Seems everything I buy these days is either the wrong part or on back order. Went to the local auto supplier to replace the rear wheel cylinders on my avatar AV8. Parts guy was about 19 and had little knowledge of what the hell I was looking for. Must have previously worked at the golden arches. After much discussion he finally said he found the parts I needed..be in 2-3 days. Week later no parts,10 days later they arrive. Wrong parts! Screw it, I'll mail order from another vendor and again wrong parts arrive. I'm cursed because now on my third attempt and third supplier the parts are back ordered 8 weeks after telling me to expect delivery 3-7 days. Reluctantly I was forced to order rebuild kits from Amazon and they arrived on time and correct. Too much grief for so little an item but that's the world we live
I use Rock Auto for a lot of older model Vehicle parts but find that Amazon serves as a third party seller for a lot of small businesses around the country. I've bought a lot of parts through them that came from small operations around the country.
Sacramento vintage ford. I drive up regularly and they have everything in stock 99% of the time. I'm sure they can ship you the correct parts in less than 10 days.
The parts people nowdays don't know old stuff.Went to one a while back looking for shocks for my wifes Chevy Vega he said he never heard of one who makes it.I just left the store.
I have mostly given up on local parts houses. I had a good Napa by where I worked, which closed a few years back. The other local Napa store.. the parts guys are terrible. We have a real old parts store locally, they can just go in the back, rummage a bit and surface with the correct part... costly most of the time. I went to a Pep Boys and an Advanced store 2 years back to get one of those horseshoe clips that holds the e-brake lever to the brake shoe. I even brought the mangled piece with me and gave them countless tips on where to look. Time-wise, I would have been better off machining one up.
yep , let's turn this into a bashing of auto parts stores you guys need to get a job there and show them how it's done
Worked a parts counter part time in my younger days (for the discount on parts). I found that restorers and hotrodders were the biggest pains in my ass. They wanted me to be as passionate about their car as they were, and threw a fit when I wasn't. I finally got fed up with the bullshit and asked one guy why the fuck I should like his car, when I didn't even like him. That was my last day as a counter man. Told the owner I could live without the discount, rather than spend another minute putting up with the shit.
subject continues to be brought up here, and other sites I go to - last week was going to order a few items on Sale listed on a big car parts site - in description of a couple of items was the statement "arriving soon" -hmmm? - called to find out what that meant - "expecting parts to them in eight weeks" - yikes!
Parts guys are a lost art just like everything else. And I'm not bashing a parts store. First off, if you walk into a parts store that says "discount auto parts" right on their big sign, everything is your fault lol. I have good luck at my local o'Reilly's, there are actual parts counter people there that have a clue as to what their job is. Not all em are, but most. They have lots of computer knowledge, but know nothing about an automobile, any automobile, not just my automobile. I asked one day for a 3/16" brake line pressure switch. (This was advance) i might as well kicked the door open and pointed a gun at them! It was hilarious! Then the whole "what are you working on" questions started. I fucked em up when I said "it's a custom built chopper frame with a Harley evo and a 4 speed". He said we don't sell motorcycle parts. I said i don't need motorcycle parts lol. Oh the joy, but then again, they fuck up my order at the golden arches too, plus they make me pull up and wait. That's hell on a 300lb man
I was unable to buy copper crush washers for brake hose at 2 local stores, oreilly, napa, didnt even try autozone. These uses to be in a bin / rack, now they are packaged with the caliper. I could have purchased a deluxe caliper service kit for $35 per caliper.....to get the washers. Farm and Fleet had soft copper crush washers, I carefully enlarged ID for tight fit on the banjo bolt. Its not always the counter guys fault, they can only sell what they have a SKU for. This whole BS was the result of replacing the brake hoses on my daily driver truck with russell braded lines 2-3 years ago, they came with aluminum crush washers. Driving along and the pedal hit the floor, road salt had corroded the aluminum crush washers so badly they blew out. Luckily I was only a few blocks from home and able to limp it home on rear brakes only, just about emptied the reservoir. I guess my fault for using the aluminum washers or upgrading hoses. I dont know.
I went into a NAPA store once to buy some DOT 5 silicone brake fluid for my VW that I had converted when I rebuilt the brake system years ago. Guy at the counter refused to sell it to me because, according to him, "it's only meant for high performance cars."
I never intended to bash parts stores or their employees. Always try to buy local whatever it is and frequent local mom and pop stores when possible but those days seems to be gone. Miss the days when parts guys were more attuned to the parts and their purpose. Every day is a learning day for us all. Anyway traditional hot rods don't fit cookie cutter molds so we all have to improvise. Forget trying to find domestic sourced made parts.
I have had shipping delays from my trusty long term sources. It’s worldwide. Let’s hope it goes better.
Around here locally we have NAPA, AZ and Oriellys. We also have access to their part numbers. Really no excuse to not be able to have the number with you when you walk in the doors. Instead of asking for a “brake spring for a 19xx” go in and give them the part number. Now if you can’t find the part number yourself before going in, can’t blame the counter person for not knowing what you’re looking for
Some websites have a "Pickup up today" box. I check the box and print out the screen showing the part number and the part is in stock. And it does help that I leave the "Azzhole attitude" at home... Had some OT suspension bushings that were a 2 day delivery to the store. Took 4 days, I asked nicely, the Fedex tracker showed it in route, thanked them for checking for me. Remember, a good counter person is a valuable asset when you are dealing with oddball vehicles. Russ
Hunt for the Mom and Pop places online that specialize in what you need. They are still there and need all the support you can give to stay open to serve you in the future. Joe
Couple of issues being discussed here. I ordered an Edelbrock carb part back in April and just got it last week!It was not in stock anywhere else I had researched so it must have been a manufacturing issue. I just replaced some radiator hoses on one of our rods we didnt build and when I took the old ones in to look for something to work they always let me go in the back with them to help find them. There were hardly any hoses and I asked what was going on and he told me that they are out of stock on lots of items. Says they are ordering the stock it just all backordered. It isnt the counter persons fault that they dont know what conglomerations we have put together. I have found being nice and explaining what I am looking for gets me a long way!
I've been trading at my local parts store since I got out of the Army in 1973. It has real counter people who know their stuff and how to use the books for the odd ball stuff I deal in that isn't in the computer. If they don't have it in stock they can usually get it from the warehouse in a couple of hours. A recent part I needed was in Fresno but they still had it the next day. On a rare occasion they are out of line price wise compared to say Autozone but when I bring it to the manager's attention she makes it right. And they stand behind what they sell 100% no questions asked. This is why they are my go to source even if I might be able to find what I need on line for a bit less. That includes fluids and other supplies that are cheaper at Wally World.
hotrodrhp…this maybe a little crazy to ask but unless I’m changing wheel cylinder diameter or they are so badly pitted I NEVER replace them. I’ve been using the same hone and ball hone for the finish for over 50 years. I even have a 2 brush for veedubs. The cups have the diameter written on the back and unless he supports and spring are rusty they not needed but are in a kit along with outer seal protectors. . . . If stuck or lacking a book that shows the correct #; they have been able to look up diameter. Just my way..
I remember the cartoon of the guy in a parts store pointing to the part he needs and the part guy saying " I don't care what you say the computer says we don't have it "
Normally I would agree but my car build was started by another HAMB member and like most cars of this era parts are not OEM parts. I did in fact have part numbers however.
I was taking the path of least resistance getting wheel cylinders ...so I thought. Ending up using a simple hone to deglaze(no rust present) and installed new inners.
On the plus side of the ledger my 12 year old grandson learned how to rebuild wheel cylinders, bleed and adjust drum brakes while helping me. Always a bonus when we can spur interest in our hobby. Of course he insisted we road test the roadster which we took the better part of an hour!
Not bashing parts store but I was one for 4-5 yrs in the 60's.At a Chevy dealer.Hard to make it to the parts store to get the part but I understand you have to order old crap they don't have space but 2-3 weeks now it the norm
I was thinking about this thread earlier, not really a back order thing, but I usually order from Summit on a Sunday, since if I’m not called in, I’m off on Thursday-Saturday. So I’ll order what I need/want which might be 40-50 bucks, then fill the order out to 100 for the free shipping. Seems whenever I do that the “fluff” I order for the free shipping comes from Nevada and it’s here waiting for me by Wednesday at the latest, but the stuff I ordered that I wanted to have when I was off comes from the East and gets here on a Saturday or the next week. Lol.
I needed a generic tire tube (for a pool cover float) a few years back. The counter guy was nonplussed when I told him it wasn't for a car and any old tube was just fine. They had one one on a shelf out on the floor.
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