Art & Inspiration It’s the melamine, the smell of the dust, the one good guy left back there...

I miss the old locally owned and operated parts store....guys with correct part numbers off the top of their head
Parts in stock, on the shelf....let the core charge float
Sweetheart, un-tattooed, bottle blond, blue eyed delivery gal that brought all your parts first time
A beer and a dart game after closing

Nice rewind, thanks

 

I sure do miss the old days, when I was first starting to work on cars, when the parts counterman knew more about what I was doing than I did. Got a lot of help from those guys. We are still fortunate to have one place with guys and gals that's been doing it a long time, and can usually find a listing for old parts, but the likelihood of them having it gets less and less every time I go. If I have to order it, I usually just use Rock Auto, Summit etc and have it sent straight to the house.
I have been pleasantly surprised though, at an Oreilly's in Spartanburg on two different occasions. Two different ladies, both actually knew what the heck they were talking about, were friendly and got me the part I needed and on my way.

 

The local parts store has gone through at least 3 changes in ownership at the same location since I started trading there in 1973 when I got out of the Army. Was a sole proprietorship in the beginning and now part of a smaller chain. Still has the old books in the back for all the weird crap I ask about. The manager Sandy, and her crew, Mike, Gary, and Domenic are all top notch. I try to buy everything there first including the stuff like oil I know I can get cheaper at Wally Word because you can't get the kind of service they offer anywhere else. And because I've had an account there since 1973. Occasionally I have to keep them honest on some pricing but most of the time they are spot on if not cheaper than the big box parts stores. Bottom line is if we don't support the local guy and buy everything online because its a couple of bucks cheaper then eventually we'll won't have the local source and then we'll be screwed. JMO

 

I guess I've changed with the times, unless I need the part right now, I just order online.

 

Go to Hanford Auto Parts and Machine in Hanford CA, the home of Tim McMaster (no S), His building is a former auto dealership, and then a NAPA parts house. There you will find a museum of an real/old Auto Parts Store,,, motors on display, tuning equipment, speed equipment and of course Tim himself.

 

We had a good NAPA right here in our little town. Had three old school guy who liked to talk cars, understood what I was looking for, and helped me get it. About a year ago, one of them passed away, the other retired and the last is just gone. (No idea what happened to him) Now it has the usual young guys who look at me like I have a lobster crawling out of my ear when I ask for anything for our kind of cars.

 

Gap Auto parts In Union Gap Wa (Yakima) is about as it comes to an old school parts house around here now. 4 out of five of the counter people have been in the parts business for 20 + years each and one may be pushing 40 at it. It is the go to parts house for a number of shops in the area. They are connected to the major parts warehouse in the area and more often than not can have you the part in a half hour or so depending on how busy the parts runner is.
I worked for Bowdens auto parts in their Sunnyside Wa store in the late 80's early 90's and their main store in Yakima was the go to speed parts dealer in the region. They took care of the circle track, drag and street car folks. The stores closed when the owners retired far later than they had wanted to because their son wasn't up to running the business.

I used to order and pay for parts online and pick them up at an O'Reilly's up the road from where I worked for a few years. The parts would be pulled and waiting and all I had to do was sign the ticket and go. I was one of the rare ones doing it at that store though as some of their guys didn't even understand the process. I think you can still do that with them and Autozone.

 

Lol
These stories are all amazing
The place I go to laughs when I come in
As I said just last week.... ok shocks for a 64 galaxie , front coils for a 96 areostar. And oil filter for a 68 mustang!!!!
No prob
Shocks in stock
Coils that afternoon
And filter in stock
With a giggle

 

Ha! That picture is my life. Throw in the fact that I'm not exactly sure what I need all the time, and you can imagine the time spent in the AP stores. Luckily, there's a "Ford guy" at one of them, and has absolutely helped keep me moving forward. I wish I lived closer to some of you guys. Anyone need a 40 y/o apprentice?

RS
Mike

 

I smell what you are cookin! Most of them are so lazy it pains them to breath and the only way they could get dumber is if they get bigger

 

We still have a couple of these parts stores around, namely Northwest Auto, a couple of junkyards but those are getting less and less. I try to avoid stores like Auto Zone if I can help it, but places like NAPA, and O'Reliys, I usually get some pretty knowledgeable help, and if they don't know they know enough to try to get a close match, or know some place can help.

 

Had a young lady who would go through hoops for me and she usually came up with the goods. She's since moved on.....sigh!
Same store a more seasoned lady pretty much knew the stuff off the top of here head. She's also moved on......double sigh.
The new hires, well, if it isn't on their computer it doesn't exist and that's that!

 

Absolutely. I tell everybody...

"If you need to borrow a tire machine or a floor jack..."



Sent from my VS835 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Naw I buy online. Those parts store guys don't want to even get off the phone to wait on me. and expect me to pay more $$ for shoddy service. I save 25 to 50% buying online.

 

I'm just about 40, and my favorite job ever was the 7 years I spent at the local auto parts store. It had all the requisite things a local parts store would have - the 20 year old can of Bondo next to a can of stop leak that had been on the shelf so long the handwritten price on the can had been changed from $3.00 to $3.99. I started when I was in high school, but even then (the 90s) the handwriting was on the wall for the small independent shops. Napa, Carquest and Big A had been buying up all the little guys and putting their sign out front. We still had plenty of repeat customers and local shops we delivered to regularly, but more and more people were calling to get quotes on things, never to be heard from again. I think the main income for the shop was carb rebuilds, 4 speed rebuils, and the odd rear end rebuild. I got really good at replacing headlights and wiper blades (and refills, remember those?) when it was 5 degrees outside in the parking lot.

Reminds me of my favorite parts store stories - my old boss told a story once about a local garage that ordered an exhaust for a '63 Belvedere, and was pissed when it was delivered and he discovered it didn't fit. He brought the whole set up back, threw it on the floor, and demanded his money back. "This won't even bolt up to the flange on the Bel Air" he said. "Bel Air? You ordered parts for a Belvedere!" The guy was quiet for a second, then goes, Bel Air, Belvedere, whatever!! Still, he got his money back (after he ordered the right exhaust parts for a Bel Air).

 

Good thread title....

 

Man I miss good old MacFarlane auto parts in Westchester, Ca. It was just as described, the smell, the parts on display, Classic. They had a full service machine shop and Rick, Kirk and Jeff knew their stuff. The owner, Bill ran a blown gas flat bottom and there was almost always someone’s hot rod out front or in the parking lot. He closed up and retired.
When I retired to NorCal I tried to patronize the old NAPA store but I always got the counter guy who was a dick. When they opened an Oreillys I went there and I guess a lot of others did too, the old NAPA quickly closed.
Things that might have to be returned I get from Oreilly’s but everything else I buy online. It’s nice to have the parts show up while I keep working.


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

The guys that ran the good auto parts store in my town(the one that would be open sunday til'noon)had the last name Bilfield or something close to that. Being kids,we didn't know or care exactly how it was pronounced for real , as we always refered to them as the bill fold brothers or the wallet brothers because they had every nickle they had ever made in those wallets. The brothers had encyclopedic minds for every part and part number in stock or available anywhere. They were loud, obnoxious, insulting and profane......no exceptions. Church pastor or career criminal.... everyone was treated the same, first time buyer or everyday jobber.....ranting and raving was non-stop. Special favorites were my age group....long haired hot rod guys.looking for oddball parts,at a discount if possible, we were singled out for special abuse. It did teach us to develop a thick skin at an early age, and if you held up to the torrent of never-ending abuse from behind the counter, every once in a while you got...."ya payin' cash?? I'll ring it up an' give ya the Ford garages price".....Get a hair cut will ya". Gosh, I sure miss those days.

 

The last old time parts store closed up about 6 months ago. Didn't go there much, prices were 2x what everyone else in town was getting for the same parts.
I used to go to NAPA, but that went down the tubes a few years ago when the old owner sold out. The new guys cleaned everything up, and only stocked the high moving stuff. If you needed anything outside of that, they had to order it, and you had to pay shipping on everything they ordered, even if it was in the NAPA warehouse.
These days, my go to parts store is Oreilly's. If they have what I need in stock, or can get it in a day or two, I will buy it. Otherwise I buy stuff online. If they have to order it and I have to pay shipping, I might as well save the 30-40 % and order it myself. Gene

 

Yea, i miss my favorite parts houses of the mid 60’s to mid 70’s. I get a little wrinkled when I tell a counter person what I want and he says make , model , year. Com on’ man, just water pump gaskets for 60’s era SBC. Crap!!. But they just don’t know. Sign of the times I guess.

 

I also worked for a "chain" auto parts group. This was 1969 and the "chain" consisted of 5 stores located in and about the New Orleans area, as well as the original in Hammond Louisiana. Some 50 miles away. The owner was a country style gentleman whom was easy to
deal with, but did not pay well at all. I took home 76 bucks a week for 6 days at 10 hours a day. I enjoyed the
job as this was during the heyday of hot rodding and streetracing and all sorts of nefarious activities! Theowner, at he time was quite the item in the auto parts world. He and I often spoke about the multiple stores and his perception for the future. He stood solidly behind the belief that this was the wave of the future. Many scoffed at his vision. Little they know. At the time the Genuine Parts Company also known as Napa was the big player in the business. Even they at the time were a one store operation. The out fit I worked for was known as National Auto Stores. The man had vision and indeed planned to go national.Eventually he sold out toother business interests and I really do not recall what
or who they were. At this same time a fellow named Barry Ward started a small parts operation that resembled the current retail houses, but on a much smaller basis. He came to me and asked if I would like to moonlight for him on Sundays at his location as he
planned to and did actually open for business on said day. This of course caused much concern with the many other independent operators in the area. He constantly was at odds with the city regulators and
other champions of the so called Blue Laws in place during this era. He did do a brisk trade on Sundays and other soon followed suite to maintain their market share. Another interesting "Parts House" was just that,
an old shot gun house located in the berg of Kenner.
The place was operated by an older Black Gentleman
by the name of Floogy. He lived alone and kept his house stocked with parts that an late evening auto enthusiast might find essential at the moment. The old fellow had no qualms selling parts at any time after the usual shops had closed for the evening. He would not
do business in conflict with the normal operating hours
of regular retail outlets. 3- A. M. no problem. you could find him sitting on his porch at all hours of the evening
drinking a little whiskey, weather permitting. He usually
had a few of his boys about as well. Lots of hopped up cars coming and going. There was an oval race track just a couple of miles up the road from his place as well. He did a brisk business on race nights. He maintained a good rapport with the local police and they let him operate no problem. Things changed rapidly in the early seventies. Today there is only one independent parts house left in the area. They have evolved from general parts to heavy truck parts exclusively. The original family members still operate under their name and do use parts books as well as limited computers. I still shop there for items they have when possible. The place is called Kesslers. I pass there daily and feel that in the not to distant future I will see where they too have closed. That will be the end for independents that I am aware of in the area. Sad day it will be, but inevitable.

 

He has this look because he's a HAMBer - body 33, Chassis 97,.... say no more.

 

This our local parts house. Still uses books for the old stuff if needed and if he can’t get what I need he knows who can. It’s owned and ran by a younger couple who are always more than helpful. They even sell plumbing parts so when I hit the hose spigot with the lawnmower I don’t have to go all the way into town. Old River Winfree, Texas


Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.

 

Yup!

 

I'm with you Vandenplas, the feel of those places on a Saturday morning ,it's all part of the "thing" that we chase with these old cars.

 

In il. Advanced Auto bought all the car quest stores around here ...........and shut them down , I hope your store stays open !!

 

At work we have an in house guy that sources all our parts for the equipment we work on and he’s incredible!
Kind of guy that your working on a cat front end loader and try to explaine something to him and how you need the part right now to get the customer up n running.
So conversations can go like this “ it’s a limit switch in the dog bone so the bucket floats while driving and won’t loose its load.
It’s got a balls bearing on the end and normally closed.
Yup found it out of stock at the dealer
Go to xxx aftermarket place”
Get there and it’s a hydraulic lever switch for a hyster ..... but it’s basically the identical switch.

just
Fucking
Perfect .

when you find a guy who speaks the language and gets what the part does and not just the part number is awesome.

 

I have mixed emotions.
My independent store stayed around too long.
Sometimes a lady needs to know when to bow out gracefully. Otherwise she cheapens herself.

My local store......
Quit carrying name brand oil and antifreeze and went to the universal stuff like the gas station/ convenience store carries.......
The later counter guys would roll their eyes because they knew they had to get the books out for my stuff........
The nick-nak hardware and fitting bins were there but practically empty...
Parts even common parts were not in stock...
Any part was always 3 days to a week out....
Most unforgivable.........
50 bucks for 2 front axle seals that would have cost me $5 a piece mail order from C&G Ford.
Brake shoes for a F1.....I paid premium money for a el cheapie no name bonded set. Due to cost I thought I was getting a premium set.... Surprise Surprise when I picked up that junk after a 4 day wait.

I did my part to support the local guys but they did not support me thier customer.

These days I recommend the specialty suppliers that have our parts, especially the non monopolized companies.

For the local box stores....
It’s up to us to know what parts and what combos fit our cars and how to speak their language.

 

I had an uncle (not the dismissive, arrogant one who sold new Chevys) who owned an Ashland station in Glouster, Ohio, that was our Saturday morning hangout for years. Now, Glouster isn't very big, but at that time, it was big enough that it had a NAPA store, that was an outpost of a small local chain, known as Ferd Hack Auto Supply. Now, the Glouster store was only open until noon on Saturdays, and was staffed on that day by a rotating list of new guys from the head office in Athens, and since it was a 15 mile drive to get there for 4 hours work on a weekend, they were none too happy about it. So what was the cool hangout auto parts place throughout the week, became the Saturday morning torture test for the newbies, as the town had 3 full service gas stations that were loaded with guys calling up, and looking for obscure parts for oddball stuff that they didn't possibly have. Since caller ID had not been invented yet, they had no idea who was calling, and learned all about parts for Graham, Hupmobile, Hudson, and Metropolitan brand cars, but are probably still wondering about the Hoyt-Claggwell line of tractors.