If you have a classic car where would you look for spare parts?
11/02/2021
If you own a classic car then getting quality spare parts can become an issue, with many parts out of production or only available from specialist stockists. Contacting a Car Club specialising in your Marque is usually the best way to source hard to find parts.
For a lot of common parts, for common classic cars, a quick search on the internet will flag up a stockist of classic and vintage parts, with companies such as Holden and Classic Spares covering classics such as Austin Healeys, MGs, Jaguars and Triumphs. These sites can offer a steady supply of needed parts. Often made from original patterns or even left over original parts stock.
For harder to get parts your options are slightly more limited, Car shows will often have areas where second hand parts are available, but finding the parts you need there is not reliable.
Often for older models or rarer cars, parts are simply not available “off the shelf” and this is where Car Owner Clubs are invaluable. If you contact a car owners club dedicated to your marque you are tapping into a huge breadth of knowledge of people we have been in the same situation. Often with these cars you will find that the members buy up every scrap model going for spare parts and even have limited runs of hard to access parts engineered.
You can also try scrapyards, some of which will keep classic cars to one side rather then crushing them. Its always worth a phone call to see what your local scrap yard has in, you might be surprised, and nationwide scrapyards who save classic cars are well known in the classic car community, ask around online and in person at events. It can also be helpful if you know of other vehicles by the same manufacturer that use the exact same parts. Often manufacturers use the same piece in several models of vehicle over several years. It might be rare to find a spare from a car from 1961 in a scrapyard, but the same part could be on a popular car from 1965. This will help you find used parts faster and easier.
Just remember with second hand parts, there is no guarantee of quality, so make sure you know what you are looking for, and how to spot a broken or worn part. It can also be worth looking at online reviews of the supplier.
If you are not looking to do the work on your car yourself, you can also look for specialist mechanics who deal with classic cars of your marque. A specialist will already know how to source the necessary parts and will often get larger discounts with suppliers.