Classic cars forum & vehicle restoration.

[clan chieftain]

The most I have ever paid was £150 for a Gold Seal "B" Series 1800 engine still in the BMC crate. I would imagine some of you will have paid a lot more for a part.
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The Clan Chieftain

[peter scott]

For the first 15 years of ownership of my SS I was careful not to exceed 3500 rpm and always to change down rather than risk stressing a con rod.

The dural rods that I had have a nasty reputation for destroying good cylinder blocks and steel rods for the car are in high demand and very thin on the ground. Modern replacements are available at high cost but I was fortunate to be chatting to a gent at Beaulieu on this topic and this resulted in me buying a complete SS engine from him with original steel rods for £1200. (Less than the cost of a modern replacement set). The engine block turned out to be cracked and unusuable but I got a good cylinder head and a set of rods that allow me to drive with gay abandon.

Peter
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https://www.nostalgiatech.co.uk
1939 SS Jaguar 2 1/2 litre saloon

[Rootes75]

On a similar theme, I have been searching for a grill for my Ford 7W for many years. At Beaulieu I found one and just for the shell the chap asked for £1200!! I bought the whole car for half that! He then said he's take a credit card payment, cheek.
Needless to say the following 3 Beaulieu's the grill was still there. And he wouldn't take an offer.
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Various Rootes Vehicles.

[Ronniej]

Members of the Morris persuasion will probably be aware that Morris Motors made the auxiliary engines for Centurion tanks and that this engine was very similar to that fitted to the early post-war Minors.
With some modifications this engine can be made to fit the Morris 8 and this has the benefit of a balanced crankshaft and other improvements in an engine that is very similar in appearance to the original.
The MoD sold off surplus engines many years ago and these engines are now quite difficult to find.
I got wind of one that had been lying in a domestic garage for many years.
It turned out this was literally brand new and was still in its MoD crate and covered in preservative wax.
I bought it for £750.00 and fitted it at the end of the season.
This has transformed the car and I now have a car that is 77 years old with a brand new engine!

[Rick]

The NOS front wing I found for my A40 last year, that I've been on the look-out for this last 20 years or so, cost £475 (cheaper than having a repro made though). That's the priciest part I've sourced for that car to date.

Big Dodge swallowed the most £ in all though, the professionally polished grille trim and NOS mascot cost £500-600 I think, from the US.

RJ
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Rick - Admin
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[kevin2306]

£250 last year for a NOS carb to fit the Singer.
Could have got a refurb end one a bit cheaper but I figured the new carb would be a good investment on the old girl, I wasn't wrong and to be fair it made a huge difference.

Kev

[emmerson]

More noughts on the end of the new engine price than I paid for the Range Rover!

[Ellis]

Perhaps not the most expensive car part I have bought but the one part that shocked me at it's price.
When converting my Series 2a Land Rover to an ex Discovery 200Tdi engine I needed a new thermostat by pass hose, "S" shaped and about 4" long.
Only available from Land Rover and nowhere else I gasped when the parts guy in the local Land Rover dealership said £41.00 + VAT.
I managed to get a trade discount but even then it was £37 + the VAT.
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Starting Handle Expert

1964 Jaguar Mark 2 3.4 litre
1962 Land Rover Series 2a 88"
2002 BMW M3 E46 Cabriolet

[colwyn500]

I have spent quite a lot on brand new original doors and bodypanels for my camper. I am just looking at a quote for £360 for a door. That would be the most I ever paid for anything.
As I get older I find more justification for buying expensive if it saves me time. When I was younger time seemed cheap.

[Dipster]

I was onve asked to pay over £800 for a drive shaft for a Ford Mondeo. This was in about 1985 when it was only 2 years old. When Ford quoted for the part I expressed surprise, to put it mildly, saying it was indeed a Mondeo and not a S Cless Merc!

In fairness to Ford they did agree it was silly money and gave me 50% off.

[goneps]

Probably I paid far too much for two pairs of reconditioned Armstrong DAS8 lever arm dampers, to replace the telescopic dampers fitted to the Morris during restoration. Around £500 by the time I'd had them shipped to NZ, and after all that they were no improvement on the telescopics in terms of ride.

By contrast my collection of original-type 'Pear' dampers cost next to nothing, since I was given some and the others cost only nominal sums from club spares sheds. They were not cheap to recondition, but in contrast to the lever arms the exercise was well worth it.

Richard

[Dipster]

[lowdrag]

Not me, but earlier this year I saw a pair of number plate chrome lights for the very early E-types, stamped Butler and not Lucas, sell for £330 on Ebay. For my part, I rather keep sctum since the memories hurt too much, but buying some parts from the USA saved up to 50% like the correct radiator for £800 and not £1,500 here.

[Ray White]

I get a sinking feeling when I think about my Dodge Brothers starter motor. £500 for a recon and the it was still faulty. Our local auto electrician did the job properly for £100.

As someone put it to me, "That's highway robbery"
At least Dick Turpin had the decency to wear a mask!

[ukdave2002]

I put a £150 bid on ebay for a single Morris Z Van front wing.....it sold for aroud £600