Parts Testing Regime

[Ecosse]

I have followed the various discussions regarding Brake Pads, Wheel Tyre combinations, Oils etc. with interest, and whilst the various comments may have their merits, they are subjective to the person making the comment.

In order to bring some objectivity to the discussions I have contacted the TRRCC MT with a view to setting up a formal testing regime to gain empirical data so that members can make informed decisions on which parts provide the best performance.

My initial thoughts were to do a survey for Brake Pads, which would probably also have to include Brake Discs, as that should be a fairly straightforward exercise.

Does anyone think such a scheme would be beneficial to the membership.

Cliff

 

 

 

 

[stuart]

40 minutes ago, Ecosse said:

I have followed the various discussions regarding Brake Pads, Wheel Tyre combinations, Oils etc. with interest, and whilst the various comments may have their merits, they are subjective to the person making the comment.

In order to bring some objectivity to the discussions I have contacted the TRRCC MT with a view to setting up a formal testing regime to gain empirical data so that members can make informed decisions on which parts provide the best performance.

My initial thoughts were to do a survey for Brake Pads, which would probably also have to include Brake Discs, as that should be a fairly straightforward exercise.

Does anyone think such a scheme would be beneficial to the membership.

Cliff

 

 

 

 

Sadly I suspect that we wouldnt be allowed to post genuine opinions as it seems from past experience we get told off for doing so.

Stuart.

[david ferry]

I’d think that there’s no chance this will happen because of possible liabilities, which could be enormous.

David

[RogerH]

I also believe that something as  detailed as this sort of research would be beyond the abilities of the MT to understand and action.

There would also be a cost element that would seriously go against the grain.

 

Roger

[harlequin]

Somthing that would be a real benefit would be for the Register to sell to members good quality basic parts such as brake pads, air filters, speedo angle drives and any other such things that are of dubious quality from the usual suspects.

But then ofcourse that may have an impact on advertising revenue 

George 

[michaelfinnis]

3 minutes ago, harlequin said:

Somthing that would be a real benefit would be for the Register to sell to members good quality basic parts such as brake pads, air filters, speedo angle drives and any other such things that are of dubious quality from the usual suspects.

But then ofcourse that may have an impact on advertising revenue 

George 

Where would the register source them from though? There are only a limited number of manufacturers making these things, most of the commercial sellers are getting such items from the same suppliers.

Also, whilst there are some second rate spares out there I think it is a little unfair to tar all with the same brush. The popular big suppliers have been fine in my experience.

Mike.

[TR NIALL]

Bring back Paul Harvey pure TR Gold.

[harlequin]

1 minute ago, michaelfinnis said:

Where would the register source them from though? There are only a limited number of manufacturers making these things, most of the commercial sellers are getting such items from the same suppliers.

Also, whilst there are some second rate spares out there I think it is a little unfair to tar all with the same brush. The popular big suppliers have been fine in my experience.

Mike.

Agreed, most of the suppliers sell good parts but they all also sell not so good parts. We have all had experience of sub standard parts and when complaining to the  supplier have been told "This is the first time we have had a complaint about this part" and we all know that all the time the thing is in stock it will pushed onto the market. As an example rubber gaiters that last a few months before falling to bits where a similar item for say a Ford or VW will last ten years.

If the Register were to supply a quality item it would take the lottery element out of maintaining a TR

George 

[michaelfinnis]

2 minutes ago, harlequin said:

Agreed, most of the suppliers sell good parts but they all also sell not so good parts. We have all had experience of sub standard parts and when complaining to the  supplier have been told "This is the first time we have had a complaint about this part" and we all know that all the time the thing is in stock it will pushed onto the market. As an example rubber gaiters that last a few months before falling to bits where a similar item for say a Ford or VW will last ten years.

If the Register were to supply a quality item it would take the lottery element out of maintaining a TR

George 

Agreed, but you still have to source them, and who would decide which are quality and which are not? I can see another forum trail about the quality or otherwise of register supplied parts resulting.

My local group has negotiated a useful discount with one of the big suppliers who happen to be local to us. I don’t know if other groups do something similar, but that might be a more useful and practical help.

Mike.

[harlequin]

I very much doubt that selling parts would fit the TR Registers  business model but as a benefit to members it would not be impossible with a bit of research to stock say a Volvo or BMW steering rack gaiter that fits a TR rack, I am not suggesting having a complete range of every part like the MG Owners club provides just the parts that are known to be suspect..

George 

[keith1948]

On the face of it a good idea to compare suppliers parts but to do proper testing requires a large enough sample of each item for a statistically valid comparison. Sampling is a complicated process as anyone in quality control in a production environment will tell you. We also tend to report items that are sub standard but under report good items

I like the idea that George suggested in post before mine of a list of bits from other cars that will fit a TR. I can start that list off with a couple of items. Across Europe there are many old tractors with Lucas dynamos that will fit a TR. Just swap over the closed end plates for vented ones. Also an older Massey Ferguson top hose will fit a TR. Some agricultural machines use the thick fan belts. Many cars from the 1960's/70's have headlamps, bulbs, relays, that fit TR's. I have a Stanpart TR4A parts catalogue (ISBN 0 907 073 956) that lists several old vehicles that used TR parts. What would be useful would be parts from more modern cars that would fit but I think the list might be small. I have enough trouble finding parts to fit a 20 year old Mini one and a 25 year old MK4 Ford Fiesta. These days it is the fashion for parts to be unique to a particular model and year of vehicle. Back in the day you could use bits from many marques that were interchangeable.

Keith

[RogerH]

Hi Folks,

 there have been comments about naming and shaming  suppliers that have bad parts.

Sadly I think you would need to vet the complainant before giving the complaint any credence.

 

Roger

 

Roger

[Nigel Triumph]

I also feel that for reasons of cost and potential liability, it's unlikely the TRR would go down the route of testing and approving spare parts.

For those of us who have been running Triumphs for years, decades even, we have built a knowledge of suppliers we trust, and brands we trust. These are suppliers we know would only sell products that they would be happy to fit to their own Triumphs. Suppliers who own and run Triumphs are a good starting point when searching for quality spares.

When Register members who may not have the same long term experience need advice on where to source parts, we as individuals are able to share our knowledge here on the forum. We can do so by recommending suppliers we've found to be satisfactory, rather than naming and shaming the poor ones.

Perhaps that's not totally objective, but it's still a valuable form of advice, a worthwhile sharing of hard won experience.

Nigel

[RobH]

13 minutes ago, Nigel Triumph said:

We can do so by recommending suppliers we've found to be satisfactory, rather than naming and shaming the poor ones.

Exactly. Carrot , not stick - no supplier can complain about that.  It would be possible to compile a list of common parts based on user recommendations of those found to be good.

e.g. "Front left hand widget, Jones & Co part number XYZ123" 

 

[harlequin]

To be fair to our parts suppliers we are extremely lucky to be able to buy practically everything for a TR over the phone and delivered in a day or two. This will ofcourse diminish as all us old pharts shuffle off and the market contracts,. This can be seen with prewar cars where almost everything now has tlo be made from scratch or refurbished.

This is where the Register could truly preserve the TRs that are left by being able to supply parts, but then the Register would need to start doing things now because in 10 years time it will be to late 

George 

[cvtrian]

2 hours ago, harlequin said:

 

This is where the Register could truly preserve the TRs that are left by being able to supply parts, but then the Register would need to start doing things now because in 10 years time it will be to late 

George 

Sadly George, the old and original TR Register strap line of "preserving the marque and keeping cars on the road" was ditched long ago.
Ian

[harlequin]

Ian

A little sarcastic maybe but that's why I put it in my post

[Andy Moltu]

Half of the time the rubbish parts are sold by most of the TR suppliers as their is only one manufacturer of that item!

Setting up a parts supply business is beyond the TRR - it simply couldn't compete with the established suppliers who have established supply chains, warehousing and staff.

I'm not saying it couldn't be done but the costs would render it impractical for a club run by volunteers.  The spares development fund has historically worked with the parts vendors to use their clout and supply chain and the clubs cash to pump prime initial production runs that would not make commercial sense for the suppliers to do.

[james christie]

Those of us who have had TRs for longer than a very long time will remember that we had an early member Pete Buckles, by name who alas left us for ever in December. Pete kept us supplied with (mostly) quality parts in the early days. Initially some of us helped finance him - Rebuild on a budget, loans from the Spares Development Fund until he and Pete Cox were able to stand on their own feet.

Others with a better memory and more accurate descriptions of the ‘arrangements’ may wish to add to the above. But at the time it was virtually the Register’s own source of parts.

Suffice to say that over the years Cox and Buckles morphed into Moss - if you didn’t already know!

james