I was 18 in 1991 when I bought a 1971 hardtop for $2,300. My dad and I spent a Saturday looking at a handful advertised in the Trading Post – they were still common as daily drivers back then – and this one-owner example was the pick of the bunch. It was a little ragged here and there but an honest purchase, and the 80 year-old seller, Bert, was a top bloke, so I named the car after him. Fast forward thirty years and it was time to get Bert the Hardtop back into action, with a new look and a new driveline.

It was the perfect platform for a young apprentice mechanic to sink his time and money into, and before long it was sitting on the deck and running a pretty hot six-cylinder. By the late 90s, it was running a high 13-second 265 along with 60s muscle car stripes and US hubcaps, whitewalls and a custom full grille. The hardtop was used for street and drag duties for many years, before adult responsibilities and other projects took a back seat.

The first job for Bert was a V8 conversion to replace the old six. eBay’s seller network quickly sorted my shopping list with everything from core pieces like the camshaft, gasket set, piston rings and bearings purchases, right through to accessories such as water and fuel pumps, mufflers and even engine paint.

Back when I was a kid, I spent every weekend at the local speed shop and wrecking yard, but these days I just don’t have the time. Instead, I buy most of my parts on eBay. Rather than traveling store to store, I can compare parts online during my lunch break or with my feet up on the couch at night. And the parts are delivered to my door lickety split. 

With parts at hand and a strong determination to complete one job on this rebuild daily, Bert was back up and running in months and my world was in balance again! 

With the new engine fitted, I got the itch to go drag racing again and some dyno time soon revealed the need for some upgrades. The carburettor I was using had 20 years under its belt and was overdue to be swapped out for a slightly larger version.

After searching for top-rated sellers on eBay, I found a brand-new replacement along with some tuning parts such as power valves and jets. I was able to find a spacer block and heatshield, which were easily sourced to improve the car’s road manners during Queensland summers. 

New tyres were a must and combined with the addition of a tachometer adapter, my old-school tacho now works seamlessly with the modern ignition. It is now race ready! 

Bert’s upgrades weren’t purely mechanical; after looking visually the same for 25 years. I felt that a makeover was long overdue. Enter my love for 1960s Super Stock drag cars and ‘Loose Morals’ was born. An important element to this of course was ensuring the stickers and styling cues were correct for that era, and a quick browse of eBay revealed a wealth of suppliers for brand new reproduction and new old stock decals. I was stoked!

Learning about the personal stories of items and unique finds is a cool bonus of searching for parts this way. A listing from a private eBayer looking to downsize his collection ticked a huge item off the bucket list – super rare finned alloy valve covers, unused and stored in the seller’s back shed for decades were a holy grail find for me.

I regularly shop for general maintenance parts for my daily driver and it’s my first port of call when trying to find something that is a little bit left of field; repairs to my dad’s 1970s-era truck were a cinch, being able to source and purchase items that have long-left the traditional parts stores.  

Time, money and motivation are the challenging three when it comes to keeping your classic project moving forward; eBay helped me, by making the parts buying process more time efficient and giving me a huge range of options for my hard-earned cash. Having the parts at hand might be just the catalyst needed to give that all-important motivation a nudge.    

Shop every part and accessory for your next car restoration project on eBay, here.