Sport and Classic Car Company
&
Billions of Car Parts Company
10525 Airline Drive Houston, Texas 77037
281.448.4739
Interplanetary renowned Sport and Classic Car Company has for 45 years or more offered extensive rebuilding services and supplies parts and a considerable number of components and assemblies for Bentley, Jaguar, MG, Rolls-Royce, Triumph, Austin Healey, Sunbeam, TVR, Aston Martin, Riley, Morris and a variety of other British cars and some vintage Mercedes Benz. Many car owners that come here have family automotive heirlooms that have been passed down to them and these owners usually want these cars well cared for. This is what we are about as many owners rely on us to be their heirloom caretakers or to rebuild something in particular. This section is primarily for cars that were not built by Rolls-Royce or Bentley.
A common question we receive is when will I get my car back? This question is hard to answer as many owners ask us to do much more work than they originally told us they wanted after we have a chanceto examine their car. This is because whilst working on a car we may observe other areas that need renovation of various complexity and these owners want their car returned in good condition. So the job takes longer than planned and other jobs in the que have to await their moment a bit longer. Parts are always a issue as no matter how many parts we stock or that exist there are always parts that will take time to acquire or rebuild. This is the nature of vintage car works. Car owners that are impatient, demanding or that cannot wait for the time and effort required to do the work they want will not enjoy the process.
Carburetor Rebuilding
We rebuild and stock many parts for S.U. carburetors such as those used on Jaguar, MG, Triumph, Austin Healey and many British cars. We rebuild Stromberg carburetors such as used on MG, Jaguar and Triumph and we rebuild Weber carburetors such as those used on Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati and Alfa Romeo as well as replacement Weber carbs used for high performace applications.
Everything's better with a red bonnet on it
For a long time client whose Jaguar E-Type had an physical altercation with a larger object that resulted in damage to the bonnet, we supplied and fitted a new bonnet assembly. This veteran 1973 Jag had experienced several previous front end collisions over the years and this job involved more than just fitting the new bonnet as we reworked the old repairs that had not been well done and made everything such as the new grill fit well. E-Type body parts were never made with absolute precision and new parts supplied nowadays are made the same way. New bonnets cannot simply be bolted on to E-Types and achieve a nice fit as they were and still are handmade. New body parts all have to be fettled to fit.
Now Voyager
Sometimes a vintage car owner wants to drive car on a extended journey. The car may have only been driven occasionally for many years or decades. To enable the car to make it without a breakdown, here is a list of things to be confident about:
1. Electric fuel pumps can get hot with extended use and fail on long trips.
2. water pump seals and bearings can fail.
3. Drive belts and coolant hoses can fail.
4. Tires dry rot and can burst.
Engines
We have rebuilt a great many Jaguar 2.4, 3.4, 3.8, 4.2 and 12 cylinder engines, all manner of MG engines such as MGT series, MGA, MGB, MGC and Midget as well asTriumph TR 4,TR6 and TR8 cylinder engines and Austin Healey 3000, Jensen Healey, Lotus, Maserati and many other British engines over the years. We supply parts for these engines to machine shops, engine rebuild shops and gear heads. .
1950 MGTD engine work
This very nice early 1950 MGTD had the engine rebuilt around 30 years ago or longer by an MG shop that is long gone. The owner brought the car to us with a complaint that the freeze plugs were leaking. Replacing the freeze plug on the back of the engine block requires removing the engine so in such situations we look for other work the car might need and a close look revealed the head gasket was seeping as well as most of the freeze plugs were weeping. These photos show the cooling ports in the block and head as found. Observe the clogged passages that severly reduce coolant flow. This blockage may be caused by various antifreeze solutions being used with incompatible additives. The cylinder head turned out to have been surfaced to the max and was warped so we supplied a used replacment head.
This photo shows a well worn MGTD cam follower or tappet from the same engine. Observe the scoring, pitting and gouging on the side walls. This condition may be a combination of different oils and additives used over many years and or considerable wear or contaminated oil. These tappets were likely not replaced when the engine was rebuilt. We replaced the tappets, pushrods and rocker shaft as all were worn.
Here is the refreshed MGTD engine about to be mated to the transmission. The transmission was resealed and cleaned up.
Typical MGA Engine
This photo shows an MGA engine that was rebuilt with new pistons, bearings, camshaft, valves, chain, clutch etc. going right on into the engine bay.
The completed MGA engine installation. On this job we cleaned, prepared and painted the engine bay as well.
Typical MGB engine
A typical MGB engine rebuild in the final assembly stages.
Our web writer wrote the following thoughts twice and could not decide which version best expressed the deteriorating parts quality situation so here is version #1.
All our engine rebuilds were carefully done using the best quality parts available. This said, it's very much a changing world and not always for the better regarding vintage car parts as most parts for MG and Triumph cars are made in Taiwan or China these days. Who knows what sort of materials they use?The quality is frequently abysmal and the quality of any job is only as good as the parts that go into the project. Many established and respected manufacturing companies have moved production of quality parts out of England and the USA to what are known as third world countries such as India, China and Indonesia and have done so because these companies can offer parts at the lowest possible cost by using very low cost labor combined with sometimes cheap or unknown quality materials and thus increase profits. The old companies are not what they were. Some companies are essentially just using the names of the old companies to lend credence to their low quality parts. To produce parts at the lowest cost with little regard for quality means that owners that want parts made to a high standard no longer have much of a choice. Even if an owner is willing to pay twice as much for quality parts this desire matters not as in many situations there are no high quality options available. We would prefer that manufacturers not follow this short sighted and destructive business trend and would instead produce parts to a high quality with verifiable quality standards on the expectation that owners will be willing to pay for top quality. Otherwise it's a continuing downward spiral and to what end? Manufacturers should not expect to make good pistons from old beer cans while paying workers little to nothing and expect quality goods in return but some do.
Here is version #2. The same thing but different...
These days the parts quality of many new aftermarket engine parts for the majority of vintage non Rolls-Royce or Bentley cars is not certain. Some of these poor quality parts are so bad that we and other quality shops refuse to use them as an engine or anything will only be as good as the parts used to make it. This sad state of affairs has been caused by a business model that seeks to sell parts for the lowest possible price without much regard for quality. Two major manufacturers of quality pistons for British cars were Covmo and Hepolite (long gone) and AE ( now made in India). Many of the respected names in car part manufacturing folded up or moved their factories out of England and all that is left of them is a once well respected nameplate.
Nowadays we rebuild engines with high quality custom made parts mixed with new old stock parts so we can still offer a quality rebuild. We search and pay whatever we have to to get the parts we want. These parts are much more expensive than the reproduction trash parts so our engines take longer to do and are certainly not low price competitive. We build engines for owners that want the best engines they can get without regard for the cost because that is the only way a good engine can be rebuilt these days. Until manufacturers decide there is a sufficient market to make parts of quality for these cars, this sad state of affairs is the way it will be. Yes, we cannot stand to look at junk parts and imagining them in our engine rebuilds so we don't.
2. Manual transmissions- We rebuild a lot of transmissions from vintage Mercedes Benz, Jaguar, MG Austin Healey and Triumph as well as others cars that cannot be named here. We inspect the inside components for wear and all worn parts are replaced with quality parts as available. Transmissions generally always receive new bearings, synchronizer rings, seals and gaskets with all other parts such as gears and shafts examined and replaced as required if available. As new parts are not always available, sometimes we will locate and use a better condition vintage part. The concept is to make a transmission better than it was.
3. Laycock Overdrive units. We do rebuild these units and have a few for sale.
4. Steering and suspension systems- There are many enhancements available to improve the drivability of certain cars and allow them to retain a stock appearance. For example, we offer many shock absorber applications that when combined with new springs and bushings will greatly improve the handling of a car.
5. We rebuild differentials from all the cars we normally work on. Some vintage differentials like those from early 1950's MG's are amongst the most difficult to set up and is why most are in poor condition these days.
Mercedes Benz 190sl
This 1957 Mercedes Benz 190sl came in for suspension and brake work of undetermined extent. The car was well kept by an appreciative owner and he wanted the car examined to determine the condition under the car. We found rubber bushings that were dry rotted, a leaking transmission, poor brake shoe wear patterns and some extensive rebuilding to the suspension and steering was in order as the shocks and springs and most everything else was quite ancient. More later.
I like my car not shaken or stirred
A 2001 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage V12 having the power steering system rebuilt with new hoses and a rebuilt rack. This car was involved in a collision when it was very young some years ago and we found lots of old sins such as finger loose bolts on the brake calipers, many missing bolts, RTV sealer used instead of gaskets, self tapping screws jammed everywhere, lots of missing clamps, wiring twisted into knots, hoses routed too close to hot exhaust pipes, bent suspension componets, other componets forced to fit by bending or hacking them, mis-matched front springs, loose anti- sway bar etc.
We also found a little safety issue as the air bags were disconnected and the module was missing. Someone had removed the bulb from the SRS warning lamp and the car owner had been driving the car for years without knowing the air bag was disconnected. The car looked great on the outside though the missing fender to body bolts were not a good omen.
It is always a healthy idea that after a "uncommon in the common world of automobiles high performance car" emerges from the mercies of an unskilled body shop that does not really know these cars well to take the car directly to a highly qualified mechanical shop for a complete check up on how well the re-assembly details were performed and it is best to plan on considerable finishing and detail work to get the car back into good condition.
MGB Supercharger installation with a five speed transmission and Very Big Brakes
This lucky 1974 MGB has a long time owner that wants it to be more than the sum of what it was. The engine was in sad shape. In the first photo you can see some bolts that had backed off the camshaft retaining plate and the bolts fell into the oil pan. There were many other problems with the motor. We rebuilt the engine and configured it for a supercharger installation with a special profiled camshaft and stainless headers. The headers are wrapped with heat wrap material. We installed a five speed transmission kit and so this MGB rocket will stop well considering the new power it will be wielding a Willwood four piston big brake kit was fitted. We made and fitted all new brake pipes with a new brake master cylinder. The front and rear suspension as well as steering were also rebuilt with new springs and non stock bushings. As some cosmetic attention was required, we stripped the engine bay to the metal, primed with catalyzed primers and repainted it. More later...
Triumph TR3
This car is receiving new rear axle bearings, front wheel bearings, brake rotors, rebuilt brake calipers with new pistons, brake master cylinder, wheel cylinders, brake shoes, brake hoses and some new steel brake pipes as well. We rebuilt the electric overdrive that had never worked for this owner and made the car into a solid driver.
5. Differentials. We rebuild these units for a great many British cars. We can change the gear ratio as well for certain applications and new supply Posidrive differentials for many cars.
This MGC roadster received a replacement differential.
6. See #7.
7. See #6
7.1 Electrical systems. We rewire entire cars quite often or repair whatever electrical problems may exist. We have many reliable "fixes" for cars that suffer from poorly engineered factory wiring.
7.2 Electric motors. We supply new motors and rebuild obsolete electric motors of all sorts from pre 1900 antique electric fan motors to more modern motors from the 1940's to now such as window and wiper motors, shifter motors, blower motors etc.
Challenges such as a complete rewire on Jensen Interceptor series are amongst the jobs we have done.
Interesting cars like AC Bristols drop by from time to time for a little this and that and we do
supply some parts for AC Bristol and Bristol cars.
8. Brake jobs? What is a brake job anyway? This is a fairly meaningless description as there is not one all encompassing brake job on a car as all cars need different things done depending on the age and condition of the systems unless the car has been sitting for many years and all systems are deteriorated. We perform all sorts of brake repairs from complete replacement of entire systems to minor work like replacing brake pads or fluid flushes. We restore complete brake systems on vintage cars and make and fit all new brake fluid pipes and flexible hoses.
A fresh disc brakes rebuild on a circa 1965 Jaguar as a part of a rear suspension package of work. Whatever a car requires to have safe and proper brakes we do it.
9. Carburetors? We rebuild S.U. , Weber, Dellortto, Solex, Zenith and Stromberg carburetors and can supply new carbs in certain applications.
10. Lucas distributors? We rebuild lots of obsolete units and can supply new distributors for some applications.
Veritable Velox
We work with cars from England that are uncommon in the USA or anywhere nowadays such as this 1961 Vauxhall Velox with styling inspired by the 1950's rocket designs of the USA. For this car we made new brake pipes and rebuilt the entire brake system. The car was bought new by the owners father in the U.K. Nice tail lamps.
Ailing Alvis
Here we have a 1950's Alvis in to rebuild the water pump. The job involves removing some of the front body parts.
1963 Triumph Spitfire
This attractive very early Spitfire was mostly restored in an unknown fashion somewhere around 20 or more years ago. The car was driven very little since and was essentially stored away. The owner decided to have it woken up. The engine no longer ran, the brakes were partically seized and the suspension rubber parts and tires were dry rotted.The engine mounts were sagging and other age related parts needed a refresh.
In
this photo, taken before our
work began, the previous restorer fitted a clutch master cylinder as a brake
master cylinder and this is a no no. Brake master cylinders have a much
larger fluid reservoir than clutch master cylinders because as brake linings
wear, the fluid goes down in the reservoir and there needs to be plenty of fluid
in the reservoir to compensate. This no no may have been done because the
original brake master cylinder was discontinued in the late 1970's or so. The
bumpers will be replated as the previous replating was not done to last. The
carpets were threadbare from insects having a slow feast More photos will follow
as work progresses.
1961 MGA 1600 previously restored with spray paint
This MGA had a expensive story. It was "restored" over 10 years by an enthusist and then sold for around $34,000. The new owner brought it to us for evalaution and we found a lot of time and paint had been expended making the under chassis suspension and brakes look good but few parts were replaced. Many bolts and fasteners were found to be finger tight and other bolt holes had too small bolts fits to larger holes. Rusty old bolts were refitted and over all the car drove very poorly.
The rear leaf spring bolts had been cut off with a cutting torch in such a manner that large holes were made in the attachment points. This is a very bad thing as the spring is not firmly secured and was literally off center. The springs were refitted with bolts that were much smaller that the holes. This was a serious problem. As the front and rear dampers had no remaining oil and the front springs were collapsing, the suspension was a disaster. The steering was not much better as
A little horror story about a hot Jag
An owner shipped a 1972 Jaguar E-Type 2+2 to us so we could examine and advise about a situation concerning fire damage. The car had recently been in a Jaguar specialty shop for repairs. About 20 minutes after the car drove off from their shop the cockpit started filling with smoke. The owner saw flames coming out of the bonnet vents and managed to pull over and stop the fire. The car owner, spooked by the experience had the car towed to us.
We examined the car and found an aftermarket plastic hose from the engine block to oil gauge that had been draped on top of the exhaust manifold. The hose melted and high pressure oil squirted all over the engine and caught fire. The original Smiths gauge is electric and does not use a hose. Had we done this job we would have rebuilt the original gauge and would never have fitted a el cheapo gauge in it's place. The owner of the repair shop that had recently performed the naughty work on the car came over to view the sad situation. We gingerly discussed the poor workmanship while pointing out the new and melted oil line they had installed and also pointed out the exhaust system had been attached using bolts rather than studs as original. Why this matters is that over time, bolts rust solid to the exhaust manifold and when removed sometimes the manifolds will crack. Jaguar and many British car makers use studs rather than bolts for flanges. The moral of the story is that sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes you get something else.
A shop's reputation is everything and we do all we can to preserve and always reach higher with ours by making sure all work is well done and is performed at an affordable cost such that an owner gets what he wants and we can continue to earn a living and improve the shop so we can continue to provide the intensive sort of work we offer.
Many people nowadays want to do something to help our environment and it sure needs a lot of help as we all breath and drink it. In the USA it is estimated that some 11 million gallons of dirty polluted oil leaks from cars each year or the equivalent of the Exxon Valdez oil spill, an amazing and sobering statistic. Much of this oil makes its way to the water system and eventually into the oceans and into every creature on earth and sea. This is not good. Used motor oil does not taste good either. But we as individuals can do our small part to make the world a better place to live and drive in. As cars are responsible for much of the worlds pollution in one way or another, here are some things you can do to cut down on your major source of pollution.
1. Many cars leak oil and fluids as the car ages and various seals age and leak. If your car is leaking engine oil or transmission fluid or suspension fluids, these leaks should and can be repaired or substantially lessened. By keeping these fluids in the cars components where they belong you will be making a tangible difference. If you think your oil leaks do not matter in the scheme of things, multiply your leak by many millions of times as there are millions of leaking cars out there. Some things are worth paying for and fixing oil leaks is an example where the individual can make a difference. After all no creature wants to drink dirty motor oil.
2. You can make sure your car is running as well as it can. Even though the car may be vintage and without any anti pollution gear the engine can be tuned to run as cleanly as possible.
3. You can change your air filter as dirty air filters result in much higher fuel consumption. If you live in a dusty area you might want to consider purchasing a washable air filter from us. If you live in a vacuum you don't have to worry about an air filter!
4. Keep your tires properly inflated. Low air pressure results in poor fuel mileage and poor handling thus costing you money you don't need to waste and also greatly lessens the life of the tires and this also costs you money.
5. It is much less harmful to the environment to keep your car in good non leaking condition rather than buying a new car.
6. It is always better for OUR environment if you purchase your parts from us!
A Sunbeam Tiger leaves us after a refresh in our automobile resort.
Evaluating a car shop
If you are considering having repair or service work performed on your car by any professional shop anywhere some basic things to check out aside from how long the shop has been seriously engaged in working with these cars would be finding out what sort of documentation will you be receiving? For example, we have seen many sketchy skimpy wimpy invoices for major rebuilding work with substantial (many tens of thousands) sums being spent and the car owner when asked for copies of the invoices for previous work that was done will sometimes produce an invoice that may state a vague description such as " rebuild motor" or "brake job" or such and aside from the dollar amount at the bottom of the invoice little or nothing else is revealed. There are no or few parts listed and perhaps no sales taxes and no individual labors denoted so there is no way to really know what was done. Consumers should not tolerate vague invoicing as details absolutely do matter. Any and all parts used on a job should be listed and priced. All labors should be detailed to some degree with more than a few words and priced. We have spoken with car owners that have spent $20-30K and much more on a car and have no paperwork detailing payments made or what labors the job entailed or anything at all. They do have a car that is in lots of pieces. Detailed documentation about works done on your car do enhance the value of the car to knowledgeable buyers.
Once upon a time we visited New Zealand on a business trip and met the hobbit proprietor of a Jaguar used parts business. The place was a complete environmental nightmare as large amounts of oil, antifreeze, transmission fluid and lubricants had been spilled from cars being broken for parts and so much fluid had soaked into the ground that the dirt was oozing oil. Thousands of nuts and bolts and bits of cars were smushed into the dirt. We met the proprietor and noticed that he wore no shoes. His feet were literally black with dirt and oil that had worked into his flesh and the goo was gushing between his toes. He was a nice fellow and very knowledable but the manner that he used to run his business was unforgettable. He repaired Jaguar cars there as well.
Evaluating a car owner
Aside from ability to pay the bill, most busy shops want customers that share their vision of quality work. Quality standards can range from non-existant to superlative. Superlative work takes more time to accomplish and owners that want great work done fast have not learned that such is a conflict. Shops that slop something together to get it out the door as quickly as possible are not the place to take the sort of cars we work with. What British cars want are owners and shops that respect the design and like the cars.
Wrecked cars can be fun to look at as long as they are not yours. We finish this page with a photo of a 1971 Morris Mini that fought a Mustang and lost.
For parts orders call 281.448.4739 or Send us an e-mail!
Sport and Classic Car Company
10525 Airline Drive
Houston, Texas 77037
USA
telephone 281.448.4739
