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Spares situation for your car(s)?
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Rick
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Joined: 27 Apr 2005
Posts: 22429
Location: UK

PostPosted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 10:19 pm    Post subject: Spares situation for your car(s)? Reply with quote

Hi all,

Is the spares situation good for your car, van, lorry etc? and if not, have you had to go to extreme lengths to source/make parts to fit? Is there a "holy grail" item, that everyone with a vehicle like yours is scouring the 'net and autojumbles for?

RJ
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Bitumen Boy



Joined: 26 Jan 2012
Posts: 1733
Location: Above the snow line in old Monmouthshire

PostPosted: Fri Jul 05, 2019 11:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The spares supply for Heralds - and their derivatives - is, on the face of it, pretty good for a car that went out of production so long ago. However, the quality of the parts supplied leaves much to be desired a lot of the time and so the picture isn't quite as rosy as it first appears. I'd imagine the same might be the case for any other oldie relying on aftermarket parts?

The "holy grail" parts seem to be the chrome headlamp peaks for the earlier 948 and 1200 shape cars, tatty ones aren't hard to come by but in good nick they're properly rare and many an otherwise tidy Herald is let down by this one piece of brightwork being in poor condition. Pricewise I've seen them going for north of £150 apiece on fleabay!
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alanb



Joined: 10 Sep 2012
Posts: 516
Location: Berkshire.

PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 11:20 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Parts for the Morris 8s are well catered for by the Morris register club spares or 2 or 3 dedicated suppliers, quality is pretty good for most parts, prices can vary from reasonable for every day service items to eye watering for specialty parts.
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
Posts: 3785
Location: The Somerset Levels

PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 11:49 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spares for older Rootes vehicles arent easy to find. Speedy Spares are good but thats about it. Spares for my commercials are very scarce.
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MikeEdwards



Joined: 25 May 2011
Posts: 2463
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 6:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Spares for my two Vauxhalls are patchy. Ironically the specialist "droopsnoot" parts such as the nosecone are available as Vauxhall were kind enough to donate the moulds to our club, but stuff like wings, door skins and other panels are quite hard to get. Service stuff is good, and our club spares guy (who's now spun the spares off into a business for various reasons) is making a good stab at getting things remanufactured.
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Phil - Nottingham



Joined: 01 Jan 2008
Posts: 1252
Location: Nottingham

PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 10:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

My wife still has her 1st car a 1968 Mini Traveller Mk2 which she bought in 1972 after passing her test. We have 6 other classics. 2 Series Land Rovers (not Defenders) and the others are a Rover P2 P4 P5 & P5B.

Spares for all especially the LR's and Mini are plentiful and often interchangeable. The ages range from 1938 to 1972 and we do not have any other modern cars so all of them go out throughout the year.
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Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
Posts: 1382
Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 11:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Series 2 and 3 Land Rovers parts are well catered for although the quality varies from abysmal to good depending on how much you are willing to spend.

The days of reasonably priced good quality parts is long gone. When I bought my 2a in 2005 the only thing it really wanted was a nearside outer front wing.
It cost £16 then and was a good quality pattern part. The same wing today is £85. Parts prices escalated from 2010.

I'm hoping I will not need many parts for my Mark 2 Jaguar, it was all restored between 1992 and 1996, I hope you have seen my thread in the Jaguar section.
A new headlining will cost three times the one I bought in the 1990s and the chrome trims are going to be an expensive outlay.

But, there we are, at least nearly everything you need is available.
My cousin's husband, Tony, has just finished restoring a 1986 Ford Capri and he was shocked at parts prices. Front wings - genuine new old stock £1000+ and even pattern ones are £700.

What appalled him was a new Capri specific fusebox - £115, and as for a good used condition rear load cover/parcel shelf, well, he'll do without one until he strikes lucky. He's in for a long wait.

Mechanical parts are very reasonably priced though except for a new diff pan cover : £80!.
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badhuis



Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1390
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Sat Jul 06, 2019 11:04 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am lucky in having British classics as the parts situation for these are pretty good. Usually something can be found, or there is a solution available.
My nephew has a few classic Lancias and the spares for these are very hard. Even regular "consumption" items are hard to find. I am hearing the same for a friend with two old Alfa Romeos, very hard to find and expensive. Another local has old Opels and the same story over again (which is strange as these were so popular over here when new).
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Keith D



Joined: 16 Oct 2008
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Location: Upper Swan, Western Australia

PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 1:56 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Austin Seven parts are easily obtained, both second-hand and after market. So far I have had no complaints with after market bits I've used.

I think the hardest parts to get in good condition are the gauges, but I guess this applies to most oldies.

A local enthusiast in Western Australia, (a professional engineer with his own well equipped workshop) machines many components, such as complete front axles on an exchange basis.

Keith
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lowdrag



Joined: 10 Apr 2009
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Location: Le Mans

PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 5:59 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Parts prices of course depend purely o the make of the car it seems. No, I know this isn't always true but I was talking to someone who has had his Aston Martin engine rebuilt. My Jaguar engine was completely rebuilt by VSE five years back after 120,000 miles of faithful service, and it cost £6,300 whereas this poor soul needed a mortgage to pay the bill! But on an uplifting note the quality of some well-known problem parts such as in-line brake switches and oil pressure senders has improved out of all recognition. and the cost of trimming from people such as Aldridges is fair and very good quality. So in our Jaguar world, I think we are not too badly served.
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mikeC



Joined: 31 Jul 2009
Posts: 1771
Location: Market Warsop, Nottinghamshire

PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 8:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I cannot complain about either the Austin Seven or the Lancia Appia. General service items are available by return of post for both cars, and for the most part other items are available without too much difficulty. Body parts are virtually non-existant, but the Seven is solidly built, and the Lancia bodywork is mostly aluminium, so if I bend something it's a question of skilled workmanship rather than parts supply.
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Minxy



Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 272
Location: West Northants

PostPosted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 11:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rootes75 wrote:
Spares for older Rootes vehicles arent easy to find. Speedy Spares are good but thats about it. Spares for my commercials are very scarce.


When I got my Minx I too struggled to find parts but then I bought a Lanchester and suddenly Hillman parts seeemed plentiful. Very Happy

The holy grail of Mk Minx parts, other than body panels, are the grills.

For Lanchester’s just about everything, other than basic service items, is rare.
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ukdave2002



Joined: 23 Nov 2007
Posts: 4100
Location: South Cheshire

PostPosted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 6:37 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'm the spares secretary for the Morris Register, so interested in this thread Smile 80% of the cars in the register are 8's or a derivative.

I'm sourcing components for pre war vehicles, the days of finding NOS are few and far between, so these days we have to have things made, CNC and 3D printing/ cutting have made low volume more affordable:

Gaskets; Composite Head gaskets require tooling investment its viable for the more popular models, for the less common vehicles we get them out of solid annealed copper. Paper and non composite gaskets can be CNC cut.

King Pin's, shackle pins and the like can be CNC machined. Small plastic items can be printed, having someone who can create 3D files is a bonus. We have a small firm in the Midlands who makes simple stuff for us; U Bolts, engine studs etc

We don't stock body panels, however there a number of firms in the UK who will fabricate any panel or repair section from scratch, same goes for exhausts.

Brake components; the master and slave cylinders are made in Holland and relatively expensive (£80 for a wheel cylinder), hoses; there are a few UK suppliers who will produce low volumes or one offs, brake linings are made in the UK and not expensive.

Pistons, rings and shell bearings are available new for the more popular Morris 8's, but are expensive. Engine valves are getting harder to source, I can get them made at around £18 each

Ignition components are not unique so readily available, rubber bits and bobs come from India

The components that don't currently stock, but will need to in the future are things like gearbox gears, crown wheel and pinions, half shafts, all can be made but require some investment with minimum quantities to make viable, herein lies the challenge; if we commission 10 new crown wheel and pinions they would have to retail at over £500 each, getting 20 made reduces the price by around 10%, either way it ties up a lot of the clubs cash!
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Mog



Joined: 30 Dec 2007
Posts: 661
Location: Sydney

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 6:53 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can understand the problem . In the 1960's to buy pistons for my JAP was impossible . To buy 2 you needed a big bank roll . Order 100 and that would be o.k. To day my 30 year old Landcruiser could do with some new rear brake shoes and cylinders . I have owned it for 13 years , time to replace them . 4 brake shoes and 2 wheel cylinders on E-bay AUD$99.
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norustplease



Joined: 11 Apr 2011
Posts: 779
Location: Lancashire

PostPosted: Tue Jul 09, 2019 9:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Not all foreign classics are problematic with regard to spares.
Citroen Traction, generally excellent, both via the owners club and from various sources in Europe. Most things are available, but trim items and steel wings are expensive. Some parts for Slough built cars are harder to track down. There have also been some quality issues with metallastic components and wheel bearings.

2CV, enough stuff around to build a new one from scratch, if you had the urge. Some pattern body panels are not brilliant in terms of fit. Good second hand bonnets are the holy grail.

Volvo PV544, again, almost everything available from UK specialist and several European suppliers, no doubt helped by commonality with the widespread Amazon models. Quite a few second hand parts as well. Again, steel wings are expensive, as is interior trim, but everything can be had.
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