it takes to do business with TRF.
Gordon

 

[JohnB]

Ditto to Gordon

 

[Andrew Mace]

My neighbor, who runs a lumber and saw mill business, often does the same things. Of course, we're well out in the country, where you can get away with doing things like that!

 

[poolboy]

Might not work if you were unknown to the family and it was something more valuable than a quart of oil.

 

[Brosky]

As an old time (1980's) TRF customer, as well as Moss and VB and BPNW, I am happy that they are all around. The cataloging and on line ordering isn't all that bad and the more of these guys there are, the easier we will all have it.

 

[TR3driver]

and the more of these guys there are, the easier we will all have it.

Well put!

I'll add only that TRF is unique (at least among the "big 3") in being owned by a Triumph enthusiast. I don't believe I've ever even met Glen Adams at a Triumph event, let alone find that he drove his personal TR3A nearly 3000 miles each way to get there.

 

[Andrew Mace]

Might not work if you were unknown to the family and it was something more valuable than a quart of oil.

True enough, and I know that it's not something my neighbor does for everyone. But he does it willingly for regular customers, who I see stopping by after hours to load lumber that I know they'd paid for earlier.

Of course, he (my neighbor) did get a bit more cautious years ago after the Daytona 500 race in which Dale Earnhardt died; the next morning, the #8 Coke machine that had resided outside the main entrance had vanished! (It must have somehow been done very quietly; I was slightly embarrassed by the fact that my house and yard face his, and I never saw or heard anything!)

 

[poolboy]

Andrew I wasn't directing that to you about your neighbor, you just slipped that post in while I was typing. I was thinking about willie p and the oil left out for him.
Trust has to work both ways when you buy someting sight unseen.

 

[UltimateQuestion]

I still have almost all of the paper catalogs TRF has sent me from 1987 to present. And I always keep my (reprint) factory parts catalog nearby at all times. Ordering is a breeze when you know the part #.

 

[TR4A_IRS]

As I mentioned, you guys are patient, and nostalgic. Those are not bad traits. I probably could be described as nostalgic, but definitely not patient. However, they do lead you to value TRF for qualities that may not ensure the business stays afloat for the next 20 years.

I do think it is nice that TRF is owned by a TR enthusiast who does things like drive his TR3 across half the country to attend events. I also think it is notable that they would put a part on the back steps for a customer with no guarantee of payment. I personally try and support business that value their customers like TRF does.

However, I do believe that TRF will have a hard time of it over the next decade if they don't invest in more efficient business systems. I don't think it is unrealistic to expect a modern day (e)mail order company to have a good inventory management system that provides the back-end information for an easy to use online ordering website.

That being said, the qualities that we like about businesses that make us nostalgic, don't disappear because they have a good website. This is not an either/or proposition we are debating...

 

[Brosky]

Ian, well put and every company can improve and there is no doubt that this would help them in the future. If it helps a customer(s)it will generally help a business somewhere down the road.

 

[Andrew Mace]

I don't think it is unrealistic to expect a modern day (e)mail order company to have a good inventory management system that provides the back-end information for an easy to use online ordering website.

Frankly, I think that's exactly what TRF does have and has had -- in one form or another -- for years. And one thing in particular that I've long appreciated is the coding that allows the user to see "interchange" of a given part (the S15T34 or similar coding telling you that a part fits all Spitfires and the TR3/TR4, for example). I also appreciate the many instances in the TRF database where an original Stanpart number is given along with its cross-reference to, say, a Lucas or Girling part number, not to mention the fact that they add "LU" or "GI" (respectively) in front of those part numbers so one knows what's what.

What TRF "lacks" (to some audiences) is a better "front-end" component. I, for one, find very useful the Canley Classics web site, where they've scanned original factory parts catalogue diagrams and added hot links to most any part depicted on the diagrams. It's not perfect, but it works very well for me as a long-time user of said SPCs!