I'm getting ready to place my orders for parts.....sounds like I may be blasting the truck before the week end....."Man I love it when a plan comes together".....(The A Team, if you recall)......anyway, I was wondering if anyone has had any issues with either of these suppliers and their products.

I have done an extensive search and have compiled pricing from each of these vendors and these two have the best prices on the products I need. The bulk of my order will be coming from the Old Car Centre in Langley, BC (Canada) and the balance is from LMC, Mac's and Obsolete Classic Auto Parts Group.

Thanks in advance and I am not looking for any additional vendors to source out unless the price is similar and product is superior.

 

I have used LMC a few times.
I would considered a hack/novice at this, so my info ain't worth more than the words.
I have been pleased overall.

The only time I ran into problems was when the catalog product was different then the part on my truck. Now, for what it is worth; the picture in the catalog was what they sent me.
For instance, the battery tray for my 60 is different then the catalog. I ordered it thinking it might arrive different then the picture, or that my truck had the wrong battery tray on it. Well it arrived just as the picture showed. I have learned since then that the 60 truck used a different battery tray then what they are showing.

Summary: Timeliness and products have been good for me. Lack of my knowledge has been my undoing so far.

 

LMC is local to me and I have purchased from them without any problems to date. Haven't heard anything bad about the others either.

 

I have had good luck with LMC

 

Had very bad experiance with Macs. I would not order from there unless they were a last resort, but I am just one case out of many.
Garrett

 

Would you care to elaborate?

 

I have found Mac's fine to work with. Classic Auto on the other hand, not so much. I have spent some bucks with them over the years on my F100 and 40 and 46. They are at times difficult to deal with. I purchased a hi beam indicator for my 40 from them that is like 20 bucks most places, their price was $22 I think and they had them in stock they said. So I bought one, when it arrived it was only one portion of the part, [which is available for about $5] not the complete part. When I explained it to them they simply
said "to bad, Dale does not mis-price items". I explained that the part they sent is only $5, they said they were not wrong, too bad. The part in question is in Drakes catalog for $20 and that is where I got one from. I said adios and have not and will not buy from them again. I have spent a lot of money on my 40 project since then, they did not get one dime of it. While I am ranting, I will mention my recent difficulty with Dennis Carpenter. I ordered a pair of their scuff plates for my 40 coupe. The ones they sent were incorrectly manufactured and did not have the curve of a 40 body, but were straight. After posting some pictures on a web site that Dick Spadaro [ now this guy is first class] saw showing the new ones Carpenter made and the original ones side by side, he emailed me and told me he had spoken with Carpenter and pointed out the problem. They were to have a new batch made and swap with me, which they did. The new ones were just as bad. I sent the pictures to them and they agreed and said they would correct and send me the first new pair. Now let me say that Wayne at Carpenters, that I dealt with, is a nice guy that I believe wants to provide good customer service. However, the corrected pair they sent were simply some of the straight ones that someone bent by hand in an attempt to match the correct curve. Not only are they kinked, but the curve is more of a upward curve than a side to side curve that is required. Just crap. What an insult that they would think they could send me junk and I would be happy. Any way, my point is that anyplace can sell you some poor quality stuff. The growth in our hobby of restoring and modifying old cars and trucks has brought a hugh increase of available parts, now it has grown to a point where some of those parts lack quality. Sorry to get so windy. Joe

 

I've had good service with NPD, they are local for me so no shipping charge. Mac's seems overpriced to me, LMC is OK.

 

Here is what I did. I went through each of the the four suppliers that I had chosen for parts. I made a spead sheet listing all the required parts, then I went to each catalog or web page and priced out each of the items independantly. I then cross referenced each of the items with each supplier and sorted the parts by supplier based on price alone. With these four suppliers, I am confident that I am getting the best price for each item. The only question that remains of each is past experience with service and quality.

As for the Classic Auto comment, they have the best price on a tailgate and stainless steel full body & interior bolt kit $279.00(vendors for totally stainless, who's price for the same package is $330.00) and their tailgate price of $275 seems hard to beat anywhere.

 

LMC is not the lowest price usually, but their service is good and the line drawings in their catalog are great. I've used them and Sacremento Vintage Ford and have been happy.

 

One thing you might want to add into your calculations is shipping. For my business I have a lot of parts shipped in from different vendors from different parts of the country. I can save money by combining shipping if one vendor is more expensive for their parts. For example, ABC Co. has a part #1 for $10, and part #2 for $30 while XYZ Co. sales part #1 for $9 but doesn't carry part #2. If I order part #2 from XYZ I will pay $10 in shipping and pay another $10 to have ABC ship part #2. If I would buy both parts #1 & 2 from ABC I would pay $10 shipping, saving $9.

I hope I was able to make this clear, it took me long enough to figure out what I was trying to get across.

 

One more thing I thought of after posting my last post. Most of the vendors who sell reproduction parts sell the same parts. Is there a vendor in your area? If so I am sure he can get you the same stuff, and again combine shipping costs. Better yet, if there's a major swap meet in your area and any of these vendor are going to be there contact them before hand and have them bring the items you need. Again, you'll save on shipping, especially is you need items that are large in size, like an interior kit.

 

I have used all these folks with the exception of Classic and had good luck. I usually place on line orders but sometimes I call to find out if an item is in stock - and then you are at the mercy of the mood of the person you talk to. And most of the time they aren't terrifically excited.

In the long run, I didn't find one cheaper or more expensive across the board. I found LMCs shipping to be top notch. MACS seemed to be better stocked.

All of them seem to communicate and respond to inquiries fairly quickly, except Dennis Carpenter.

I have a C&G Ford Parts locally and they are a little pricy (although not any more than anyone else - consider shipping costs going through the roof) but they treat me like a king when I am there. They make an effort to help with questions, offer advice, find a better part (even if it's cheaper) and take very special attention to order parts I have been talking about needing. They call me to see if I still need this and that, and ship to me at no charge (I'm local). Exceptional Service (rpt SERVICE) from C&G Ford parts.

On the other hand, I've called Dennis Carpenter a few times and although they are nice enough, they've never had a part in stock I needed (or perhaps didn't want to look) and I really, REALLY, left the phone with the impression I was dealing with someone who was smoking way too much seriously bad dope in the back room! Every time!

 

Have you tried George moir out of stoney Plain, Alta.? He's very close to you and I have had excellent service from him.

Alan

 

While I've had good luck with LMC orders, I get the feeling they wouldn't know a '5x F-xxx if it ran them over. I've never been able to get any info other than what is in the catalog from their people. In other words, they are simply shuffling merchandise. I hate to support that kind of business. Lord help you if you have a question or problem.