Long waits [or vehicle spares
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y Ron Cater
A batch of 26 examples from the onthly returns submitted by operators to ie Transport Association's "shortage of tare parts" investigating committee shows 3 some remarkable peaks in spare parts m-availability. The forms show delay mes ranging from one day to 416 days in Jtaining parts needed to carry out repairs
vehicles of almost all makes. They also :veal an average waiting time, for essential arts which could justifiably be claimed to -event a vehicle being used, of 24 days.
Examples of vehicles waiting 43 days for clutch pedal shaft, 63 days for an exhaust 'stem, 28 days for a set of timing gears, 30 ays for a water-pump and 51 days for a utch pressure-plate are among many—deite orders for the parts having been placed
VOR forms with the suppliers, they still :emingly arrive no quicker.
The peaks seem to be centred around Dwer-steering components, speedometer rive parts, gearbox and clutch pedals and Dachwork panels. Other parts, such as )me brake pressure system components, :ern to be completely unobtainable and .rge essentials such as Scammell =1i-trailer road springs are shown.in some [stances to take up to 40 days to obtain.
Turners of Soham report waiting 14 days both power-steering pumps and rams for lodge vehicles, 28 days for AEC speedo ansmitters and 28 days for a prop-shaft iding yoke for a Dodge. Robert Deards td reports waiting from April 29 for a lencer for a Guy Big J and when the TA Irm was returned on June 26 this had still Dt become available. The same firm ordered an Albion prop-shaft on October 30 last year, and by June had still not got the unit.
From Greenwoods Transport, Ramsey, Hunts, there is a list of AEC shortages including fuel pump drive shaft, 21 days, and a front-grille panel, 436 days. The return from McVeigh Transport notes that temperature gauges ordered in September 1969 are still not available and a windscreen ordered on February 3 this year had not arrived, Both these items are for AEC vehicles, The list of Leyland shortages for this same firm is a long one and mentioned are a clutch pressure-plate for which it had waited 51 days and which it had still not received, and a water-pump which took 27 days on a VOR order. For the same vehicle small miscellaneous items such as pipes and brackets have been outstanding for 30 days and more.
Dolton Transport Ltd had to wait 21 days for a Perkins V8 engine from Seddon and Beresford Transport 56 days for Guy Big J speedo cables and 63 days for exhaust parts. The same firm waited 28 days on VOR order for timing gears for a Bedford KM and waited for 21 days for a Ford cab, which was still outstanding when the form was completed.
From Hercock Simpson Haulage Ltd comes a report of a 61-day wait for a Land-Rover front-wheel drive housing and 100 days for a Leyland Beaver semi-automatic gearbox. The same company waited 100 days for ERF kingpins and 31 days for an AEC clutch plate.
The forms also show, however, that the hauliers are probably not entirely without blame.Some have not even managed to fill in the extremely simple form correctly.
Shortages are not confined to any specific make—all, it appears, have their problems. But the returns show beyond doubt that the spares situation is far from satisfactory—a state of affairs about which engineers and operators have been complaining for some time now.