Military vehicle parts suppliers in France and Belgium

[Big D]

Hi all,

My wife and I have organised a trip to Europe in June to coincide with the 70th Anniversary of the D Day landings (yeeha!).

We will be staying at a Bed and Breakfast in Normandy for 7 days before travelling on to Belgium, Holland and Germany and then returning to France and staying in Paris.

I wanted to take the opportunity to visit some of the military vehicle parts suppliers and military surplus stores in France and Belgium while we were there.

I have heard there is still a lot of NOS parts with suppliers in France and Belgium and I thought I might be able to pick up some parts for my White M3A1 AOP Scout Car restoration. I'm also interested in any of the general military surplus stuff that might be over there.

I was wondering if anyone can give me some names of places and dealers that are 'must sees' along the way.

Does anyone know of any dealer or supplier there in particular who might have White Scout Car parts?

I'm aware there are some good swap meets in and around St Mere Egliese and Carentan over the June period around the celebration times so will also be checking them out.

Any ideas would be appreciated.


Thanks.

[motto]

Any information I would have on European/British dealers would be well out of date Darryl. In fact a couple of them have passed away.
The number that would have White SC parts must be fairly small. Chris Muys in Belgium had some but I've not heard him mentioned for years.
Chris Wilkinson had quite a lot but he had a fire on his premises that destroyed a large quantity of his best stuff. He passed away years ago and I never heard what became of his stock.
Maybe this will kick off further discussion.

Dave

[Richard Farrant]

Darryl,

Jaap Rietveld is probably a good bloke to visit, here is his website: http://www.milweb.net/go/rietveld/

Dave, Chris Wilkinson's sons still bring stock out to W&P.

regards, Richard

[Big D]

Dave and Richard,

Thanks for the replies. Much appreciated.

Richard - thanks for the pointer. I will definitely put Jaap Rietveld on the list.

Dave - hope all is well with you. Bearing in mind what Richard says, I might see if there is a contact for Chris Wilkinson's sons.

I also thought Airborne Garage in the Netherlands and Military Classic Vehicles in France sounded interesting and might be worth a stop.

Any other pointers?

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Big D

I also thought Airborne Garage in the Netherlands and Military Classic Vehicles in France sounded interesting and might be worth a stop.

Any other pointers?

Darryl,

See http://www.milweb.net/dealers.php?sort=international for a pretty complete listing of military dealers in Belgium, France and the Netherlands.

In the latter, I would advise you to contact Joop Staman of Staman International Trading. Wildenberg is another big dealer, Army Cars is worth a try for American parts. Jaap Rietveld is Dutch but based in Belgium and he has good sources in the US. To my knowledge, Airborne Garage only trades vehicles or acts as a sales agent, AFAIK they don't keep stocks of parts. And of course make sure to visit Dirk Leegwater!

If I were you I would send any of them your list of required parts by email so you know you're not visiting them for a cup of coffee only. It will the dealers some time to find / dig out the parts you need, as Scout Car parts are not exactly on the shelf of fast moving items these days.

HTH,
Hanno

[Big D]

Hi Hanno,

Great stuff. Thanks for that. I was just checking out the Milweb dealers. They definitely look like good options and as you say, good advice letting them know in advance of me visiting.

Thanks for the help.

[Big D]

Hi all,

Thanks to those that offered advice on parts suppliers in Europe. I managed to source some scout car parts and fitted as much as I could in my suitcase.

I wanted to acknowledge the good service and hospitality offered in particular by Joop Staman, Dirk Leegwater and Jaap Rietveld. All were excellent to deal with and took the time out of their busy days to talk with me. I'd recommend any of these dealers.

I was staggered by the amount of NOS stock still available in Europe, especially for Jeep, Dodge and GMC parts. I visited some large warehouses in The Netherlands and Belgium where there was shelving running floor to ceiling, wall to wall on two levels, crammed full of parts. It was an eye opener for me coming from little old New Zealand!

[Marc van Aalderen]

Darryll,

There are indeed still plenty of WW2 NOS parts in Europe. The current vehicle parts are a different story. The Dutch army is stripping vehicles to keep the rest running...

[Big D]

Hi Marc,

That sounds a little like NZ! Yes, it was fascinating what is still available there. You must love it with all that gear in your back yard!

[Niels V]

Hi Darryl
Denpending on what you are looking for I know a chap in Norway that has a pile of scrapped Scout cars.

[Andy Mitchell]

Originally Posted by Niels V

Hi Darryl
Denpending on what you are looking for I know a chap in Norway that has a pile of scrapped Scout cars.

hiya,

Any idea if the chap in Norway has any Daimler Armoured Car arts ?

Cheers,

Andy

[Niels V]

Hi Andy
Sorry no he does not, I schould have specified that I was referring to White M3 Scout cars.

[Big D]

Hi Niels,

I think I have most parts I need now from the body and chassis but I'd be interested in seeing what he has got. Do you have contact details?