Classic Porsche Parts - Purchase locally or from UK/ Germany?

[gronk]

Hi guys,

In the process of purchasing an old P-car. Will need alot of work (money). Blown away by the amazing videos of Jeff (Home Built) and what he was able to do with his old P car. I have no real experience at all with fixing/ restoring cars but after watching his videos, definitely keen to have a crack at least on some of the stuff that he does. If I can save some money by doing some of the repairs myself then this can only be a good thing.

For those of you who do some of this stuff, as a general rule (and I appreciate that will not apply to all parts), where is the cheapest place to source P parts? Official Porsche Parts through dealer? Autohaus Hamilton? FVD? Design911? Any others?

Any local wreckers worth reaching out to?

Thanks very much,

Adrian

[LeeM]

 @gronk It depends on what parts you're needing mate.

 I'd never touched any car before I backdated my SC, so it's great that you're going to have a go at it. All I say is to do your research with how to do things, and look around online with parts prices.

 I used Sierra Madre in the US for some bits, as their parts prices were on par with most other suppliers, yet their transport costs were much cheaper than anyone else. Pelican Parts transport costs are ridiculous, so make sure you check delivery costs.

 I used rennspd.com for fibreglass parts and some other bits and pieces, as their prices were great, as was their delivery costs from the US.

 Locally, I used James at Autohaus Hamilton for my floor pans, and they were cheaper than buying from the US and delivered pretty quickly.

 There's also @MFX (Home built by Jeff) who can supply parts.

 

[MFX]

58 minutes ago, LeeM said:

 There's also @MFX (Home built by Jeff) who can supply parts.

I don't sell anything, I just have a search engine to direct you to the best deal

Shop around is my advice. Have a look on porschepartsbyjeff.com and with the locals. I have been really impressed with some of the international shipping these days with a lot of stuff getting to me in less than a week, where I have had some local suppliers particularly for some exhaust stuff taking months. 

As for buying a car, if it is not yet a done deal, aim for the most complete car you can get because Porsche parts add up quick. I would also go for a mechanically sorted, rough body car over a shiny car with a dud engine every time. Bodywork wise it is just like any other car, but aircooled Porsche engines are insanely expensive to rebuild (hence why I bought a Ferrari engine for my other project as it cost a fraction of what my 911 engine did).

[gronk]

2 hours ago, LeeM said:

 @gronk It depends on what parts you're needing mate.

 I'd never touched any car before I backdated my SC, so it's great that you're going to have a go at it. All I say is to do your research with how to do things, and look around online with parts prices.

 I used Sierra Madre in the US for some bits, as their parts prices were on par with most other suppliers, yet their transport costs were much cheaper than anyone else. Pelican Parts transport costs are ridiculous, so make sure you check delivery costs.

 I used rennspd.com for fibreglass parts and some other bits and pieces, as their prices were great, as was their delivery costs from the US.

 Locally, I used James at Autohaus Hamilton for my floor pans, and they were cheaper than buying from the US and delivered pretty quickly.

 There's also @MFX (Home built by Jeff) who can supply parts.

 

Thanks Lee! Good advice regarding Sierra Madre and needing to take delivery costs into account. I will definitely look into them. I have done a fair bit of research, lots of YouTube videos in addition to all of Jeff's amazing videos. Also the forums are a great wealth of information including PFA but also Rennlist and Pelican forums.

 

1 hour ago, MFX said:

I don't sell anything, I just have a search engine to direct you to the best deal

Shop around is my advice. Have a look on porschepartsbyjeff.com and with the locals. I have been really impressed with some of the international shipping these days with a lot of stuff getting to me in less than a week, where I have had some local suppliers particularly for some exhaust stuff taking months. 

As for buying a car, if it is not yet a done deal, aim for the most complete car you can get because Porsche parts add up quick. I would also go for a mechanically sorted, rough body car over a shiny car with a dud engine every time. Bodywork wise it is just like any other car, but aircooled Porsche engines are insanely expensive to rebuild (hence why I bought a Ferrari engine for my other project as it cost a fraction of what my 911 engine did).

Thanks Jeff! Good advice - car is a done deal - I am sure that there will be a fair bit of both body work and engine work to be done. Taken inspiration from your project - this car is going to be a keeper - a little project to keep me going for the next few years - plan will be to do what is necessary to get it on the road safely so that it can be driven and be reasonably reliable - at some stage it is going to need a glass out respray and engine re-build but I would be hoping to hold out as long as I can for this. Would like to start with some mods like upgraded stereo, aero mirrors and suspension.

[LeeM]

 If you have plenty of time, then that's a major bonus. 

 As Jeff mentioned, you'd need to factor in some pretty serious coin if you're going to rebuild the engine, and that can be a lucky dip when it comes to who you use to do it, and how much it will cost. 

 I'd definitely be asking @Mike D'Silva about your options there, and it would probably be the first thing I was going to spend money on, as you can work on the rest of your car whilst it's being built

 

[Mike D'Silva]

10 hours ago, MFX said:

I don't sell anything, I just have a search engine to direct you to the best deal

Shop around is my advice. Have a look on porschepartsbyjeff.com and with the locals. I have been really impressed with some of the international shipping these days with a lot of stuff getting to me in less than a week, where I have had some local suppliers particularly for some exhaust stuff taking months. 

As for buying a car, if it is not yet a done deal, aim for the most complete car you can get because Porsche parts add up quick. I would also go for a mechanically sorted, rough body car over a shiny car with a dud engine every time. Bodywork wise it is just like any other car, but aircooled Porsche engines are insanely expensive to rebuild (hence why I bought a Ferrari engine for my other project as it cost a fraction of what my 911 engine did).

ha!

I'm the EXACT OPPOSITE of Jeff here!

I would say, buy the car with the perfect body (or as near to it as possible) and dont worry too much about the motor or trans. Mechanical stuff is relatively straight foward to fix (for me anyway)  Body and paint is drug money if you have to pay someone. Rust... oh my god... don't get me started!

[gronk]

10 hours ago, LeeM said:

 If you have plenty of time, then that's a major bonus. 

 As Jeff mentioned, you'd need to factor in some pretty serious coin if you're going to rebuild the engine, and that can be a lucky dip when it comes to who you use to do it, and how much it will cost. 

 I'd definitely be asking @Mike D'Silva about your options there, and it would probably be the first thing I was going to spend money on, as you can work on the rest of your car whilst it's being built

 

Thanks Lee - I have seen some of Mike's work on this forum - very nice, meticulous work. I am in Sydney so may be a little more complicated to do as Mike is in QLD but could always drive up to QLD over a few days to drop the disassembled engine off. Alternatively, could look at some local engine rebuilders when it comes time.

[gronk]

3 hours ago, Mike D'Silva said:

ha!

I'm the EXACT OPPOSITE of Jeff here!

I would say, buy the car with the perfect body (or as near to it as possible) and dont worry too much about the motor or trans. Mechanical stuff is relatively straight foward to fix (for me anyway)  Body and paint is drug money if you have to pay someone. Rust... oh my god... don't get me started!

Thanks Mike - I suspect neither the body or the engine are in great shape 😉 Funny, my old man had a good mechanic mate who was always round our place when I was growing up. The two of them would spend the weekend tinkering on our cars and I remember he always said the same thing - find a car with a perfect body, the engine not as big an issue as it can be rebuilt easily enough by someone who knows what they are doing. I guess the issue with rebuilding a Porsche engine is the cost which is I guess what Jeff refers to.

I've watched Jeff's bodywork videos and quite a few other video on rust treatment and although very, very labour intensive, the actual process for the most part looks doable with the right tools, patience and time. 

On the other hand - rebuilding an engine with no previous knowledge/ experience is an undertaking that I don't think I would ever be able to do!

15 hours ago, MFX said:

I don't sell anything, I just have a search engine to direct you to the best deal

This website is great Jeff! You put together this search engine? Is there anything that you can't do?!? 😉 

[sleazius]

I don't know if it is still the same but the majority of classic parts were/are imported by BWA Auto and then on-sold to everyone else including PCA who stock nothing. Pays to shop around both local and international.

[gronk]

1 hour ago, sleazius said:

I don't know if it is still the same but the majority of classic parts were/are imported by BWA Auto and then on-sold to everyone else including PCA who stock nothing. Pays to shop around both local and international.

@sleazius thanks for that, good to know. I'll look at BWA Auto as well

[MFX]

4 hours ago, gronk said:

This website is great Jeff! You put together this search engine? Is there anything that you can't do?!? 😉 

That was done by one of my viewers in the Netherlands. There definitely are things I can't do

[reedminor]

I shop around..

I used to exclusively buy parts overseas, but now check locally, with Bwa, Autohaus,  and the dealer network.

Probably 90% of my purchases are local now , with over 50% of those through Porsche Centre Melbourne, who are a Porsche Classic dealer.

if looking overseas I will check Sierra Madre, Stoddards, and Design 911.

to give you a recent example I was pricing genuine rear spring plates for a 1977 Carrera 3.0. These aren’t an inexpensive part. The local price was within $20 of the overseas purchase, so I opted for local. If the parts are wrong or unsuitable I can easily return them for credit.  Not so with overseas parts.

The Bilstein shocks I bought late last year came from Design 911.

 

justin

[Carrera28]

8 hours ago, reedminor said:

I shop around..

I used to exclusively buy parts overseas, but now check locally, with Bwa, Autohaus,  and the dealer network.

Probably 90% of my purchases are local now , with over 50% of those through Porsche Centre Melbourne, who are a Porsche Classic dealer.

if looking overseas I will check Sierra Madre, Stoddards, and Design 911.

to give you a recent example I was pricing genuine rear spring plates for a 1977 Carrera 3.0. These aren’t an inexpensive part. The local price was within $20 of the overseas purchase, so I opted for local. If the parts are wrong or unsuitable I can easily return them for credit.  Not so with overseas parts.

The Bilstein shocks I bought late last year came from Design 911.

 

justin

I agree shopping around for each purchase as you cannot necessarily say a particular vendor is cheaper then another.  TBH shopping for the two sites I use most are PorschePartsByJeff.com, EBay.com and EBay.co.uk.  When you have the part number Ebay has a surprising number of new parts listed by overseas Porsche dealers. I have that sometimes EBay.co.uk has parts that do not appear on EBay.com so I find its worth trawling both with the part number.

[gronk]

8 hours ago, Carrera28 said:

I agree shopping around for each purchase as you cannot necessarily say a particular vendor is cheaper then another.  TBH shopping for the two sites I use most are PorschePartsByJeff.com, EBay.com and EBay.co.uk.  When you have the part number Ebay has a surprising number of new parts listed by overseas Porsche dealers. I have that sometimes EBay.co.uk has parts that do not appear on EBay.com so I find its worth trawling both with the part number.

Thanks! Ebay a great alternative particularly the UK site - there have been some decent 964s for sale on the UK site last couple of years which come up occasionally - never could pull the trigger though! I have just purchased some second hand aero mirrors from the ebay.uk site - missing a few bits which I will probably source locally.

16 hours ago, reedminor said:

I shop around..

I used to exclusively buy parts overseas, but now check locally, with Bwa, Autohaus,  and the dealer network.

Probably 90% of my purchases are local now , with over 50% of those through Porsche Centre Melbourne, who are a Porsche Classic dealer.

if looking overseas I will check Sierra Madre, Stoddards, and Design 911.

to give you a recent example I was pricing genuine rear spring plates for a 1977 Carrera 3.0. These aren’t an inexpensive part. The local price was within $20 of the overseas purchase, so I opted for local. If the parts are wrong or unsuitable I can easily return them for credit.  Not so with overseas parts.

The Bilstein shocks I bought late last year came from Design 911.

 

justin

Thanks Justin - great advice. I have just bought some KW shocks from a random shop in Germany - price delivered still way less than what they retail anywhere locally or OS - only problem is.... think I may have ordered wrong set! Hoping that there is a way to get them to fit!

[generalsmirnov]

I recently found this site, which is part of Circle Porsche LA - so genuine parts:

https://www.porschepartsnow.com/

You need to know part numbers otherwise things are impossible to find, but the prices and shipping are both very good. Use code CP30 for 30% off shipping too!