I've started sorting out some of my pile of bits to determine what will be kept for possible future projects and what can be disposed of...
I've also been buying in NOS and other items for the same reason, where I feel what I have isn't good enough or I simply don't have what I need...
One thing that has become rapidly clear is how many of the parts I am looking for are either no longer available as NOS or not easy to find in good used condition...Yet just a couple of years back they weren't too difficult to put your hand on...
I can't help but wish I had salted away a few more bits when they were readily available...
I also can't help but think we might be nearing the end of the availability of many parts as NOS or 'good original' and that the resource we have all treated as effectively infinite suddenly isn't...Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
I've bought a field stand clip from this guy previously...
It seemed to take a while to get here but was well packed and as Jeff noted reasonably priced...
I've just bought both sets of NOS tappets and a B33 piston!...Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
I too fear that the UK supplies have dried-up Ian............we now need to look further afield.........maybe even Hussein !!!!!
We British had a significant presence in the middle and far east until the 1960s and huge stocks of parts were supplied.........add to this UNRRA supplied nations (eg - Greece) and we are talking lots of parts remaining overseas even today.............but the world is now a much smaller place thanks to the Internet and even a seller in Cairo has access to Ebay if not much else...........
I recently bought a NOS oil pump from Hussein...One problem to consider there is that there is no paypal in Egypt...
This means a bank transfer and my bank, at least, charges a fixed transaction fee of £20...If your buying something for £20 or even £100 that's a pretty steep rate on a percentage basis...
However, if you buy more to make that percentage better you will then be liable for VAT..a Royal Mail 'international shipping' charge of £12 and possible customs duties...
It's something that has to be thought about...My oil pump, though I was pleased to get it, wasn't cheap by any means...
Not that Hussein can be blamed for the transaction charges of course...Ian
email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com
I completely understand your point of view Ian........it's a delicate balance of sourcing the right NoS parts -v- postage and other factors such as bank charges, etc...........there has to come a critical point between price plus other factors - v - the requirement for the item........not always easy........except for the seller of course who maybe is sitting on a pile of 'em.....!