The search for parts for our Facels is one that is never ending. Some may have originally been made by Facel, some may have been raided from some other manufacturer’s parts box. Finding people to supply those parts or maintain them is part of the fun (allegedly) of restoring these lovely cars of ours.

I regularly hear of owners who have found the parts they want in the most intriguing ways – or owners who have found a really suitable replacement which works just as well or better. So this is a little run-down of the latest list of bits and pieces that I’ve heard of.

First of all, Glenn Hansford – whose car is featured on this site and is for sale – told me an amusing story about sourcing a pair of rear light clusters for his 1979 Aston Martin Volante some time ago. An Aston site had a pair for £240. He did a bit of research and discovered that the same cluster was fitted to the Hillman Hunter, and found a mint pair on e-bay for £45!

I’ve told a similar story about the boot locks for Facel 11, Excellence and maybe HK500. They came off the Ford Zephyr/Consul Mk2 and I found one on e-bay for £13 a few years ago, although when advertised for Facel Vegas, they cost £43 and £51. But the one advertised on e-bay UK for years from the USA is still on there, now at £200 and postage at £103!

Glenn Hansford recently needed a start relay for his HK500. He used Google images so he could view pictures of the HK500 engine bay and zoomed in on the starter relay and found dozens on American e-bay. He found one for a third of the price of one here.

While on the subject of Glenn’s HK500, he got his new windscreen from a company in Poland called Classic Glass at the amazing price of £580 including delivery. The guys that fitted it for him – at the price of £60 –  said that it was a really good quality ‘screen with the exact same thickness as the original ‘screen.

We’re often searching for replacement brake callipers and discs, and while Mark Walker has always praised PowerTrack, there is a whole industry around Exeter devoted to producing better brakes for cars and particularly Jaguars, from whom our brakes derived. Coopercraft are well known, but Xeus also produce parts.

I have a particularly sticky starter motor at the moment, so I have to carry around a hammer to clobber the offending item on a fairly regular basis in order for it to work. However, Adam Sherring  has found a product that he swears by called a WOSP, LMS 522 which will set you back close to £300 but is much more efficient and even lighter. Adam promises to tell us more soon.

Welf Schroeder recently had a problem with his hydrosteer unit in his Facel 11 and on recommendation, he sent it to PowerSteeringServices in London. He reports that ‘they took their time’ but the outcome was very professional with a perfectly working and sealed steering box delivered at the end of it. The asking price for the repair was very decent and worthwhile, and he can definitely recommend them to other Facel owners.

Jasper Beukenkamp went on to say that fitting an EZ power steering unit to the hydro steer system is not possible. However he says he recently converted a Facel II to an non-power steering box with EZ power steering unit. The result was great but expensive because you have to find a steering box in the first place. He also reports having a Facel II for sale which has an rack and pinion steering unit, but he hasn’t driven it that much to establish whether it’s a solution.

In France, there is a company which is appearing to specialise in Facellia bodywork. I’m not sure if they do anything else, but they do offer parts like the boot floor of a Facellia and various other rather unglamorous bits. They also offer doors for €1200. The individual is called Reisser and he is situated at Landerneau which is about as far west as you can go in Brittany before falling in the sea.

Finally, a couple of companies have been advertising Facel Vega wheel spinners. Orson Equipment is one company making spinners, while Concept Engineering of Dudley  had one wheel spinner on e-bay recently for sale at £160. Both companies make a range of spinners for different manufacturers.

Ends