The Other Moss...
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By Chuck Warnes
I’ve just finished reading Alan Moss’ delightful, light-hearted autobiography entitled “The Other Moss – My Life With Cars and Horses.”
E. Alan Moss (he refuses to divulge what the “E” stands for) opened a foreign car repair shop Los Angeles in the late 1940’s, and also tried his hand at a couple of import car dealerships. One such venture was his role as the West Coast distributor for Allard in the early 1950’s. The Allard Register #39 (Summer 2004) issue is largely devoted to abstracts of insightful, and often frank correspondence between Moss and Allard in The Moss Files.
Over the next few years Moss Motors segued into after-market parts sales when he published his first MG parts catalogue in 1962. Moss Motors had become an industry leader in that field by 1977, when Al sold out to a friend and went into a semi-retirement. Many of us have had occasion to use Moss Motors’ services for our Allard and British car projects.
In this book Alan also shares his sports car racing experiences from the early 50’s, along with his role in helping to organize and officiate sports car competitions in the early days of the sport on the West Coast.
He has since moved to Sedona AZ, which has served as his base for vintage racing his 1948 MGTC that he has owned since new, along with a stint of rebuilding and racing a Morgan trike.
Alan’s closing line in this book, “Remember, it’s never too late to have a happy childhood.” is a fitting summary to a life well lived.
If you’d like buy a copy of the book you can send Al a check for check for $22. Postage is included and he would be happy to sign each one if so desired. Al’s address is below:
Alan Moss
1015 Soldier Pass
Sedona, AZ 86336
racermoss@esedona.net
