Stocking parts

[OldPly]

What parts should I keep on my parts shelf ? In stock

I understand tuneup parts (points, router, cap, etc) fan belt , seal beam headlight, (ever wonder why cars parked and not beening driven are missing headlights)  oil filter, motor gasket kit, and a few other gaskets , starter,horn relay (have a few from Princess Auto) break shoes,wiper blades, 

 

Not wanting to upset some people but some have so many parts it would put a parts  supplying store to shame 

 

But if I could find a p15 not repairable I mean really bad for a parts car , I would save everything I could 

 

[capt den]

how big is the shelf? just joking. i have collected many parts and found i rarely ever need one. except for a lot of consummable ones like you mentioned, hard parts like tailights,steering wheels,rims, and many others are nice to have but rarely needed. i have found trading them for what you do need can be a good reason to keep them. i have alot of trim parts, guages, switches,etc that sit in the box for years. we are at least saving parts for future owners. i need a 6 bladed fan. anyone have one of those stored away? i have a spare 4 bladed to trade.   capt den

[Dan Hiebert]

Ditto capt den.  A quick answer is a non-answer; "how much room do you have?"  But the parts to be conscientious about would be the ones you tend to actually need during the regular maintenance of your car, such as what you've listed.  While most are still available from various sources, I like to have them on hand to do that particular task now, rather than wait a week or two if I have to order the part(s).  I have all of that for each of our cars in their own labeled tote, as I use it, I order a replacement "for the shelf".  Like capt den, I've found that holding onto any harder to find stuff, like trim pieces, pays off for bartering purposes, rather than for use on what we have in the stable.  If it was a challenge to find a particular part, I'll try to get an extra, but those extras have never been needed so far.

[Eneto-55]

My dad always had an extra starter, generator, & voltage regulator that he took along on trips.  (This was for the family car, which was usually around 6 to 12 years old.  He didn't do it anymore with the more modern cars - like starting with the 71 Olds he had - mainly, I think, because it was no longer a relatively simple task to R & R those parts on the side of the road.  But I also don't recall him ever needing to do it.  It was just a precaution, maybe a hold-over from the past era.)

[Sam Buchanan]

I don't stock parts for my P15, just get what I need when/if they are needed. It isn't a daily driver even though I drive it often. What parts would most folks have kept around back in the day? Probably not much...... 

 

These cars are so well designed that once you get one in good mechanical condition it doesn't take much to keep it in service.

Edited March 22, 2023 by Sam Buchanan

[desoto1939]

I think the real answer to your question regarding having spare parts stored all depends on how hard it is currently to find those parts at a swap meet or flee market.  I have a 39 Desoto. This is a one year body style. The 38 and then the 40 Desoto are totally different.  So, for me, and I have owned the car for 35 years, I have found that if you see a particular part and the price isa great price then you better buy it.  You do not see these parts. The other day I found a left taillight lens for the 38 at a swap meet and the price was to good to pass if up.  This was going to be a spare to the spare taillight lens collection, because they do not make reproductions 39 Desoto lens.

 

I am glad that i purchased the lens because two days later I received a call from a 39 Desoto coupe owner that needed a left taillight lens, so I was able to help this gentleman. I do collect and resale and this is another way to supplement my hobby along with collecting automotive cross reference catalogs.

 

So each owner has to decide what to have on hand for future use and also maybe for future resale.  We all have to remember that some of these cars were produced some 80 years ago and for alot of these old cars they are not reproducing the items like you get with Chevy and Ford cars.  So we must all be prepared for the future replacement parts.  I have been going to Hershey swap meet for 35 years and the older mopar parts are not being found.  So I plan for the future at all times.

 

When I get a part with a box I put a code that I know on the inside lid with the date and my cost so that if I put it up for sale at a later date I know hat I need to get to at least beak even.

 

This is just my 50 cents worth of input, but be prepared for the future repairs.

 

Comments welcome.

 

Rich Hartung

 

[Sniper]

I don't generally stock anything.  But if RockAuto sends me an email of parts they are liquidating I look it over and maybe buy it if it's a harder to get part.  Unfortunately, of late that seems to be most parts.

[desoto1939]

1 hour ago, Sam Buchanan said:

I don't stock parts for my P15, just get what I need when/if they are needed. It isn't a daily driver even though I drive it often. What parts would most folks have kept around back in the day? Probably not much...... 

 

These cars are so well designed that once you get one in good mechanical condition it doesn't take much to keep it in service.

Sam:  I quess the answer would be the same for our modern cars. Since the antique cars that we are driving now would have had all of the parts that were needed at the dealership when the cars just came out to the public. So maybe an owner would carry a cap, points, rotor and some plugs but mabe only the plugs.  Most people still took their cars to a mechanic to get things repaired when these were still fairly new.

 

Even in todays market there are so many electrical parts and computers the average guy can not fix a car let alone change the oil or even find the sparkplugs.  The plug wiree of todays cars are not the same that we have in our antique cars.

 

Totally different animal today.

 

Rich Hartung

[Sam Buchanan]

I readily accept that for some enthusiasts collecting (hoarding?) parts is an enjoyable facet of the hobby, and that is ok. It may also create some degree of confidence knowing a spare is readily at hand.

 

My point was that I haven't found it necessary to stock spares to keep my P15 on the road since I returned it to good service condition. 

Edited March 22, 2023 by Sam Buchanan