At 11:57 AM 8/19/98 -0500, Ronald A. Dowty wrote:
>The Roadster Factory sells body shells for $6295 + shipping/handling. It is
>my understanding that they are imported from England. Would it be possible
>that with the realave value of the dollar and the extra shipping costs to
>save money buy ordering it direct and cutting out the middle man?
I went to the 75th anniversary in Gaydon this spring. I saw a TR6
bodyshell, and am looking at the BMIHT brochure I picked up.
BMIHT back cover text:
Where to find us
British Motor Heritage product is available theough a worldwide network of
specialists, committed to providing the very best service and parts possible.
For details of your nearest British Heritage Approved Specialist please
contact our head office.
British Motor Heritage
Range Road
Cotswold Business Park
Oxon, OX8 5YB
England
Phone 44 (0) 1993 707200
Fax 44 (0) 1993 707222
End of text.
Note - the "0" in parenthesis is only needed if calling from England.
>Does
>anyone know what the shipping costs would be to send something that size and
>weight to the US? And of course the mock frame has a $300 core charge would
>it be worth even sending it back? I know its a long shot but they arent
>going to be available for a couple of months at the least so I have time to
>consider my options.
The only England based BMIHT Approved Specialist who I know of who deals
with shipping worldwide on a regular basis is Rimmer Bros. They are
probably your only hope.
On their website, www.rimmerbros.co.uk I found they sell the bodyshell for
3319.15 pounds. At todays rate of 1.6329, that's $5,420 US.
I'll bet you can get it shipped for under $1200, but not much.
SNIP
>Sorry for the long message. I have been laboring over this for a while. That
>reminds me. Is there any chance that a straight, completely rust free body
>could be had and then have all the body work done and be ready for final
>painting for a whole lot less than $6000?
In a word, absoultely! It is my opinion that if you have a decent example
to start with, over $6000 buys one heck of alot of bodywork.
The body shell I saw was nice, but far from perfect. There is half a page
of tiny text on the back of the brochure about body shell fitting. In
essence, it says expect a shop to charge 3 full days labor to fit the shell
to the chassis! It appears to me there is lots of finessing required. In
addition, if you wanted to build a concours example, I think the
imperfections would end up costing a real bundle to work out.
Don't get me wrong, if I were in the UK, and needed a body shell to build a
nice driver, I would give the BMIHT shell a lot of thought. But, factoring
in the shipping to the US and how weak the US dollar is right now to the
British pound, I really don't think it makes sense. A good body shop can
get a decent tub, doors, bonnet and boot lid into shape for a heck of a lot
less than $6000.
Those are my thoughts on the subject. YMMV.
But, I think you should go for it... If nobody buys these things, and BMIHT
decides the demand is so low they stop producing them, well, that would be bad!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _
Henry Frye - thefryes@iconn.net - Connecticut, USA
TR3B TCF1927 L Driver
TR250 CD690 L Soon to be Driver
TR250 CD8096 L Someday Driver
TR250 CD1074 L Some Brave Soul Other Than Me
Will Make This A Driver!
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