The Triumph 2000 / 2500 / 2·5 Register Forum

hi steve,

things have gone a bit quiet regarding postings on the panels, simply because ive had nothing much to report, its just a waiting game im afraid, but that certainly dont mean things have stopped at my end, im still as busy as ever.

one thing ive learnt from all this, is that manufacturers are extremely busy all over the country, and trying to keep to a given production date, is an impossibility and very very frustrating !!!!

the mk2 front wing pre production wing is also behind schedule, and i will keep you all informed as soon as i hear.

lloyd

Thats OK, as said before it's a huge task getting it all sorted out thanks again for all you efforts.

hi all,

just an update,

i will have news on the mk2 fronts after my meeting with the manufacturer on fri 10th oct.

Thanks Lloyd. It'll be interesting to see how your meeting goes!

Cheers,
Mike.

cheers mike,

all will be well, we all need these panels, and i will make sure we get them

its hard work, but more than that, frustrating, it just takes so long to get things arranged and sorted.

onwards and upwards !!

swift update,

i know i said i would post the outcome of the meeting with the manufacturer that i had on the 10th, but i am still in talks with them on the best / most cost effective way of doing this.

i havent forgotten you all, i promise, and will inform you asap as to what the outcome is.

lloyd

hi all,

i havent long got off the phone to the manufacturer, and need your help.

as you are aware, i have changed manufacturers as the other one was impossible to deal with, the only down side to this from my perspective, is that they were supplying me with the nos panels i needed.

i have most of the panels i require already for this panel venture, but i am short an o/s mk2 front wing, and as they are first on the list to be made, I NEED ONE !

SO IF ANYONE HAS A GOOD SALVAGED ONE OR BETTER STILL AN NOS ONE THEY ARE WILLING TO SELL ME, PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP PLEASE.

should i get one asap, i can have production underway by around feb / march next year, the panel will be as i have stated before, a 90% full wing, i.e finishing on the top bonnet edge return, so nearly a full wing for £325 !!!!!! i simply cant afford to sell them for cheaper than that. ( members price only )

the quality will be as nos, as to me that is paramount, there is no point in producing a panel that is , ill fitting and takes loads of manhours to fit and fettle, defeats the object and just increases costs !!

IF YOU CAN HELP, PLEASE email ME AT lloyd.reed01@virgin.net or call on 07920796802

the remanufacture of these panels is dependant on the quanity of orders i recieve to justify it, so thanks to all for placing thier orders and monies already, but i could do with more please !!!

many thanks

hi again everyone,

can i just clarify something, as most do not understand the process of making a panel.

it has been mentioned to me, that £325 is a bit expensive for what is nearly a full front wing, not at all the case, and i have put next to nothing on top to help pay off the tooling costs, BUT if you buy a pair of wings at the cost of £650 and put that against the market value of the car they are going on ( avarage £2-3 k ) than YES i guess they do seen a tad expensive ?? but to get made small quanity runs of panels, the cost is what it is, i cant do anything about that, its just the way it is.

the way these tools are made, in regards to the size of panel they are making, makes no difference to the costs, i.e a wheel arch repair tool cost the same as the tool for the near full wing i am doing, so there is no point making just the wheel arch repair as it would still cost £325 !! its all very indepth and i simply cant explain it all via this posting as it would ramble on for pages and pages.

the ONLY time panel size has a bearing on the tooling costs, is if you have 3 part draw tools made, in that case a wheel arch tool would be cheaper than a full wing tool, but as a draw tool for a wheel arch cost in the region of 25 thousand pounds ( inc units ) for one side, and most of you would only expect to pay £125 for said arch, i would never get my money back, and be hundreds of thousands of pounds out of pocket by the time i did all the panels i intend doing, so draw tools are a non starter, PLUS there is no lesser quality with the tools i am using, so its a no brainer.

please dont think this posting is a rant, as its not, it is just to help explain and get across to you all, what is involved, and believe you me the way i am doing this IS the cheapest way and without losing quality.

if any of you have questions, thoughts or ideas, PLEASE feel free to ring me and i will be more than happy to explain more indepth about it all.

as usual, thanks for all your support and good wishes as i couldnt make this happen without you !!

lloyd

In support of LLoyd and for all the people complaining that £325 per wing is too much. The last time I checked Mk4 Cortina wings (a comparable size) they were £100 more, and you pay this sort of money for a Mk1/2 Escort wing - and as I have commented the market for Escort wings is FAR greater than any Triumph wing. Also at the now sadly closed down Spares Group inaugural meeting the point was made that full wings were not required - this sort of half wing where you could use all or part was what was required.

Really the point about price is that as as LLoyd says, a pair is £625 but offset that against the fact that your £2k plus car will scrap without them if they are needed. Also if yours look a bit dodgy it is really an investment in the future of your car to get a pair (or even just one) now - I am in the lucky situation that I have a spare pair of useable Mk2 wings otherwise I would have ordered a pair of these from Lloyd.

The other point to remember, Even if your wings are sound what will you do in the event of an accident? Unless your car has very high residual value it is highly unlikely that an insurance company will pay for a wing to be extensively panel beaten out and will write your car off because wings are unobtainable. As much as anything this is why I have a spare pair of wings.

MUT

COPY OF CT POSTING


thanks for your kind words guys !!

in ref to richards comments,

i have had many a meeting with the company that does the stag panels for the stag tooling fund guys, and seen the tooling, and as you said richard, the price has been amortised over the years, and the chap i used to deal with kept saying that they are far to cheap and that the price needed to be increased, but over the years never has for whatever reason, bread and butter money ???
now that company has lost thier press im not sure what will happen now regarding thier panels, as the rubber tooling that does the rear quarter panels needs a huge tonnage press !!!
as for the heritage front wing, and i stand to be corrected on this ?, but that uses original tooling, SO NO tooling costs have to be incorporated into the unit selling costs AND they are still dearer than mine ????????? with half the outlay ????


in ref to teds comments,

the voice of reason and common sence as usual


in ref to nic"s comments,

YOU HAVE HIT THE NAIL RIGHT ON THE HEAD !!!! and it is what myself and other owners and members with foresight have been trying to get across to all owners.
why should i spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on something there probably wont be a market for in 5-10 years time unless people pledge thier support and orders now, but the majority of owners wont pledge to buy the panels now because thier car doesnt need them at present and thats fair enough and i totally understand that, as people have more important things to spend thier hard earned wages on in these hard times, but it leaves me with the dilema of shall i or shant i ??
what i will say in regards to when my panels hit the market is : it will stop our cars being worth not much more than scrap value, will get all those cars that are in storage or left rotting dragged out and back on the road and will simply increase the value of our cars as people will now know they are worth buying and saving as the panels are available to get them back on the road !!!!!!
sounds great in a perfect world doesnt it, and it is what should happen, e,g, 3 out of my 4 cars are awaiting these panels to enable them to be back on the road, so im sure loads more are in the same boat as me, BUT its still a huge financial outlay for me and a huge risk, BUT i love our cars for whatever mad reason that may be !? and i will do my utmost to ensure the survival of them !!

I STILL HAVE THE PANEL LIST I STARTED NEARLY 2 YEARS AGO NOW WITH ALL YOUR RESPECTIVE NAMES ON IT REGARDING THE PANELS YOU WANTED, AND I STILL HAVE WEEKLY REQUESTS FOR PANELS, so if you are thinking or wavering about buying your car a new panel, get in touch with me AND NOT JUST FOR MK2 FRONT WINGS, AS THE LIST FOR OTHER PANELS IS NUMBEROUS ALSO.
please remember i want to be doing every panel we need for both mk"s of cars over the next few years, but i need your input and HELP / PLEDGES TO DO THAT.

I COULD RAMBLE ON FOR AGES REGARDING THIS TOPIC , BUT ALL THAT NEEDS TO BE SAID IS, NO PANELS equals NO TRIUMPH 2000/2.5PI/2500 MK1 OR MK2 LEFT ON THE ROAD within 10 years