Editorial: Inside Moss R&D

Our commitment to manufacturing exciting new products

By Robert Goldman

You might think we would have run out of new product ideas by now. After all, it’s been 25 years since the last classic British sportscars rolled off the line. The facts are that we’re busier than ever imagining, designing, and fabricating our way through a steady stream of product introductions.

Although the R&D guys, lead by manager Mark Luis, have to share time with projects related to those pesky modern cars, they still have time to complete classic car products ranging from four-way flasher conversions to complete supercharger kits. Admittedly, some projects are higher-profile than others. When “intermittent wipers” were added to the new product wish list, some wags pointed out most British classics already have them.

For many years, the emphasis in R&D was on creating exact reproductions of original parts. However, many owners are now indicating that what they really want is to enjoy their cars out on the road. And in this context, wouldn’t it be nice if the car could go, start, stop, or (take your pick) better?

The finished product is an integral part of the MG supercharger kit.

It’s no coincidence we have recently added a number of driving enhancement products. Brake upgrades, alternator conversions, supercharger kits, and tube-shock conversions are just a few examples of what we are up to. And there is a long list of ideas waiting to be explored. Keeping your classic on the road means more today than just providing stock replacement parts.

While the product design toolkit still includes a hammer, bailing wire, and a very large screwdriver, we’re adding a lot of sophisticated modern equipment as well. Our CAD system for designing parts has recently been augmented with a new Haas CNC mill. The combination allows us to go from concept to prototype part in a lot less time. “Make it like this” has been replaced by SolidWorks drawings and material specifications.

With supercharger and fuel-injection projects in house, the old SU tuning methods have themselves come in for a tune up. Rather than listen for a “splashy misfire,” we sniff the exhaust with sophisticated gas analyzers.

The flow of ideas remains greater than the stream of finished products, but we’re working to catch up. The next time you see a great new driving enhancement from Moss, it comes thanks to a dedicated group of product development pros. Our cars may be old, but with the help of modern technology, we’re dragging them kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

The computer-controlled Haas mill is an expensive machine, but it allows Moss Motors to produce new products with precision.

Here’s the Haas in action on an MG supercharger manifold.

SolidWorks CAD-CAM software is a vital engineering tool for Moss’s upcoming TR6 supercharger project.

Here’s a computer model of the intake runners for Moss’s 1972-76 TR6 supercharger manifold.