Re: Alfa parts

[Biba <biba@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

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Bill Harkell writes -
Just a question... What is an obsolete, no longer produced part worth?
Especially if the dealer, (who I know of and have been there-very
ethical...}had to buy it in Europe, pay near retail and then pay to have

it shipped 7000 miles?
.........
I addressed this issue with Alfa USA last week and there is not enough
demand worldwide to re-order GTV6 tanks. They would need to order 1000+
to get the cost down to where you consider it reasonable. Perhaps you
could have them made and sell them to Alfa for $8 so they can mark it up

to $12 to sell it to me and then I can sell it to you for $16.
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Hold on gang, Biba (okay, it's Fred Biba - and we won't be referring to
me as Fred, please) is going to give a little more than his two cents
regarding Alfa parts.

While not comparing myself to Bill, I suspect we have similar goals -
make a living and help out (deserving) Alfa people keep their cars
running. My opinion of deserving. Someone who really likes Alfas, takes
reasonable care of their car, hopefully drive it/them frequently, and is
willing to pay a reasonable sum for parts and services. I think what
Bill says above, defines reasonable pretty well.

At this juncture, I'm more concerned about availability of Used parts.
Chances are we will be able to get liners/pistons, in most cases,
gaskets and bearings, valves, guides, etc. In other words, we will be
able to keep our cars running. It's sort of the main thing, isn't it?

I have mixed emotions on people who race their Alfas. It is really neat
to see them on the track, sounding and looking great. On the other hand,
you "racers" are chewing up a lot of blocks, heads, rods, transmissions,
differentials, not to mention body panels.

Checked the price and availability on 1300cc engines or just heads
lately? We really need to preserve these major components. APE (Alfa
Parts Exchange) for one do a great job/service supplying used Alfa
parts. There is one major flaw. To the best of my knowledge they, and
few if any other used part suppliers have lists. Yes, I can easily put
myself in their shoes and understand the nightmare of inventorying,
pricing, and keeping the list up to date.

For some time I've had an ad running on EPage where I offer to help
people find used Alfa parts. They dribble in. I wait until I have 20 or
30 specific parts requests, "type" up an organized list, then try to
find the parts, get prices, condition (I've had to give up there), then
e-mail everyone on the list. I'll admit the process is slow and parts
suppliers are getting tired of quoting me prices and availability when
so few people respond back they want a part and are actually willing to
put a check in the mail (would I say most Alfa people keep a huge lock
on their billfolds? Yes, I'm afraid I would).

I'm making the same offer to supply used parts on AlfaCyberSite and have
begun to get a few more requests. I have a plan to make it more
efficient, but I'll save that for later.

I heard (3rd hand) a wonderful story regarding Volvos. Apparently it's
mandated by the Swedish government that cars manufactured in Sweden
cannot be junked, abandoned, etc. So, Volvo trucks all the dead cars to
one place, strips them down, cleans them up, inventories them, and sells
them to their customers. Want a grill for a P1800? Apparently they can
reach up on a shelf, pull it down and ship. Hey, call me a socialist,
but that's what needs to happen to dead Alfas - and they should be truly
dead, not just taking up space in someone's garage/parking spot so it's
easiest to call Pick-A-Part to take care of the "problem".

With that in mind, when Ralph's (grocery) bought out Hughes, Hughes
pulled out of their distribution center about a half mile from me.
Anyone want to buy a 900,000 sq ft building and put up money to buy any
and every used Alfa part available world-wide? I'd be happy to get
involved.

Now, those of you still with me, let's have a little fun. I have a
pretty darn nice GTV-6 windshield washer tank (on a 1 to 6, 1 perfect, 6
junk) it's a 2 to 2.5. It doesn't have the motor/pump, nor the decal. No
cracks, has the cap. Came from an '84.5 GTV-6.

Also I have a GTV-6 coolant tank. About a 3 to 3.5. Yellowed, very
short, minor crack near the top which I will fill with gel type super
glue (Have used it on other tanks and it works great and dries quickly
and is hardly noticeable). Has the decal. Yuck free.

Let's do a mini auction. E-mail me off line. Bid on both together, or
separately. I'll close it say, this Friday evening (26th). I'll charge
whatever it costs me to ship (shouldn't be much). For now I'll take the
money and run. HOWEVER, if/when Todd A. Hoppens has his stainless steel
GTV-6 coolant tank fabricated and if he mails or e-mails me a photo of
it, and it looks reasonably professionally done (decent welds, etc.) AND
he also includes a copy of the invoice AND it is $95 or less, I will
donate all I receive from the plastic bottles to the Welty fund. And to
tell the truth, money is more than a little tight for me right now.
(Keep that in mind when you're bidding). Oh yeah, Todd, and should the
tank run dry, how will you know?

If I was a betting man, I'd bet/guess about $300 for the stainless tank
unless it's just a little square box.

I'll not post the mini bid info again.

Biba
Irwindale CA
AlfaCyberSite - http://home.earthlink.net/~biba/

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