I am really singling out Moss in this post, but mention them for two reasons -
the parts that I am talking about were bought from them, and there are
representatives from Moss that follow the group, and so we might actually get
an answer from the horse's mouth, as it were.
I just got my 62 MGA Coupe out of dry storage, where it has been sitting for
about 9 years. A year or so before I put it away, I treated it to brand new
Moss grill and bumpers. The car saw about 500 miles after the new stuff was
installed, and was washed and put away dry. I have another car stored with it
that has the original factory grill and bumpers on it.
I got the car out yesterday to try and get it ready for Tahoe, and discovered
that the grill _and_ both bumpers were, to a greater or lesser degree, rusted
and pitted. The grill surround has bubbles of rust and the bumpers are showing
a haze of rust on the inside, and localised bubbling on the outside. There is
no alternative to rechroming or replacement.
The 'control' car beside it with the factory bumpers and grill, shows _NO_
rust whatsoever (the grill is bent a little, but the chrome seems to have
stuck to the brass better than it does to the repro steel shells).
So now I will have to replace all of the chrome that I put on the car 500
miles ago! Doesn't seem like very good value to me. I would rather have spent
double on parts that were reasonably fit for the purpose they were intended
for, than half as much, twice. And who knows if the modern equivalents are any
better? I may just be throwing money down a hole again, and have to repeat
this whole frustrating exercise in another 6 or 8 years.
Either that, or take the brand new parts and take them to the platers to have
them done properly in the first place.
How would you like it if your brand new car came with shocks, tires, and
brakes, that were just barely able to get it off the showroom floor so that
you could go and replace them all with decent parts? Well, that's how I feel
when I buy new chromed parts that basically rust out sitting on the shelf.
Why does this situation pertain? Moss is, as far as my experience goes (25
years worth) reputable, and as quality conscious as any of the regular after
market outlets - no one wants come backs on parts - it adds too much to the
overhead. The only answer that I can think of is that the owners out there
are too cheap to pay for reasonable parts and will put up with shoddy tinfoil
bits that don't fit right as long as they are cheap enough. Strange as that
may sound, I can't think of another explanation. If that is the explanation,
then shame on all you cheap people out there - aren't your cars dear enough to
you to warrant a little expense to do things right?
I would be most interested in hearing from other customers as well as Moss (if
you are still speaking to me after my intentionally attention getting header)
and any other suppliers that happen to follow this list.
The diatribe endeth.
Bill Spohn
Vancouver
PS - I will say that the Moss bumpers did at least _fit_, which is more than
you could say for some of the old repros, as I recall.
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