Tim,
I don't really have a feel for what is the better route to go - getting a
second-hand o/d and having it reconditioned yourself, or just going straight
to the big dealers. My instinct (could be wrong) is that sorting it yourself
would be likely to be cheaper, if you can find someone who could do the work -
I'm not sure how many people there are around who can do o/d reconditioning.
The other issue is surcharges from the big suppliers - there is usually a
surcharge for re-conditioned units, subject to you returning a repairable unit
to them. I have a feeling that, in some cases, they may even refuse to supply
a re-conditioned unit if you haven't got one to swap, if my memory serves me
right Rimmers told me they would not sell me a g/box unless I had one to give
them in return. But then, when I tried to sell them the spare non-o/d g/box
that I have lying around, they weren't interested at all, said they had loads
of them and it was of no use to them - so if they have so many spare why won't
they sell one direct? Hmmm... maybe it was someone else who wouldn't sell
one without a return, my memory is starting to get foggy as I approach the
great old age of 30....
Just had a peer in Yellow Pages - there actually seem to be plenty of places
that do re-conditioning of gearboxes locally, and a couple that mention doing
o/ds too - so it shouldn't be too hard to find someone to do it. I'd phone
for a quote, and compare to Rimmers/Moss prices.
Offer to lend a hand still stands, but not for the next couple of weekends, I'm
busy... Yes, I should be drinking Spitfire - actually I've never tried it,
but I'd like to, but Old Speckled Hen is more widely available...
Richard and Daffy
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