Hmm....seems as though you are questioning if I am telling the truth so here is a copy of the email sent to one vendor.
________________________________________
From: Duffy Floyd [mailto:duffyf56@verizon.net]
Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 7:51 PM
To: 'doug@smsautofabrics.com'
Subject: Inquiry and offer to help
Importance: High
Dear Sir,
My name is Mark Floyd. I am one of the Co-Administrators for the Super Coupe Club of America a not-for-profit car club oriented towards the 1989 to 1995 Ford Thunderbird Super Coupes as well as the similarly powered 1989-1990 Mercury Cougar XR7’s. You are invited to visit our club’s website at
www.sccoa.com. We currently have over 600 members worldwide since we are primarily an internet based club.
As our cars age, it is getting increasingly difficult to maintain and improve the interior appearance of our cars. Since an aspect of our club is the preservation of these cars, we are contacting reproduction parts suppliers in the hopes they may make products available for our cars. Steele Rubber is one supplier that recently started producing replacement weather-stripping for these cars. For those suppliers that are not aware of our club, we are extending invitations to visit our site and to post advertisements on our board if you have products available to ensure our members are aware of your offerings. There is no fee for posting in our public forums and this provides another channel to market at no cost to you.
Since I am a prior customer of SMS, (I purchased new fabric for my 1992 Super Coupe which was a multi-colored tweed material…relatively rare) I also currently have a sample request pending for the 1995 Super Coupe I am restoring. I know you presently have products that would be of interest to our members. I would also offer the services of our members in identifying other materials used in this model.
Another problem we are having is due to the construction methods of the early model (89-93) door panels, the driver’s side handles often pull free of the panel partially due to plastic tab failure used to secure the handle. I believe this might be a business opportunity for your company if you would choose to reproduce these panels. While the materials and trim might vary, the basic panel is the same for all Thunderbirds of that era of which there were well over 500,000 cars made.
Thank you for your consideration. If there is anything we can do to assist your efforts please contact me. I hope to see an advertisement posting soon on our board. I would suggest placing it in the “New Products and Services” Forum.
Regards,
Mark “Duffy” Floyd
SMS Auto Fabric does have the material for at least several of our cars like the 92 ebony tweed material for door inserts and seats and the 95 med. opal cloth for the door inserts. I know cause I have purchased both. What else they might have for our cars is part of what I was trying to get them onboard to find out. Material costs about $80 a square yard. It should be noted though that I have no use for the door panels I asked about since I have an OEM NOS Panel I recently bought from Alpha Automotive who by the way I also directed to the site when I discussed my purchase with the owner and I posted information about them in the Restoration Forum when I found the panel so others were aware.
I guess you haven't been following my requests for trying to get 5 speed shifter boots, shifter knobs, leather shifter boots either huh? Steele Rubber has shown some interest in picking up the rubber and metal shifter boot. See this post????
http://www.sccoa.com/forums/showthread.php?t=97499
Tried to buy any front diff bushings recently? Steele Rubber is willing to look at making those too though I think I have located the OEM Mfg. and may have a suitable substitute from them that retains OEM performance and even upgraded bushings for heavy duty use.
I have "struck" no deals with any suppliers that other can't get for themselves. I have never profitted by my association with this club at the expense of others.