The Fall Beaulieu Autojumble was incredible, to say the least. Every
time I go to the Spring gathering, I marvel at the inexpensive parts
offered by the vast field of vendors catering to the English classic car
enthusiasts. With some 2,500 vendors (and about 100 cars for sale), the
Fall gathering made the Spring autojumble look small in comparison.
For me, I was like a little boy in a candy shop. I left late in the
afternoon loaded down with bags of goodies; clutch cover/disk/throwout
bearing, new u-joints, steering rack gaiters, assorted distributor
parts, etc. All were NOS, and all at least a third of the price
available from the usual suspects here.
It is hard to believe how honest the dealers were over there. I was
buying a lot of items from Alwyn and Kevin, and went happily on my way.
When I got home, I had e-mail from Kevin telling me that I had walked
off and left behind a set of front brake cylinders. He wanted my address
so that he could put them in the mail to me. (Although they do not have
a web-site, I will now be buying more from them by e-mail.)
I have to say that through my own stupidity I had set down my bags to
look at some items at a stand, and when I was ready to leave, discovered
that one of the bags had been picked up taken by someone. When I told
some dealers, they were not only appalled, but downright indignant!
(Among the items swiped was a set of new and still in greased paper
plain hub caps for Mike Rivers. Sorry, Mike.)
If any of you get the opportunity to go to England in May or September,
you wont be disappointed by taking in this event. A bonus would be the
National Auto Museum put together by Lord Montague and given to the
Nation. And, of course, driving a stick shift down the highways and
byways of England, complete with maddening chicanes, hairpins, and
straightaways, lets you know how the sport of road racing came into
being! (I was almost run over when I was doing 85+ down the dual
carriageways.) And what a delight it was to see these LEC's (they were
made in ENGLAND, not "Britain").
While over in England, I dropped off my SUs at Burlen Fuel Systems in
Salisbury. They are the present manufacturers of SU and Zenith carbs and
all of their parts. They will be completely rebuilding mine with new
parts, and bench-tested as are all of their new carbs. They gave me a
tour of the factory, and it was amazing to see the entire step-by-step
operation of manufacturing new and rebuilding old SU's. They receive
carbs in the mail from all over the world for rebuilding, and foreign
customers do not have to pay the 17.5% VAT (the tax that is normally
included in all English catalog prices).
Buster Evans
Anaheim, California
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