RS Motorsport :: Classic Speed Restored

Not sure if I'm in the right forum for this one, but am sure someone will tell me...

Am chasing reliable UK sources for mainly stock or decent quality parts for my Mk2 Escort rebuild / restoration. i.e. water pumps, rubber mounts, TCA rubber bushings, cables etc. (I am not a fan of polyurethane bushings, and am in the process of removing all PU bushes and replacing with rubber items.) A source for KONI shocks would be good, as I would like to get hold of a pair of discontinued 86-2016SPORT inserts as the Australian agents can no longer supply these.

Anybody have a retail source for QH - Quinton Hazell in the UK who will post or freight to Australia? I am also looking for someone in the UK who has or who has access to stocks of Mk2 NOS genuine Ford odds & ends.

I have dealt with Burtons and Rally Design. Burtons are good but generally don't carry QH parts. From my one and only experience with them, Rally Design and quality should not be used in the same sentence together. Have also made many purchases on eBay but the seller who I was buying QH parts from now won't post to Australia as he claims too much stuff was getting lost in the post. Funny about that, in 30 years of mail order - including 10 years on eBay, I've never lost a thing from the UK.

Cheers

I use Grp4 Fabrication in Ireland alot (http://www.grp4fabrications.com)

Also use Gartrac (http://www.gartrac.com)

Both have excellent quality and service (especially Grp4!!)

I am surprised you are specifically looking for QH stuff. The gear that was sold in Australia under this brand was just Chinese rubbish, but then again, pretty much everything is these days. There is no difference at all between brands such as QH, Powermax, Chamelot, TRW and 555 when it comes to front end parts and water pumps etc.

I cant see any advantage in buying this stuff from the UK unless you could be sure it was locally made. If it is just Chinese (and i think you will find it is) you can save a fortune and just buy it here.

The QH stuff sold in the UK is much better than the Chinese crap here, it is also much cheaper to buy stuff from there.

Some sellers in the UK are reluctant to send to Australia as stuff does get lost regularly by Auspost and Australian customs, I can speak from personal experience on this.
There is also often a bad attitude from Aussie buyers with regard to postage, every single thing I sent to Australia when I was in the Uk was a major pain the arse, postage prices were sky high, everything got delayed in aus customs, and on every occasion the buyer whited incessantly about the postage price (which I always did at cost)
It is no wonder sellers are reluctant to go to all the extra hassle when there are more than enough buyers in their own country that give much less aggravation.

Most of the performance product companies are reliable and reasonable for shipping parts here, they get large bulk discounts with freight companies which means a saving for the customer too, but unfortunately the standard parts that you want are dealt with mostly by local spares shops, and they have no mail order business need, so don't ship stuff.

Your best bet is to either use eBay, or try and get the performance goodies companies to order standard parts for you.

Mark, glad to see your reply here

You are correct regarding the quality of QH stuff, it is much better on average than the junk being peddled in Australia. My experience with QH parts has been very good, and I rate them as a cut above average, but not 'top shelf'. The crossflow fuel pumps they market are Italian made. After having bought some locally made Mackay engine mounts and using them - they promptly fell apart - I ordered QH rubber engine and gearbox mountings from the UK through eBay and they're excellent and still going - at half the price I paid for the locally made crap. Those Mackay bobbins have a bad rep here in Adelaide amongst Escort enthusiasts! Don't know where the QH ones were made, but the quality is okay, my only criticism is that the rubber engine mounts are a little soft, so next time will be using some of the harder rubber bobbins sold by Burtons, Gartrac etc.

Yes, I can understand the frustration of UK sellers and the postal system. Stuff does get lost or stolen, and Customs hold things up and lose stillages full of postal items in their system. Have been arguing with Customs officials for 30+ years now, & I sincerely believe they derive some form of perverse pleasure in being as obstructive as possible.

You are correct when you say that UK sellers do not need this level of aggravation.

Last package I received was despatched last Monday from the UK via TNT, and I had it in my hands Friday after lunch - 4 and a bit days - can't complain about that for a 5 Kg parcel! This is the way to go as this type of package is tracked and signed for, a notch above the postal system!

eBay is getting tougher internationally due to PayPal fraud and postal charges, and my main UK QH seller has clammed up and won't ship to Australia anymore, hence my post on this forum.

In short Mark, there is nothing in your posting that I disagree with

G dub, your information is both out of date and inaccurate.

Please check out my recent post & review on this thread:



These UK sourced TCAs are actually cheaper to buy direct from the UK or from SMCKA in Sydney than the Powermax and other dodgy re-branded TCA's sold locally.

I am 'saving a fortune' buying direct from the UK & have been for the past three years since I started working on my Mk2 Escort. Also buy most of my Ford BA Falcon parts from Melbourne, as Adelaide is one of those strange little cities where RRP Plus Extra is the norm.

I've had excellent service from TNT ex UK, the on-line tracking system is great .....providing item is less than $1000. Once you step over the grand mark then look out for the delays, duties,GST etc(plus I'm fairly certain when the woman on the phone read out the charges there was something about $63.52 for the smoko run that morning!!!)

We'll see the real story when I start bringing in gearbox parts later this year.......

You want delays and being stuffed around? Try having a surname of Ford and importing car parts. They must assume that i'm a genuine Ford delear and have several times sent item processing details to the customs broker for Ford Australia. I think i've now got TNT trained that i'm a person and not a company.

This maybe the answer. http://www.my-uk-mail.co.uk/

Haven't tried them though.

I LOL'ed I did

Thanks Roger for the link to the sources page - thought there must have been one on the forum somewhere

Started placing an order with Gartrac on their website, got to the Credit Card details page and stopped dead in my tracks - it's not a secure site with https: - anyone else noticed that? I've asked them to send me their fax number so I can supply the details they want in a more secure old skool method

As for using my-uk-mail or whatever brand of this type of poison you care to name, I have no interest in using drop-shippers of this ilk, would rather establish an open relationship with reputable retailers or individuals by dealing DIRECT.

Wa-ay too risky

Cheers

the point is with the "drop-shippers" is that many online webshops will not trade internationally. It's mainly an eBay thing though as loads of Yank eBayers will not ship internationally