Called Offy yesterday, spoke to Vince, asked my usual dumb questions. My questions were so dumb, he didn't give me an answer, we talked about nailheads and Y-blocks, and he said he'd call me back. He did today, and was incredibly helpful. The best news he gave me was that Offy was going to start manufacturing more of the older stuff again. Vince went above and beyond. Thanks, Offenhauser and Vince.
I used to be an Offenhauser distributor when Tay was running the show but as the ownership evolved and the prices went thru the roof I quit the program. I think the end for me was when the 5272 bell housing that I'd bought 100's of took a 200+ dollar price increase and my cost left me with about a 10% margin. That aside, Vince was always a standup guy that tried to help whenever possible.
Back then Offy only sold through distributors- dealers and you couldn't buy direct. Now it looks like they have a back door outlet that they sell from. I've got far more respect for manufactures who don't compete with their vendors of any level and direct you to their distributor or vendor in your area. Years back when I was the parts buyer for the maintenance department of a major fruit juice processor I needed some parts and called the factory and talked to the rep and we figured out what I needed but he said he couldn't sell it to me direct and sent me to the distributor in my area, I talked to their rep and he said he already had a fax from the factory on what I was looking for but he couldn't sell it to me and gave me the name of the rep in my area who just happened to be one of my main suppliers. I called them and told them what I needed and ordered it through them. She called me back and said that the distributor knew all about it when she called.
The Jalopy Journal
