MG Sports Cars

Hello,
I am brand new owner of a 1969 MGB GT coupe. It will need to be fixed up as it does need body/engine work. So my basic question is where is the best place to get parts for it?
are there any vendors that I should avoid or be leery of?


My intent is to bring it back to its original form with some modernization. My Father-in-law who used to work on these cars will be doing 80% of this process with me doing the grunt work of finding the part and perhaps cleaning a part or two :)


I can post some pictures, that is as soon as I get them off my camera.

Thank you for any suggestions!

Sal

Congratulations! You're going to love your GT.

Under the "Contacts" navigation button at the top of this page you'll find two vendor directories, and some of the very best sources in the business are listed there.

For general restoration parts, there's one vendor that truly deserves special mention: Moss Motors. You'll definitely want to get one of their printed catalogs because their exploded view illustrations show and name almost every part of your car. I can't say enough good things about Moss - without them, the MG hobby in North America would be in a sorry state. Their major competitor for MGB parts in Kansas North America has a tarnished reputation due to inferior customer service and due to in some cases substituting cheap parts from China or India where Moss still offers parts that actually fit.



In the specific case of body panels, you should also be aware that the MGB is almost completely unique among old cars in that original production tooling has been preserved. British Motor Heritage can therefore sell you a complete replacement bodyshell for your '69 GT... or if you prefer they can sell you body panels from the same stamping and forming dies that were originally used to build your car. You can get British Motor Heritage panels from several sources, including Moss.



Here's an article I wrote after touring BMH in England: Touring "British Motor Heritage" (The article also explains SteelCraft parts.)

The classified section of this message board is also a great place to buy MGB parts. You can post "wanted" ads if there are specific parts you're looking for.

thanks for the input! I will check them out ASAP!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2011 11:51AM by srowe77.

Curtis I am not wanting to be argumentative But I have heard the opposite that the "other"company is better than Moss. I am assuming that the "other company" that you speak of is situated in a very flat part of the USA where you see lots of wheat and corn growing and frequent tornados that pick up little girls and transport them to other lands. I am not choosing sides but it may be that each company has it's strengths and weaknesses. I just ordered some parts from that "other" company and I will shortly be ordering some from Moss because neither company has everything that I am looking for. When I get these parts I will carefully inspect them and if I find any quallity issues I will let you know.

Sal, though I’ve retired back to Texas, I lived just south of Santa Barbra and bought parts over the counter at Moss for many years. The first time I restored my car was to original and without them it would never have gotten done. They are always cheerful and happy to answer any stupid question I ask. I’ve had my current GT for over thirty years and never got a bad part from them. The last time I placed an order with them, about a month ago, I was reluctant to mention the little GT now had a 302 V8 in it, but I did and to my surprise they were still supportive and didn’t hang up on me :-) I agree with Curtis, Moss is pretty much the first and last place I go. Let me add my congratulations as well, if they weren’t as much fun as we all claim, I wouldn’t have kept mine all these years.

While I prefer Moss, Byron is correct, don't rule out any sourse that may help to complete the project.

By the way, the picture to the left was taken about a mile from Moss before it moved ( Moss that is, not the picture)



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2011 01:58PM by pspeaks.

Byron, I live just a few miles from that area where the tornados blow little girls and dogs around and do business often with the "other company" since it's close enough to not require shipping charges. Things are changing there and I don't expect that we in the British car community can expect to see the same level of service in the future as we have known. Even the local events which used to get strong support from that company are now being closely scrutenized to see if the advertising value is worth the support. It's all part of a business decision in a soft economy, but I don't expect it to ever return. There is no technical support such as Moss has and finding someone who actually knows anything about British cars and can discuss any problems with is impossible. Yes they have some items that Moss doesn't, but for everything else I'd vote with Curtis and go with Moss. They still support many of the British car events and causes around the country such as this newsletter. I try to support those that support my hobby with my business if I can.
If you watch any of the cable TV car shows such as Trucks or Extreme 4X4 you'll usually see sponsorship by LMC Trucks, that's the same company and where about 99% of their support and advertising dollars are going these days.
Sal, another source for parts is one of the many Moss autoroized distributors around the country. Many times they can even beat the catalog price from Moss as they get a discount and most pass most of that on to the consumer. You can find many of them listed in the vendor directories of this and other British Car forums such as the MG Experience or the British Car Forum.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2011 04:35PM by Bill Young.

Bill I am glad we can talk in code and know what we are talking about, the younger generation may not understand what we are talking about. I have not been involved in the LBC world long enough to know all the issues of sourcing parts. Getting these parts is a real hassle here in the country that is populated with eskimos and polar bears. I can buy parts from a few local business's but I do not want to pay the markups that they are charging so I am getting stuff directly from Moss and that "other company". To minimize shipping and brokerage fees I am getting this stuff mailed to me, yes it is slower but a lot cheaper in the long run. The other advantage right now is that our dollar is so strong so this works in my favor. If I do business with the local shops their inventory is based on transactions when our dollar was less than yours.

Don't forget The Roadster Factory. In some cases their parts are the best available, but not always the cheapest. Their Friday specials make the prices on select items very competitive.The owner is a real enthusiest, ownes and drives British cars himself.

We have not ordered from the place straight south of us for at least 5 years. Never a problem with their parts but last time we ordered from them, the people manning the phones were McDonald's drive through rejects. They could have cared less about anything. I have spoke to one or two people 'behind the scenes' that know more about stuff but they don't appear to want to listen to shops or other people in the trade last I checked. They are also part of the BMTA which focuses on open dialogue between shops and manufacturers but I am still waiting to hear from them. I have nothing bad to say about their parts and really would like to see them do well. About 20 years ago, I probably ordered from them more than Moss, but then again, I was a 16 year old brat.

-BMC.

Quote:

I am not wanting to be argumentative But I have heard the opposite that the "other"company is better than Moss

I have never heard that. It does not concur with mine & my dad's many years of personal experience.