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Where do you find "The Good Parts"?

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L

LanceLyon

Jedi Hopeful
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Over the last year or more on this forumn I have seen multiple disparaging remarks regarding the relative quality of replacement parts and assemblies offered by Moss Motors. Living in Santa Barbara County in California, they are in my back yard and offer an easy resource and as complete a catalog as can be found.

My question is, who supplies the higher quality replacement parts that would represent the alternative? Many of the other suppliers apparently are simply distributors for Moss anyway.

Who are the "Good Parts" Guys?
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/nonono.gif No Lance, the better suppliers are not also Moss distributors.IMOP the better suppliers are those suppliers that are also actively engaged in car restoration and have sourced the best fitting parts for sale to the consumer.--FWIW---Keoke
 
I buy some parts from Denis Welch, that could be an alternative for some parts.
 
LL,
There is no simple answer. Not every supplier has all good parts. I have gotten parts from - Moss, British Car Specialists, Killmartin, Denis Welch, Cape International, SC Parts Group, Healey Surgeons, Hemphill's Healey Haven, Hendrix Wire Wheel, Heritage Upholstery, Von's Austin Healey, Burlen Fuel Systems, LBCARCO, & a few others. A few times it has taken a couple of tries from different vendors to get a part that is "really right".

It often takes some research, question asking, trial & error, & a little luck to find a specific high quality part that fits. If you need a lot of different parts, you will end up with a large file of catalogs & notes to get all the parts collected. Some parts will require hand fitting regardless of where you get them.

Body panels are notorious for requiring modification & hand fitting to the particular car. The Kilmartin body parts usually have a better chance of working with minimum alteration.

Don't hesitate to ask specific questions of a particular vendor before ordering. Overall, I've gotten pretty good results with British Car Specialists, since they are dealers for Moss, Kilmartin, & several others. Not the cheapest, but pretty good results. The best quality interior parts come from Heritage.

Sorry I don't have an easier answer.
D
 
Just for my own edification, what do IMOP and FWIW mean?

Thank you Dave, that is the information I'm looking for! A particular case in hand is that I have purchased a floor panel for the driver side from Moss, but there are no mounting holes drilled in the pan, which won't be hard to do in my shop, but more importantly, there is no reinforced connection point for the seat belt. Neither of these is unsurmountable, but it would be nice to have something come complete.

Thanks for everyone's reply!
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/savewave.gif
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gifLance: IMOP=In My Opinion and FWIW=For What It Is Worth.---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/patriot.gif
 
"I Think they are the Moss body parts sources". IMOP Dave You are correct.---Keoke /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
As I see it, the problem is that you don't know how good or bad a part will fit until you get it in hand and try to mount it. By then, if it doesn't fit, you have the hassle of sending it back and finding another, waiting for it, and starting all over again when it arrives. At least Moss and Victoria British are pretty good about returns. If you buy from AH Spares, then you have a pretty expensive return shipping cost. Most of the people here are pretty good about being able to make the necessary adjustments to make things fit that come in wrong. For those of us with (ahem) somewhat lesser skills, this is just a huge hassle and wears thin pretty quickly. Whenever I order, I ask how many returns they get and why, hoping that will give me a decent idea of how well the particular part fits. They have been pretty decent about telling me the problems.

I'm thinking of putting on a new mild steel exhaust on my BJ8 this spring (the PO had it "restored" with the wrong exhaust), but can't decide who has one that is priced well and will fit without my having to buy welding equipment.
 
SHG, Here is my opinion; none of the after market exhaust systems are a direct bolton fit.Therefore, get the best price you can find and have a muffler shop do the fitting.--FWIW--Keoke
 
One place that hasn't been mentioned yet is Just Brits (www.justbrits.com). Ed is a Moss distributor but he also gets parts from 60 different suppliers and knows his stuff. I've bought a lot of parts from him for my BJ7 restoration and he's been able to give me a good discount at the same time.

Cheers,
John
 
Thanks Keoke. I was afraid that would be the case. So I guess price is king and I better find a place that can do a decent job without damaging something else in the process.
 
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