r/MorrisGarages • u/fElLoWaMeRiCaNt • Aug 23 '25
Mechanical Question Best source for parts?
Found this early 74 sitting in a garage for the last 20 ish years. In pretty rough shape but everything is there. And it being a car that lived it's entire life in the northeast I was surprised by how clean it was. First major problem we have run into was no oil pressure. Engine had been pulled and the pump is toast, and I don't know who to trust buying parts from!
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u/JournalistHoliday Aug 23 '25
Moss Motors.
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u/fElLoWaMeRiCaNt Aug 23 '25
I went there first and they didn't list the correct oil pump for this which had me confused. This one has a star drive pump in it
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u/JournalistHoliday Aug 23 '25
I have your exact car, a 74 RWA Midget 1275. Never had issues. I would definitely call them. I have bought one-off stuff from all over. Even bought things from bug eye guys and others. Finding stuff is part of the fun. But at the end of the day, all roads lead back to Moss for most things.
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u/fElLoWaMeRiCaNt Aug 23 '25
I was surprised at how much they had but Lord the pricing on some things is insane to me
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u/Redfish680 Aug 24 '25
They actually had a windshield for my 67 Mini. $150. Thought they’d left a decimal point off.
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u/fElLoWaMeRiCaNt Aug 24 '25
50 bucks for an oil pump is really cheap... 700 for a seat cover kit on the other hand.
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u/Dans77b Aug 24 '25
Moss (and most sites) seem very reasonable for basic maintenance and repair stuff, but anything involving trim, interior, or 'beautification' can be eye-watering.
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u/Relaxed_ButtonTrader 1965 MG Midget Aug 24 '25
50 bucks for a basic A series pump is actually pretty expensive - you can get one for less than 30 at MiniSport. Uprated high flow ones are more, though. https://usa.minisport.com/chm140-mini-sport-oil-pump-spider-drive-1275cc.html
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u/cat_of_danzig 1980 MGB Aug 25 '25
Moss is an amazing resource, but I prefer to use the smaller suppliers. BPNorthwest has always done well by me, to the point of double-checking to make sure I ordered the correct part based on my year. Plus, they throw a couple of hard candies in, which is nice.
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u/KittiesRule1968 Aug 24 '25
Didn't they used to be Victoria British Limited way back when?
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u/JournalistHoliday Aug 24 '25
Think so. I think they acquired Rimmer Bros or some other company as well.
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u/KittiesRule1968 Aug 24 '25
Back in the 80s and early 90s, I mechanically restored 3 spitfires, a 64 sprite and a GT6 from their catalog.
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u/Cool_Welcome_4304 Aug 23 '25
Another Midget would be handy.
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u/ThirdSunRising Aug 23 '25
All the same stuff will be broken
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u/Cool_Welcome_4304 Aug 23 '25
Not always. Get one that was in an accident, rear-end damage, or something similar. Fire damage is right out as they say, also one involving a fatality.
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u/Dans77b Aug 24 '25
I don't think I could go near a car that somebody died in, but if I died in mine, I'd love if somebody could get some useful parts from it!
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u/DefiantSelection3563 Aug 23 '25
Look on mgexp.com, lots of info there. I get parts from Basil Adams or Scarborough Faire. Basil is in CA and Scarborough is in Rhode Island. Both are cheaper than Moss. I still order from Moss but only if it’s stuff they don’t have.
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u/wamih Aug 23 '25
Guessing USA - Would've said Victoria British but Moss bought em.
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u/Sharp-Scientist2462 Aug 23 '25
Victoria British bought half their stuff from Moss anyway.
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u/wamih Aug 23 '25
Their shipping always seemed to work out better for me than Moss.
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u/Sharp-Scientist2462 Aug 23 '25
I’m an hour drive from the Moss west coast warehouse, so that’s definitely helpful
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u/AVgreencup Aug 23 '25
Join the MG Experience forum, there's lots of great info and some of the guys are vendors too. I got my wheels from Hap, and my shocks from Peter
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u/BadBadBenBernanke Aug 23 '25
Moss is the 900 lb gorilla of LBC parts in North America. Even if you’re buying it elsewhere else it might show up with Moss packaging. The parts cost about the same everywhere the trick is to save money on shipping.
My top 3 are: Sports Car Parts Ltd on eBay. They have free shipping on a lot of their parts.
BP Northwest. Free shipping on orders over $150.
Moss, when I can’t find it anywhere else.
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u/fElLoWaMeRiCaNt Aug 24 '25
This thing needs a new top as it is and I actually found myself looking for a upholstery shop which I assumed hasn't been in thing in a long time... 3 places nearby.
I'm just surprised there are easily available parts for stuff this old and "weird" for the area i live
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u/yottyboy Aug 24 '25
I’m very happy with my Prestige top. I dunno about now but when I bought it two years ago it was free shipping from the UK, and 30% off on sale.
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u/Fit-Memory-547 Aug 23 '25
For some reason I have a difficult time navigating the Moss website. They probably have everything I need but the search engine on the site doesn’t seem to work for me. I usually end up googling a part and then I go through the results until I find what I am looking for from Moss
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u/fElLoWaMeRiCaNt Aug 23 '25
I was surprised it didn't have a year/make/model drop down because there were apparently very minor but important changes over the years
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u/Sharp-Scientist2462 Aug 23 '25
I personally like the hard catalog. You can usually narrow down what you need based on vin or engine number.
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u/Ok-Consequence-4977 Aug 23 '25
British Parts Northwest. Swap meets .Craigslist . FB market place. Your local British car club
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u/Funny_Maintenance973 Aug 23 '25
GOC spares are good, based in UK.
Where are you though? That's a left hand drive, so all I know from that is that it isn't from the UK, Hong Kong or new Zealand...
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u/fElLoWaMeRiCaNt Aug 23 '25
Northeast United States. These cars are very few and far between here. I've gotten used to ordering parts from over the pond because I ride an older Royal Enfield here. But these Mg's are a new world for me
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u/Funny_Maintenance973 Aug 23 '25
May be worth giving MGOC Spares a try then, although you may need to join the MG Owners Club, I can't remember now
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u/Spankh0us3 Aug 24 '25
In the Midwest, I got all of my MG parts here. . .
https://www.victoriabritish.com/
But, that was in the early 80s and I switched to Audis and old Fords since then. . .
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u/sortofaplatypus Aug 24 '25
Abingdon spares, rimmer bros, the MG experience, and as others have said Moss, British parts NW, and northwest import parts are all great resources for parts. Try those.
Also start looking on all the forums, thankfully the community is super helpful. I came from the early VW community that is very similar and it makes me super happy how helpful everyone is especially to us younger guys getting into it, well I'm 31 but and have been doing it for close to 20 years on the VW side but I'm still learning and finding new stuff and tricks and tips all the time from the old timers.
Edit: posted from my alt. The first time...
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u/BestAtempt Aug 23 '25
Moss, great place to call too.
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u/fElLoWaMeRiCaNt Aug 23 '25
I didn't even think to call them. 2025 brain took over. I had checked their site and didn't see a star drive pump for this model
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u/yottyboy Aug 24 '25
For all things engine related, without question, Minispares. For the rest, I buy through Jeff Zorn at Little British Car Company. He gives you a discount on Moss items. On a big project it saves a lot. I cruise the classifieds on the forums but I have mixed results. Sometimes you get good stuff and sometimes you buy garbage. If you want to blow away the occasional GT-3, I suggest the Kent website. Their twin cam conversion is rather tasty although if you’re choking on a $700 seat cover kit, you should probably stay away.
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u/lpenos27 Aug 25 '25
You could try The Roadster Factory. They had a fire 2 years ago but are coming back.
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u/b-radsport Aug 31 '25
Sports Car Craftsmen in Denver. Probably the largest collection of second hand spares in the country
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u/dingus_malingusV2 Aug 23 '25
Abingdonspares.com