They are just stupid at most parts stores and like you say, if its not in the computer they cant look it up. He should have known that any chevy just about in the '70's or early '80's when you look up a tranny mount it will ask turbo 350 or turbo 400. I manage a Autozone and have went through numerious employees until I found ones that know and like cars and are willing to go the extra mile to find what you want. They know that the computer wont tell you everything and that if all else fails there is the parts books. Most of my guys know what will interchange on a domestic and are willing and eagar to learn what they dont know.
How about brake bleeder screws that don't have that stupid check ball... those cost $6 apiece, and get clogged up and don't work almost instantly. only bitchin cause I went through this today. j
You wont believe this one, my local parts store got a new manager a few years back and he figured the less parts on the shelf made his bottom line look better. I needed a GM HEI cap and rotor and they didnt have a set. I've also had to go back the next day for a set of BBC spark plugs at another parts store.
if you play it right, the store will give you their old parts books (preferred) or get you some new ones for free....and you can stay at home and look up parts....you might even be able to get the interchange and spec books...then you can help folks out on the hamb finding what they need to know... as well as being able to just call up the store and have them see if they have a part number in stock, or if they the can order it.
I have a Kragen's a mile away from me, but it's pretty hopeless finding parts for older cars there usually. I asked for a ballast resistor once and the guy had never heard of that part. He could only find a part if I gave him the make, year, model, engine, whether it had A/C or not blah blah blah, and then he comes up with, "we don't stock 'em". I went looking for some brake fittings and they didn't have anything I needed and the drawers were all disorganized. I only go to Kragen's for stuff like oil or anti-freeze. I go to an old fashioned privately owned parts house that's ten miles away because they usually have what I need, and the older guys at the counter actually know what I'm talking about when I ask them for something. Yeah, those Dorman parts drawers in the older good quality parts houses have a lot of good stuff in them. That "HELP" company sells some pretty crappy stuff. I bought some cheap "HELP" grease cups that were the right size for my '48 Ford hubs, but they wouldn't stay on. They were made of extra soft steel and just bent up and deformed rather than grip into the hubs. They have "China" stamped right on them. I junked them and put the old beat up Ford ones back on.
Sad But True Old Parts Men Are Rare And Mostly Now Are Really Old... Heck Yesterday On Driveto Mpls Went By 3 Of The Sites Where I Worked At As A Partsman /auto Store Mgr. All Three Have Been Removed From The Face Of The Earth... Just Empty Lots Now Sad And I Am Really Old Paperdog
I hear you. I worked for napa through college and I was impressed at the line of parts they still carry for vintage cars. Now I'm a manager at a large parts chain. The stuff is way cheaper but I still go back to the napa for all of my parts needs.
(Chevrolet)Banjo bolts for brakes. Like they were made of "unobtainium" or something? I bought an extra pair at Carlisle to have,just in case.
Worked a parts store gig for a few months several years ago. I asked the store manager why they didn't carry more hard parts in stock. "Don't have room for 'em" was his reply. When I asked him why we carried 25 different kinds of car wax, useless doodads, toys, magazines, sodas and candy bars but didn't have room for car parts, the answer was "those are margin items, the store wouldn't turn a profit if we didn't stock that stuff". There is one halfway decent auto parts store where I live now. Owner says he's probably gonna close it up and retire sometime next year.
Dead on, and exactly right! I realize the counter help at most of the cookie cutter chain stores have never seen a vehicle like most of us are working on, and only know what the computer says. I expect "corporate" doesn't care either, because said counter person could've sold many dollars in import parts while they are digging out the parts books to find my old parts. I find the "mom & pops" to be entirely different. Most of the time, the one I use, has what I need or can have it in a matter of hours. Problem is, the chains are killing the independents. We'd better start supporting independents as much as we can, before they are all gone.
Hey, I wanted to replace the E-brake cables on my 1997 Oldsmobile Cutlass. only one available. They listed it as "obsolete".
I've spent a lot of time developing a relationship with the staff at my local NAPA and it pays off when I'm struggling to find a uncommon part. I try to be as pleasant as possible (which is hard for me), polite, willing to set back and let them take care of their pro customers. In turn they treat me like a crazy uncle that comes into town now and then. They go well out of their way to be helpful. The only time you'll see me in an O'reilly, Advance, Auto Zone etc. is if the NAPA is closed and it's an absolute emergency otherwise I'll wait for NAPA as long as they'll have me.
There are times when the price of an item will kind of open my eyes but it doesn't matter what the chain stores sell the item for if they don't have, can't get it and don't care.
I have four parts houses within 2.5 miles of me. AZ the home of doub looks when you ask for anything for a vehicle over ten years old or which doesn't have front wheel drive. Napa with a sharp parts guy and a little parts gal that is learning fast but a store owner who won't stock anything for older vehicles. They can have it on the counter at 8 am the next morning though. An old school independent where you can still find a lot of stuff but the two gents who run it are waiting for the 10,000 gorilla next door to buy the property so they can retire early. And one independent mom and pop that stocks a pretty good selection plus they have at least two deliveries from the warehouse a day and if you get your order in early enough you can have the part at around 10 am or 6 pm. Still, in any business you stock what sells often and special order anything else. That burns our biscuits when we go out and hunt for simple items like the 6V tail light bulbs or a distributor cap for an older V8 but Hell there is only one grocery store around here that I can find Shiner beer at so the problem is universal.
Try going in to find parts for an International Scout and the girl behind the counter asks if that's a Dumb Truck
Plastigage, for some reason is either one hot item, or as one guy told me, 'People stopped asking for that stuff years ago.'.....
no 2 1/4 gas filler hose and asked the kid behind the counter for an oil filter for a '64 Comet. He asked me "is that a car?" and I had to specify Mercury. Sad day. Then I mumbled that he probably drives a 10 year import that has a spoiler. He smiled and said "yeah, I have a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse". Chuckle....
What ya gotta do is hit it from a different angle. Ask for bulbs for a 66 Volkswagen. They might have them listed that way. Hard to believe that they no longer carry 6 volt bulbs. Maybe the "clerk" didn't know his butt from a hole in the ground. I once aksed a young guy behind the counter for a can of wrinkle-finish. He never heard of it. An older...uh, more mature clerk heard the conversation and got me what I wanted.
I had a kid in OReillys give up on my parts search and told me I needed to google and find what I needed and then see if they have it that way. I needed brake drums for a ford 9" 61 starliner rear. Their books didnt have anything listed under S and he couldnt come up with anything near the size of brake shoes I had. I was a little pissed he just gave up searching. I was the one saying try a 65 galaxie see what width shoes they show. Try the station wagons etc. Hell he wasnt doing anything no one was in the store but me. The one part I know they dont stock anymore is round headlights.
A gal at the local CarQuest (CarGuess?) had no idea what a damn CARBRUETOR was!!! No shit! I asked for a carb kit for a '68 Dodge 225 one-bbl, and she gave the look like I was from friggin' Pluto or something! She calls the manager and asks him "What's a carbreutor look like and what's it do? How do I look that up?" I told the manager not to worry, I won't be back again, and walked out of his store.
I had went to a local Carquest to get points for my 51 Packard. The guy behind the counter responded with "We don't sell tractor parts"
Im a delivery and counter guy at Oreillys and I get all the old car parts people are looking for. 99% of the parts are not stocked but I can have the by 3 oclock that day if your there before 12 and and if not the same day I can have it by 7:30am the next day. The other day a guy called in looking for a 51 Stude Champion head gasket an other guy answered they phone and asked what a Stude was haha I took over and had the part the next day. the "young" guys working really dont know shit about cars. Im 21 and Im the oldest young guy there. Good place to check for part numbers is Oreillyauto.com just pull up what your looking for and get the part number and it can be crossed to any supplier.
Oh come on guys. Cars from the mid 50's and 60's are 50 YEARS OLD!!! Think about this for a second, and try to imagine why a store can't inventory 6v bulbs, brake light switches for 50's Desotos, headlight switches for '68 Chryslers, and other stuff that nobody's even asked for for 2 decades. Good Grief Charlie Brown... Like the guy said, make friends with the counter guys, find somebody who knows their stuff, and be prepared to wait overnight. I've been disgusted with counter people who don't know and don't care, and vented here about 'em, but I AM willing to drive a little farther, wait a little, and maybe pay a little more to get what I need. We all know how good 20 dollar alternaters and 12 dollar master cylinders are, isn't it worth more $$ and a little time to get good stuff?
The shop I work at deals with Car Quest. They have gotten me every thing I have needed to redo my 65 Galaxie. The only thing I had to wait on was a rebuild kit for an Autolite 4100 carb. Both of the counter guys are into hopped up newer VW's. They actually try to see who can find me what I need faster. So if you need any old car parts call up the Mt Pocono Car Quest and they will try to help you.
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