Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

ukdave2002 · Joined: 23 Nov 2007 Posts: 4287 Location: South Cheshire

I think I have said this before....the great thing about restoring an MGA is that most bits are available, the worst thing is also that most bits are available Shocked

When I was putting it together; one of the challenges was that that all the repro parts needed...shall we say tweeking Smile

Take a look at this:

It was fitted new to the car 9 months ago, the car has been in the rain once, and is stored in a dry garage where I also keep plain steel for machining, that by the way is rust free.

Oddly the other front side lamp is perfect Confused

... I suppose I shouldn't complain as they are only cheap... an illustration of the good and bad or repro bits !

Dave

kevin2306 · Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 8:10 pm Post subject:

just had the same sort of issue with 2 repro quarter light seals for my singer, £90 for the 2 and the fit is totally crap, on the hunt for a breaker with 2 half decent originals now Sad

kev

PaulB · Joined: 07 Mar 2014 Posts: 8

I've just finished a TR4 and had the same problem. Nothing really fits well if at all. I spend lots of time on eBay now looking for original parts!

mistericeman · Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2014 10:06 pm Post subject:

A familiar cry to anyone running a Land rover...

Stuff that comes in a certain blue box is generally considered a bit of a gamble... Some of it is usable and made as OEM... Other items are made out of chocolate... Actually at least you could eat it then.

Brake cylinders that last a fortnight... Steering idler shafts that twist and snap... Brake shoes welded together twisted so they don't align etc etc.
Welcome to our world lol

Phil - Nottingham · Joined: 01 Jan 2008 Posts: 1252 Location: Nottingham

Disappointing true - but workmanship of modern parts is just not up to the same standard of 50+ years ago. At least there is a repro part if NOS or good s/h cannot be had (rarely IMHO)
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scott_budds · Joined: 20 Nov 2008 Posts: 175 Location: Norwich

Rick · Site Admin Joined: 27 Apr 2005 Posts: 22838 Location: UK

A friend of mine had an MGA for a while, it had a repro chrome grille and the quality was lousy. It barely fitted at all, and the edges on the back were razor sharp. Junk.

RJ
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badhuis · Joined: 20 Aug 2008 Posts: 1480 Location: Netherlands

Riley Blue · Joined: 18 Jun 2008 Posts: 1751 Location: Derbyshire

A few years ago I visited a well known UK supplier of classic car rubber parts to see if they could manufacturer quarterlight rubbers for Riley 1.5s for our club spares operation. They wanted £3,000 for 'tooling' then told me they'd have them made in India - so much for British businesses fighting on an even playing field...

baconsdozen · Joined: 03 Dec 2007 Posts: 1119 Location: Under the car.

By refusing to pay for decent stuff and buying cheap junk from China and India we've killed off the manufacturers in this country and are now left with no alternative but to buy rubbish.
You reap what you sew.
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Thirty years selling imperial hand tools for old machinery(Now happily retired).

lowdrag · Joined: 10 Apr 2009 Posts: 1600 Location: Le Mans

Jaguar parts are the same. On Fleabay in January a pair of NOS rear number plate lights and chromes fetched £310. In my restoration I have had the original parts rechromed purely because, despite the cost, they'll be better than Chinese replacements and in the long term will cost less.

goneps · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 12:18 am Post subject:

Unfortunately there are some rubbish SU parts floating around. Some years ago a set of fuel pump double points lasted 500 miles, so I cleaned up a refitted the original 1936 single points, which lasted several more years. Also watch out for SU carburettor jets that are not accurately made—not visible with the naked eye, so almost impossible to detect.

Rootes75 · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 10:53 am Post subject:

My fathers Series2A Land Rover failed its MOT on leaking oil seals. The part was sourced on the Internet and was a 'modern' version of the original. When we got it the 6 miles down the road for the re-test one of them had failed! Upon stripping it back down the rubber was of such poor quality it was a wonder it lasted 6 miles!

Ashley · Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 1426 Location: Near Stroud, Glos

Ignition coils! I can't believe how many I've had trouble with and friends in the old car trade say the same.

Thank heaven for Accuspark.

emmerson · Joined: 30 Sep 2008 Posts: 1268 Location: South East Wales