To South Africa the reverse applies. No one can beat the rates they get from DHL. Poor Jon Skinner is always embarrassed when he sends me stuff. He can't come close to Barratts' DHL rates. Sometimes the Barratts rate is half of what they will give Skinner.

I have always had excellent service out of Barratts. Mr Barratt always allocates me one go to person. I had Thomas Rochelle for the majority of my build. He's since been promoted up the line. I have never used their online ordering system. Always direct e mail to my allocated contact.

He even got his Webmaster to phone me as I'm critical of their website. I know they've got things that are not reflected. The original system that followed the Genuine Jaguar spares catalogue with every washer, nut & bolt required to attach the part was best.

I'm a cheeky bugger. Early in the build I was with my Powergen man who was UK based, & walked in the front door & introduced myself to Barratt & his staff. It's a large operation.

 

I can unequivocally say that Moss 262-035 is not the correct seal for the Marles Variomatic box.

Bottom side of the correct seal (left) and Moss 262-035 (right).


Top side of the correct seal (top) and Moss 262-035 (bottom).
I was starting to wonder if maybe they came up with a more modern "spring" seal to replace the o-ring type seal. Surely that would be an improvement.


I broke out my calipers and measured the ID of the old seal...


And then compared that to the new seal...


If I tried to expand the seal as much as I could I got to about .007" difference, but...


The seal was pretty much wrecked.


The correct seal kit is 11026 and while I was not able to find anyone in the USA that had a kit in stock, the good people at David Manners are shipping me a kit from the UK.

I won't lie, I am tempted to try to put on the Moss seal and run the pump and box on my workbench, but I feel like I already know how it would turn out.

 

David Manners will always look after you well. A true gent. I've had the pleasure of meeting him & having a chat. There are very few spares that you can put in front of him that he does not know where they come from.

Suit & tie are the mode of dress.

Thanks for letting us know which kit from post 5 above is appropriate. Filed that one for the future. You are not going to be the last person to ask that question.

 

I think it's to do with personal interest as well as simply selling stuff. David, like Barratts (parents), started collecting spares for his own car, a Daimler SP250 Dart, and the activity grew. When we first bought from him, well before he opened his warehouse, my Dad would go to David's house and they'd search for the part in his garage. He's not as active in his business these days as he's not exactly young.

 

It's sad to hear he's aging. But I guess so are we all. I met him in 2012. He found me some impossible parts. Like a new still sealed vacuum button control escutcheon. The African sun had taken it's toll on mine.

Excuse the dust.





Barratts started life as a Triumph spares distributor.

 

He's still fit, or was a couple of years ago when I last saw him, but he's nothing like full time in his warehouse in Oldbury, more occasional visits.

 

Sorry you got the wrong seal. Happens all the time and several times for me which is why I suggested speaking to them. At least then if they still send the wrong seal you have a come back as it is the one they told you to buy.

As you are getting the seal kit, personally I would strip the box down as it is so easy and replace all the seals. Sods law says if you don't in a couple of weeks the one you did not replace will start leaking.

I have found that the steering box (or anything) will leak at its weakest point under pressure. If you replace that leaking seal you will transfer the weak point to another seal which will then spring a leak, so don't take a chance and replace them all as you have them in the kit.

 

Well that's good to hear. He is an easy man to grow fond of. (no ~ not in that way ~ LOL)

 

For Cass & Huey.

 

thanks, glyn! that pic gives me confidence i'll at least have half a chance of taking the slop out of my steering (LHD) without too much trouble. although i am having visions of that tiny (operative word) grub screw stripping right out. so, oddly enough, i hope the entire steering assembly is a leaker and as such will have been lubricating those screws for years! ha.