As we all know, Recreational Vehicle Service (RVS) which was owned by Jim and Jackie Black, has closed fully and permanently.  Many FMC owners had a concern about what would happen to the remaining inventory of FMC specific parts that were in RVS’s inventory.  It was hoped that these parts could be secured so that they could be available for the FMC community in future years.

While the closing of RVS immediately after the first of the year got very hectic, a group of semi-local FMC owners with the financial assistance of several others was able to negotiate the purchase of the FMC specific stock on hand.  Five coach owners were able to rapidly transfer the stock to a purchased 20ft container which was then moved off of the RVS site and to a secure location.

While the stock has been secured, it will take many, many months of part time effort to organize and list what has been secured.  A number of the items are non-wear things so they will be available for restorers many years from now.  There are also some wear items as well.  As the stock is reorganized to be assessable vs. being jammed into the container as it is now, it will be made available to everyone.  Note that FMC Owners Club members will receive a discount from whatever the future list prices become.

While a certain amount of paperwork was obtained as part of the transaction, it does not include the list of original owners nor does it include the files for individual coaches.  That information has been secured and retained by the Blacks.  It will also take many months for the paperwork that was received to be reviewed and organized – I did say that the closing was hectic!  It is believed that the paperwork includes various parts sources utilized by RVS.

Please note that it was individuals that stepped forward and acquired the inventory and that they did it as individuals and not as the FMC Owners Club even though the purpose was for the benefit of all present and future FMC coach owners.  None of the individuals involved desires to be in the parts business on a long term basis.  For the present, since this was a private effort, it is felt that it is best that the specifics of this event remain private and be between the individuals involved and not an area of public involvement.

So what is the intended future path?  First, the parts need to be rearranged to be assessable, inventoried, a list made, prices determined, etc., etc.  Over time, the revenue from parts sales will go to the recapture of the monies invested by the individuals.  Once that is complete, there will need to be another arrangement for the storing, ownership and other particulars of the remaining parts inventory.  That is a discussion for some time in the future.

For the immediate future, parts inquiries should be directed to either Stephen Heinrichs at Stephen@Heinrichs.com or Greg Miller at gregmiller@pobox.com .  Remember, patience is a virtue!!

From my memory here are a few of the available parts in the container:  One driver side windshield, six passenger side windshields, one dash, one FMC driver seat, one seat stand, some brake drums (conditions to be verified), FMC water pump cores, six transit drive shafts, driveline u-joints, side window aluminum frames, three transit driver window frames w/glass, one rear transit window with escape hatch, left rear aluminum panel, five molded fiberglass nose panels, some lower side panels, heater/AC module for under the dash, driver door window frames w/glass, one disc brake caliper (no discs), a couple of disc brake pads, drum brake shoe cores, several axel drive shafts, parking brake drums, steering gear cores, power steering cores, power steering pump brackets, one front wiring harness, a selection of flat glass for side windows, dash panels for early coaches (none for late coaches), 2 hallway divider curtains, 4 sets of the black vinyl insert that covers the rivets on the windows, the brown T edging that covers the edge of all the cabinet doors and drawers, etc, etc, etc.

One part that I do want to mention separately is the large steel and rubber bushings that the rear trailing arms hinge on.  Each coach uses four of these.  They last a very long time, but are important for the stability of the rear swing arms.  The good news is that approximately 150+ of these were part of the inventory.  It was important that these bushings were secured.

I am sure that all of you have many more questions than there are answers that exist!  Be patient and over time, things will get sorted out and answers provided.  One of the answers is that when the new, updated FMC Owners Club website is completed, it will have the capability to have a parts database.  Another answer is that work is again progressing on the development of that website.