OT parts suppliers ought to be like this OT

[JBNeal]

When looking for hard-to-find truck parts, this is the kind of place where purt'near anything can be found. Why? Rows & rows of BOOKS, with a computer on the side. Also note the roll of paper shop towels ready to go when needed, special orders pulled & waiting for pickup, and the Pontiac GTO on the calendar. Where are the guys behind the counter? At this particular moment, they had all gone to the warehouse through the door to pull parts. And it is a warehouse, not a closet, as it has a loading dock and a forklift and street access on two sides. Yep, this ain't no AutoZone or even Advanced Auto (formerly Western Auto, which most stores used to be like this), this here is A-Line Auto Parts in Waco. NAPA is close to being like this, but most of those stores are going to the AutoZone model with everything on the computer. So when the kid behind the counter gets stumped at NAPA, it's usually because the computer is telling him nothing useful, bless his heart.

I bring this up because of my '03 Buick Regal, a car that was in production for 9 yrs, and has been out of production for 6 yrs. This car is my commuter car, with a powerful & efficient V6, air conditioning & a smooth ride. I went to get the brakes overhauled as they have 80K on them. The rubber bushing with the accordian bellows was damaged on the front calipers by me, mistakenly soaking them in the parts cleaner with the caliper bracket to get all the muck off. The rubber swelled up & tore apart, so I went to get new ones. PART DISCONTINUED?!? I went to O'Reilly's, Advanced Auto, NAPA, AutoZone, Pep Boys & even the Buick dealer with no success. I tried A-Line as a last resort only because they are waaay downtown and the other places were within spitting distance of each other. They confirmed it was a discontinued part, but a couple of phone calls to warehouses in Houston later, and the parts I needed were on their way. The parts arrived as promised the next day and were exact replacements from AC Delco.

As I get ready to do the tear-down on the '48 & repairs on the '49, this was a nice exercise in patience and a reminder that hard-to-find stuff can be found if ya look in the right place. NAPA has been a good store in the past, but as I have noticed the disappearance of their parts books, I have also noticed that the younger guys running these stores can't hold a candle to them beer-bellied cig-hanging-from-the-lower-lip dudes who knew how to get things done.

[Guest Kuster13]

I agree with you.

The napa's up here in Canada seem to be limited in comparison to Lordco ( like an Autozone or O'Reilly's). For the old stuff the counter person I deal with, has to take out the catalog. The best part is I usually order the part and the catalog as well. A few times now, I've gone in near the start of the year when they are changing out the old for the new catalogs and just grab what I want. Some of the old to new interchanges are really handy. The younger counter staff are stumped when they realize the catalogs don't have USB ports or Keyboards.

Tom

[TodFitch]

...snip... The younger counter staff are stumped when they realize the catalogs don't have USB ports or Keyboards.

Tom

Like this?

[Flatie46]

We don't have an A line here in town, sounds like an excelent place though. I feel like the parts you get at autozone are seconds or something, I only buy stuff like silicone or carb cleaner there. We have two independant auto parts stores left and I like to support them. They don't sell no crap, if they have returns for quality issues they tell there suppliers they're not carrying that part. Where places like auto zone just sell you what they are sent, they have no choice. Also they seem to care more and know a bit more about cars and trucks in general.

[rustyzman]

Man, I used to be great with catalogs. Big long racks with the catalog name printed on the edge. Handwritten notes in the pages for corrections and additional info we felt we needed. I kick myself for throwing away so many as new ones came out. Not that my stuff was super old, but we easily had books referencing back to the 60's. The key now is to know the right guys at the parts stores. I have a few guys in a couple of parts houses that kept lots of old paper and can find things. Also have numbers for a few manufacturer reps that can sometimes help. Not a lot of old school parts stores left though. Here where I work we are all computer based cataloging now. We are on the service side, not the parts side but we look up all our own parts. It can be great if you know where to look. Worst case we can still call the W/D's and see if they can find them. Even the dealer cataloging isn't what it used to be on older stuff. If it does'nt have a 17 digit VIN many say they can't even look something up.

Sad changes. It would be great to upload old catalogs to something like the Old Car Manual Project. That would be really helpful.

[52diesel]

I knew that looked like an A-Line. The one here in Austin is very similar. They know their stuff.

[Big50Dodge]

If you know of anyone that is tossing out an old manual because Wagner or Cardone or some other mfg is 'updating'.. see if you can grab the old book. When I was at ADAP - which turned into Auto Palace (then I left) which was bought out by Auto Zone, I could get a line of 10 deep customers out of the store (with the right part) in about 15 - 20 minutes on the books. When I left, they were just bringing in the computers. I should have grabbed any manuals they were tossing at that time (hindsight is 20/20). There is a wealth of information in the first 9 - 12 pages, and there is typically (not always) a cross reference chart in the back pages. Munroe shocks USED to put the dimentions of the shocks in the back of the books - a little time could cross reference to something that would work.

[Dan Babb]

I had that experience this morning. The water pump on the hemi I'm building is missing the lower inlet. The computers in the big stores don't have a part listed (even they they do have parts for a 56 New Yorker which had the same engine).

Stopped by a local welding/auto shop this morning to have one made. He went to his parts books and found something close and had the part on his shelf ( grungy back room full of old parts ).

I need to open up the bolt hole just a bit...but other than that, great fit.

Now I know where to go when I need parts - and he's closer than any other place I've been going to.

[goatram-]

The NAPA's in Arlignton and Stanwood WA. Still have the books and the guys that know how to use them. Most of the young guys are trained to find the old stuff or know to ask for help. Mike the Owner is the weath of knowledge.

Problem is compitition with the Autozone's, ORielly's, PEP Boy's, and the Internet; has made the wages stagnate and the countermen at NAPA are leaving for better paying Jobs elsewhere. The Chain stores are like Walmart in the payscale fit for Teenagers not for Men with wives and kids.

The Manufactures are all going to China or India to get their parts made.

Got a good store Local, support them!

PS. my kid works there. He still lives at home too. He knows is stuff and getting better