I think i'm gunna cry!!!!!!!!!!! WOW that's allot of good ole parts!!!!!!!!!!!! If I could just win that dang lottery!!!!!!!!!!! lol

Well the good news is there are too many parts for the business to just shut down and everything go in a scrap bin, the bad news is the folks who buy out Florin, might not be as good, or fair to deal with, as Dana and Dennis have been.

What I liked about them was if they didn't have the part I needed, they would put the feelers out and find it for me, and happily bring it into their place for combined shipping to Australia, going that extra yard, good ol fashioned service.

Yes they are very helpful and did there best to get you the parts you needed, will greatly miss them!

Thanks for the photos everyone; glad you had mentioned the Army Depot warehouse that they had a LOT of stuff stored, as I was going to ask about that location as well, since Dana told me years ago, but I did not know if anyone was allowed to go there to window shop!
There is a local business here called Hust Bros. Inc. that used to (tried to) have a parts division that sold only crawler parts (D4e aka John Gardner knows) ; anyways, that never really took off. As an independent supplier in N. California, and unlimited resources, they would be a perfect candidate to buy out the entire inventory. And from past history, they have been known to do entire buy outs of stores. However, (IMO), I don't think they want to get into any more parts ventures, as they focus a lot on real estate development/investing.
I don't know if the closure is tougher on the FTP gang, or the customers! Best wishes to Dana and the gang. JM

With the big cost of Cat parts these days, even if you could buy all Florins parts for 10 cents in the dollar, it would be in the millions I'm assuming, we will find out in 10 months time when Dana puts it on the market.

I bought new piston rings for 2 old D4 tractors from Florin about 4 years ago, the D4400 engine in a 7J and a 2T, from memory they were around $180 a set, and were old Army stock, still wrapped in that wax paper cosmoline stuff that takes a hour to peel off.

You can bet they didn't cost Florin any where near $180 to buy each set, in fact my 1943 US War Department Maintenance Manual and Parts Catalog for R4 Tractor lists the price of the compression ring as 28 cents each, so about $5.00 for a complete engine, if you paid full Cat price buying them one at a time, so a very healthy profit margin.

Can anyone explain why many equipment scrap yards and used parts dealers don't have Cat tractors or parts in their inventory? It seems that many of them avoid all things Cat. Is it something to do with Caterpillar, Inc.?

Also, I remember a post on this forum - probably in the last year or so - claimed that Cat dealers were being told to get old parts out of their inventories. I've never seen any follow-up to that post. Was that just a rumor?

Profit Margin ?

1943, 74 YEARS gone by - so those rings sat on a shelf, cared for, cataloged, inventoried and available --
Consider the cost over those years - and they were still available!

Where do you suppose those parts and carcasses came from? Certainly a cost to just acquire them, let alone break the units down to individual components.

Not just Caterpillar parts - everything has a price attached. YELLOW PAINT has always been expensive - all parts of it - less the demand, the higher the price and the less supply.

Ford is another example -- check the price of points for a Ford Coil - how about headlight lenses, maybe even get down to the transmission bands! Everyday simple pieces.
Model T was the inexpensive "automobile" and was found everywhere - check prices for parts today!
I recall something happening with Vintage Ford, particulars escape me at the moment. Seems like a change in inventory or location?
You might enjoy looking at this site? www.vintageford.com/sect_main.cfm?Line=main

Florin Tractor is just one of the examples and with the climate of today's business expense, it takes volumes and a steady market to keep the doors open.

Be thankful for the services they have provide over the years.

Wishing all at Florin a Happy and Healthy Retirement - Thanks for the services and memories!

CTS

Just curious as I'm not familiar with Florin. Do they strictly deal in Caterpillar parts?

Good question, when I visited them 10 years ago I don't recall seeing anything other than Cat parts