Help, I'm under pressure to get rid of my Mk1!!!

Hi all. I’m looking for help/advice. I’ve had my 1986 Mars Red Mk1 Cabrio since 1995, and I love it  – the roof is off more than on, and it even drove us away from the church when we got married. Trouble is, it’s still a daily driver (10k a year or so at the moment) and we have no garage to keep it in, and the bits are getting harder and harder for the mechanic to find. We did spend quite a bit on it in the last 5 years or so, for re-bore and properly sorting out the bodywork. But it’s had two “big ones” this year (burst fuel line, and now a new head and piston 4), so the pressure is mounting to get something more sensible. I’m even wondering myself if it’s a bit mad now, since we do need two cars and we don’t have anywhere obvious to store it locally as a third fun car to come out “for high days and holidays”.

My current mechanic guy is absolutely great, but he struggles to get decent bits now, even basic service items, so sometimes it’s out of action for a while (like right now) and he ends up having to make stuff – and now he’s now telling me even more firmly that I really should call it a day, at least as a daily driver. My wife really feels the same. Has anyone found a solution to this? (Which doesn't involve ditching the wife - I still quite like her! :-).  I.e. has anyone found a way to have a daily driver Mk1 that can be serviced and kept on the road without too much hassle/delay? Or are we beyond that point now with Mk1s? Maybe the ideal would be a garage near Wrexham that specialises in Mk1s, and so has the network in place to source all the parts quickly - but I’m not sure such a thing exists. It would be better if I had time to do stuff myself, but I don’t really – I’m not even very good at checking the oil etc, let alone work on it, I just love the car.

Any ideas?!

I just sort of "re-remembered" that I made a post 5 years ago when I was in trouble last time :-).

I met some of the guys locally soon after the post, and someone posted some photos of it as it was then (see my previous post). Since then, the body's been sorted (new doors, bonnet, suspension, proper paint job).

I would stick with it , you can buy a newer car and still have problems , at least the mk1  doesn't depreciate like a newer car. 
As for parts there are always places like gsf , eurocarparts..or maybe use this forum wanted section   , people like funkstar, hibbs , crazy quiff can usually help.    I'm sure you will regret selling 

Which basic service items is he having trouble obtaining?

Hi Paul_C, thanks for responding. I'm actually not 100% sure which specific parts (it's a comment he made), but I do know that the last few times it's been to him he's had to scratch around for bits, and occasionally he couldn't get them and I've had to chase stuff down off eBay etc, and sometimes they're low quality and he ends up having to fix/modify them, or even return them and look again. He's not keen to do 2nd hand sourcing 'himself cos it takes time and he ends up having to faff about when bits come etc - I do sympathise with him. What I/he needs is a good reliable source of quality parts without too much chasing/faffing, since it's challenging for me to get to work etc when the car is laid up for days/weeks at a time. Or ideally a local mechanic who's sorted all the sourcing out and has ready access to common parts etc.

Shouldn't really have a problem via gsf/ecp for basic bits and also most engine/running issues that arise. 

Seems he wants to be a modern day mechanic to me. 

Thanks Brad - maybe all's not lost if you reckon parts are OK! He's an older guy and pretty old-school in fact - I chose him 'cos he had an old Stag shell which he talked lovingly about, and he came well recommended. I think he uses ecp, but not sure about gsf, will mention to him. I guess it's just a pain for him chasing down bits etc, (and maybe he's not all that organised). I'm hoping someone local to Wrexham responds to recommend somewhere!

Just got it back - nearly £2k  :-(    including 4 new pistons, head assembly, water pump, alternator…. ouch… he seems to use ecp/gsf and others already, but says the less common items are running out and increasingly harder to get. This means getting deeper into second hand parts which he finds are not always much better than the one he's replacing. Overall he's just finding it  takes more and more time to chase down the parts, often needing importing etc, rather than just making one call to order everything at once. Does this not sound right? Is he missing something?

Sounds expensive. You would have been cheaper doing an engine swap?
Just my opinion but I could be wrong?