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[Worf]

I am also a member of the Austin Counties Club, catering for Austin vehicles of the 1940's/50's
For the last 38 years they have been renting a barn to break and store used vehicle spares. They have now been given notice by the new landlord to clear out by the end of January 2022. Although some of the stuff has been there for years without being "turned over" there are also a lot of rare but bulky parts that deserve to be saved.
The club is not large or wealthy enough to take on a commercial lease, so if homes can not be found for the best parts (amongst their members) , they will all end up being scrapped.

Bit of a long shot, but if anyone knows of a suitable (cheap!) building available for long term storage near Ravensden, Bedfordshire please PM me and I will pass the details on. Seems a shame that a load of stuff that has survived over 70 years ends up getting crushed. Unfortunately,  I live too far away to be a great deal of help.

[diffwhine]

Hi Worf,
Not sure if I can help, but three immediate questions spring to mind:

Roughly how much space is required (there may be space within a barn or warehouse)?
Presumably it needs to be dry and secure, but is regular access required?
Does it have to be near Bedfordshire for a specific reason?

I have an ulterior motive... A very old friend of mine has a Somerset which he is about to start restoring... Keen to keep his level of enthusiasm up...!

[Big-chris]

They need to set up a crowd funding page doofer, every pound helps in the interim, maybe they could get enough to pay some rent for a few months till they get sorted, many people won’t be able to help with storage but a few might have a spare fiver for the classic dilemma 

[Worf]

Hi Worf,
Not sure if I can help, but three immediate questions spring to mind:

Roughly how much space is required (there may be space within a barn or warehouse)?
Presumably it needs to be dry and secure, but is regular access required?
Does it have to be near Bedfordshire for a specific reason?

I have an ulterior motive... A very old friend of mine has a Somerset which he is about to start restoring... Keen to keep his level of enthusiasm up...!

Many thanks for your comments

To answer you questions as best I can

• Enough space to store the best parts of cars that have been broken. The Somerset was one of the last mass produced vehicles with a separate chassis (apart from LR)  so most panels bolt on. The bigger space the better I suppose.
• Yes to dry and secure. There is a "used spares" sec that would need occasional access. In the past they have had a couple of "barn days" per year where a few members have tidied and sorted items and got rid of rubbish.
  
  • Ravensden Bedfordshire is where the present storage is, so somewhere near would be handy for relocation, but the spares rep actually lives in Kent. If you have a possibility in mind I can put you in touch with him.
  
  Sadly, the guy who looked after the new spares for the club (for thirty odd years) has passed away in the last few days, so its a bit of a double whammy for the club.
  
  I know there has been recent discussion regarding the average age of membership of this club, and maybe a difficulty in attracting  the "next generation". Food for thought

[diffwhine]

I'll have a think and see. My thinking is that perhaps we should be starting to consider something similar.

[Eve]

I live a stone's throw from Ravensden. Sadly I don't own any storage space. I could do with some extra space myself!

Current square feet and rent will help scope what folk should be looking out for.

[Genem]

An interesting topic and one that has been discussed by the Board on a number of occasions, along with the "should we get involved with making parts" discussion.

We are in the luckier situation that there are still some major parts suppliers with stock and warehouses, not the same for elderly Austins I suspect ?  We can't be complacent though, Blanchards are closing, other suppliers are perhaps more interested in later LR models than they used to be. Where will leaf-sprung Landrover parts be in say 15-20 years time ?

We currently pay towards some storage for "Shows" equipment but its not a huge space.

People joining the this Club in the last couple of years and recording their age on Crossmember give a curve peaking at 52 - but that does not reflect those members who have been in the club since the year dot. We have 40+ members with membership numbers below 100, so they have been members since the 1980s. 

[Worf]

I live a stone's throw from Ravensden. Sadly I don't own any storage space. I could do with some extra space myself!

Current square feet and rent will help scope what folk should be looking out for.

Thanks. I have asked the guy for more details.

[Worf]

An interesting topic and one that has been discussed by the Board on a number of occasions, along with the "should we get involved with making parts" discussion.

We are in the luckier situation that there are still some major parts suppliers with stock and warehouses, not the same for elderly Austins I suspect ?  We can't be complacent though, Blanchards are closing, other suppliers are perhaps more interested in later LR models than they used to be. Where will leaf-sprung Landrover parts be in say 15-20 years time ?

We currently pay towards some storage for "Shows" equipment but its not a huge space.

People joining the this Club in the last couple of years and recording their age on Crossmember give a curve peaking at 52 - but that does not reflect those members who have been in the club since the year dot. We have 40+ members with membership numbers below 100, so they have been members since the 1980s.

None of us are getting any younger and as you say a number of the "traditional" suppliers are retiring. A number of us have parts (new and used) squirreled away for use "one day", but what will happen to them when we shuffle off? Stuff will get skipped and future generations may regret it.

[diffwhine]

An interesting topic and one that has been discussed by the Board on a number of occasions, along with the "should we get involved with making parts" discussion.

We are in the luckier situation that there are still some major parts suppliers with stock and warehouses, not the same for elderly Austins I suspect ?  We can't be complacent though, Blanchards are closing, other suppliers are perhaps more interested in later LR models than they used to be. Where will leaf-sprung Landrover parts be in say 15-20 years time ?

We currently pay towards some storage for "Shows" equipment but its not a huge space.

People joining the this Club in the last couple of years and recording their age on Crossmember give a curve peaking at 52 - but that does not reflect those members who have been in the club since the year dot. We have 40+ members with membership numbers below 100, so they have been members since the 1980s.

If its any reassurance (which I think it should be), I had a long conversation with one of Britpart's directors and an Allmakes director who I have known for many years this week. Both parts of the company are actively working to fill the gap and clearly recognise the demand for quality series parts. While there are many who will criticise such companies for the quality of their parts, much has been because that is what the market has demanded - cheap and cheerful. We are now moving into a classis car sector, like it or not, that's what is happening. The demand for higher quality parts for restoration is increasing as is the available range. Of course there will be shortages, but the general trend in my view is in the right direction.

With this in mind, supplementing stocks with mothballed / stored components subject to space availability and cost is starting to look like a viable business in itself - hence my interest as it fits with something else I'm working on  to suit the restoration / classic Land Rover repair markets.

[Davidss]

... A number of us have parts (new and used) squirreled away for use "one day", but what will happen to them when we shuffle off? Stuff will get skipped and future generations may regret it.

That responsibility is entirely down to the current 'squirreler'.

Ideally the parts should be packaged, labelled and stored.
There should be clear instructions in the will what actions the executor should take in respect of these clearly identified parts.
Overall the actions should be made clear and easy to carry out, as this gives the best chance of the wishes being achieved.

Regards.

[autorover1]

The Rover Sports Register has just had the same problem  with the spares stores lease expiring . We have now found a new space and hopefully it will be sorted.  I will ask if there is any more available on the site and PM a reply as the location is not public knowledge yet.