High Quality Mini Parts Direct from Japan

[phil82]

hm, I don't see the ball joints on the guess works http://www.guess-works.com/Shop/Parts/? ... etopracing

[GraemeC]

They’re on his Facebook pages

[Alex]

Guessworks is now stocking the ball joints under his ‘Bottletop Racing’ banner, so should alleviate the customs problems.

But £225 for a set of four in your hand

That's considerably cheaper than ordering from David - around 2/3rds or less.

[GraemeC]

I think he said he's making about £4 a joint and initially imported 10 sets.
Fair play to him - that's over £2k he's sunk in for very little return!

I think if they were down at £150 a set they'd be a lot more popular. £100 and they'd fly out.
I do feel that somewhere along the line there is a huge markup (not with David or John) - maybe it is the duties etc? These must be a sub-£10 part to produce but are over £50 when landed on your doorstep.

[IntMilkBrilliant]

I do feel that somewhere along the line there is a huge markup (not with David or John) - maybe it is the duties etc? These must be a sub-£10 part to produce but are over £50 when landed on your doorstep.

This specific part was in development and testing stage for three years. The majority of parts manufactured in Japan are not mere copies, but have been re-engineered to either match or exceed the quality of the original OEM part which takes deep pockets to bring to market.

There are many other NLA items that never made it to market simply because the numbers don't make it economical.

[Spider]

Guessworks is now stocking the ball joints under his ‘Bottletop Racing’ banner, so should alleviate the customs problems.

But £225 for a set of four in your hand

That's considerably cheaper than ordering from David - around 2/3rds or less.

The sets (of 4) I bought about a year back now, I paid circa $200 AUD for, that's around 100 in your funny money.

[Terence]

.....

[GraemeC]

I think he said he's making about £4 a joint and initially imported 10 sets.
Fair play to him - that's over £2k he's sunk in for very little return!

I think if they were down at £150 a set they'd be a lot more popular. £100 and they'd fly out.
I do feel that somewhere along the line there is a huge markup (not with David or John) - maybe it is the duties etc? These must be a sub-£10 part to produce but are over £50 when landed on your doorstep.

John now has the price down on these to where they seem a much more viable option - £132 + post for a set of 4

OK, still much more expensive than the 'traditional' ones but for a fit and forget item with no setting up I can see them being popular.
If you factor in time (labour) to shim a pair of joints up on a hub, especially if they need lapping, then these will save a chunk on installation time/cost. Even more so as they will be much simpler to do 'on car' than traditional ones where removing the hub is the sensible approach.

[IntMilkBrilliant]

John now has the price down on these to where they seem a much more viable option - £132 + post for a set of 4

Conception to production was only a couple of months and these copies haven't been tested properly. Only time will tell if they are as good as the original.

[mab01uk]

A selection of the Japanese JMSA original high quality Valtain Mini parts available via Somerfords:-

VALTAIN HIGH QUALITY 'BMC' RUBBER FRONT FLOOR MATS- PAIR
https://www.somerfordmini.co.uk/valtain ... -mats-pair

VALTAIN HIGH QUALITY OUTER C.V. GAITER
https://www.somerfordmini.co.uk/valtain ... c-v-gaiter

VALTAIN HIGH QUALITY STEERING RACK GAITERS 5'' LONG-PAIR
https://www.somerfordmini.co.uk/valtain ... -long-pair

VALTAIN HIGH QUALITY GEARBOX SELECTOR OIL SEAL
https://www.somerfordmini.co.uk/valtain ... r-oil-seal

VALTAIN HEAVY DUTY TRACK ROD END
https://www.somerfordmini.co.uk/valtain ... ck-rod-end

For more products enter 'Valtain' into the search box on the Somerford website:-
https://www.somerfordmini.co.uk/

[GraemeC]

I know they’re thought of as top quality rubber parts, but £126 for a pair of floor mats??!!

[mab01uk]

I know they’re thought of as top quality rubber parts, but £126 for a pair of floor mats??!!

Small quantity production and nothing else similar available for the Mini on the market means high prices. Long gone are the days when you could buy a set of fitted rubber mats from Halfords for a classic Mini at a reasonable price due to high demand.

[InnoCooperExport]

I know they’re thought of as top quality rubber parts, but £126 for a pair of floor mats??!!

Still cheap compared to some other cars. Rubber floormat set for a Fulvia Sport come to 490 euros, for the Coupe 620. I agree that for the Mini it's quite a price hike to what you were paying before but I'm sure there's quite a decent increase in quality to go with it.

[mk1]

I have a set of those mats that I bought years ago, direct from Japan. They are pretty good, but sadly lack the cut out a MK1 needs for the floor start hump.

[mab01uk]

Minispares - Maintenance Free Ball Joints

MAINTENANCE FREE BALL JOINT (SINGLE UNIT) C-GSJ166
High quality Japanese sealed ball joints.
"Developed and tested over a period of three years, the original concept was to manufacture a high quality product, similar to those used on modern vehicles. Unlike the current design, the maintenance free ball joints do not require periodic adjustments of the shim, and are pre-loaded for easy installation. Mounted in the same way as the original, these are a direct replacement, and can be fitted to the top and bottom without upsetting the suspensions geometry.
With no shimming required, fitting the maintenance free ball joints can be done in a relatively short period of time. For those without a deep socket, simply remove the dust boot prior to fitting, and tighten to torque. While the rubber dust boot is highly durable, care should be taken when securing the blue retainer clip. To prevent water from entering the joint, grease is recommended to extend the lifespan. Other than for exceptional circumstances, does not require additional grease-up once fitted."
Estimated lifespan of up to 10 years or 50,000kms. Sold individually. £59.90 inc vat.
http://www.minispares.com/product/Class ... |Back%20to

MAINTENANCE FREE BALL JOINTS - (CAR SET of 4) C-GSJ166KIT
£224.64 inc vat.
http://www.minispares.com/product/Class ... |Back%20to

[Polarsilver]

I thank Minispares for their parts availability & good quality products .. also appreciate they develop new parts with a modern approach for example Minispares Part No; GSJ166MS Ball Joint at £9 each + vat
However these new Minispares "maintenance free" Ball Joints @ £59.90 each + vat ..can only be for the rich kids

[mab01uk]

However they are likely to last many years, especially on a low mileage classic car. If you were replacing a similar part on a modern car it would likely be in the same price range and/or you might have to replace the complete suspension arm and joint as a throwaway unit.....

[mk1]

A little bird did tell me that someone else offering these "High quality Japanese ball joints" is actually getting them made in China & having them exported through japan so they could claim they came from Japan!

THIS IS NOT MINISARES!

[Catmint]

I thank Minispares for their parts availability & good quality products .. also appreciate they develop new parts with a modern approach for example Minispares Part No; GSJ166MS Ball Joint at £9 each + vat
However these new Minispares "maintenance free" Ball Joints @ £59.90 each + vat ..can only be for the rich kids

Depends how you look at it if you are paying for someone to do the work for you at £50 + per hour - a few of hours to strip and rebuild or an hour to do a straight swap, could work out cheaper ?

[rolesyboy]

Agree with Catmint. Makes far more sense and hassle free.