RE: (ET) Bill Gunn

["Elie, Larry (L.D.)" <lelie ford com>]

I spoke to Bill several times in December as well.

First off, I sent him a MONEY ORDER (Suggestion; get a money 
order from the post-office even if you are sure your checks 
are fine; it gives Bill peace-of-mind) for a medium (~$100) 
order and I sent a few extra dollars beyond shipping.

Second, I talked at length about what sort of person/organization 
should buy his business.  I suggested someone with an ongoing 
parts department, credit-card access, and web-ordering.  He 
things the most important part is understanding the entire 
system.  He also said (and he has a point) that the people who 
made the ET don't often understand all the changes that were 
made over the years.  I have talked with one of those people 
and I agree.  The bottom line is anyone who understands it well 
enough to do it can do better somewhere else....

Third, I think it is a matter of time for him.  I didn't ask if 
he would be willing to 'consult for a fee' like Microsoft, but 
I don't think he would.

Lastly, I talked with him specifically about stripping old ET's 
to get parts to repair others.  That's what I have always done.  
He agreed, it is cheaper.  He also agreed that it is shipping 
that is the real killer on any large parts, i.e. attachments.  

BTW, he has a cab ($250 + shipping) left; I paid for one locally, 
and it is either still lost in the barn or disposed of.  I don't 
need one that bad.  Oh, and Bill corrected me, the single stage 
42" is a snow-THROWER not a snow-BLOWER.  To use it right he 
suggests 250 lbs. of weight in the rear-weight-box AND chains.  
He's right; we had 41" of snow in Dec. and I have kept 3 drives 
(10' x 240', 12' x 150' and 14' x 150' curved) clear.  It's almost 
harder to go from one drive to another than keep them clear!

Larry Elie

-----Original Message-----
From: David Roden (Akron OH USA) [mailto:roden ald net]
Sent: Friday, December 29, 2000 6:00 PM
To: elec-trak cosmos5 phy Tufts edu
Subject: (ET) Bill Gunn


I just spoke with him a couple days ago to order parts.  I didn't ask 
about the business situation, but we chatted a bit about ETs in general, 
and he certainly seemed as enthusiastic as ever about them.  

I will be spending a fair bit of cash with him this time.  It's all stuff 
I need.  Maybe I could have bought some of it used, or scrounged it from 
a junk tractor, but I wanted to support Bill.

I know you don't want to hear this, but I say quit buying junk machines 
for your parts and buy them from Bill.  Instead of parting out the old 
tractors, restore them (when possible) and find good homes for them.  The 
more people have ETs, the more business Bill will get, and the longer 
he'll support them.  If the remaining ETs are concentrated in the hands 
of a few dozen people, Bill won't be getting many orders.

Besides, not all of us have the time or space to keep a garage full of 
parts tractors.  Although it's probably not the case with many people on 
this list, I suspect there are many folks out there, using ETs daily or 
weekly, who would junk them if they couldn't get parts with a phone call.

I suspect that once this parts source dries up, ETs will go out of 
service at an accelerating rate.  That'd be a shame.


David Roden - Akron, Ohio, USA
1991 Solectria Force 144vac
1991 Ford Escort Green/EV 128vdc
1979 General Engines ElectroPed 24vdc
1974 Honda Civic EV 96vdc
1970 GE Elec-trak E15 36vdc
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