S1 parts to hoard??

[MLCELICES2!]

Seeing the recent thread about MMC brake parts no longer being manufactured are there any parts that S1 owners are storing long term in case this happens? I have a set of front indicators but nothing else. I want another set of wheels, just for aesthetics, and have been in contact with Revolution Wheels about their TC5 design but now I'm thinking of also holding on to the Rimstocks just in case. I know you could end up buy a second car but is there anything particularly I should look out for? Cheers.

[campbell]

A lot of stuff came from MG Rover parts bin obvz. Much of which was available from breakers but might be getting rarer now?

I’d be looking at the “bespoke” stuff like hub / uprights, wishbones, maybe also ECU (others like Emerald are obvz avail but need maps etc and aren’t quite plug n play … MEMS from just about any Rover from 1996 would prob work I guess!!)

Wheels a good shout.

Check steering rack source. Poss ok and can be refurb’d (sometimes) but not bulky to store.

Heat shielding an old chestnut BUT reckon you can fashion anything now from Nimbus or similar.

An exhaust tailbox might be handy. And downpipe section. Even just as a temp stand in. Was getting hard to source a good stainless version of tailbox just months before my S1 went in 2017.

Clamshells too. Tough to store but Dominic on here had a syndicate with part share in a pair

Soft top roof - prob avail as specialist after market but if a clean one popped up …?

The various rebuild boys on here are worth a ping - what’s been hard to source? And of course Oor Craig at CMC. He will def know what S1 bits are like Unicorn droppings etc

[MLCELICES2!]

Thanks Campbell, that's helpful!

My steering rack has already been refurb'd so this might be one for me to keep an eye. Not bulky but not cheap from Eliseparts.

The car hasn't been in to Craigs yet but think I'll use him for the next service/ MOT.

[Dominic]

Quite a few of us S1 owners have started hording various spares when the opportunity presents itself. I have never been stuck for a part availability, but does no harm to start a hording network.

[Stephen]

What Dom says
I have a few bits. It might also be worth updating the "shared bits" thread I started many moons ago.
My idea was as much for a source of bits to tide you over and keep you on the road while you sourced some as anything else.

[philthy]

The switches are tough to come by if yours are beyond repair, prob what I found hardest to source if trying to keep OEM

I’ve got a load of parts left over from the conversion I should probably sell, if you need something just ask

[MLCELICES2!]

The switches are tough to come by if yours are beyond repair, prob what I found hardest to source if trying to keep OEM

I’ve got a load of parts left over from the conversion I should probably sell, if you need something just ask

I've read the switches can get a lot of debris behind them and can stop working. I'm not too fussed about using OEM parts if there are alternatives that work just as well (or better). The original headlights are obviously not available unless you want to pay silly money for the ones that come up on ebay and the Chinese set you installed I think look good.

Thanks for the offer for the parts, if you do put them up for sale or make a list I'm sure I'll see something I think I should store!

[Stephen]

The switches can be disassembled and cleaned

[philthy]

The switches can be disassembled and cleaned

Not all of them, there are two types - TWR and I can’t remember the other.
The other is much simpler than the TWR - I found out the hard way and only managed to get it back together with some superglue and luck.

[Corranga]

The headlights ship has sailed which is a shame as I don’t like any of the other options that have come up. MMC pads I’ve ordered 2 sets just in case but of course there are normal brakes available, things like exhausts etc are easy to have one made clams can likely be repaired, probably hubs etc, but then I expect those can be machined if it ever came to it, and how likely are they to break (famous last words and all!)

You’re basically gambling on what EP and others will stop selling (for example boot cables are rubbish, I’ve just ordered my 4th…) but the nice thing with the S1 is it’s fairly straight forward mechanically, unless you’re setting up eBay watches for used parts, but not many of these are being broken now.
I generally keep a small stock of consumables and have some other random bits floating around like my original gearbox and wheels.

Specific stuff, trim, seals, lights are maybe worth doing but some of those are already gone too.
Side glass and wonder mechanisms might be worth having.

I guess my answer would change if I was worried about originality.

I wish it’d stock piled or built up a nice K series and tuning parts when they were plentiful and cheap.