Parts Man VS Parts Boy

I know we've discussed this in another thread, but this deserves its own thread.

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Parts Man VS Parts Boy
(by Gerry Burger, taken from an old issue of Rodders Digest Magazine)
When you’re building a hot rod you need parts—all kinds of parts. New parts. Old parts. New old parts. Aftermarket parts. We get these parts from varied sources, but always there is the one common connection, you get them from…who else? The parts man. (Okay, sometimes a parts person, but by and large still the parts man….let’s go with that, "Parts Man.")
Now you wouldn’t think that getting parts would be such a big deal. After all you know what you’re looking for, almost, kinda-sorta. So you jump into your car and drive to your favorite parts house, which isn’t where the parts man lives, it’s where he works….see? It’s tricky already.
Take a sample with you if you can, so matching the part will be easier. If you don’t have an exact example of what you need bring something vaguely similar. Wrap it in a red shop rag so you look like you know what you’re doing. Leave an appropriate amount of dirt on your hands.
Everybody worth their salt carries parts in red shop rags. The rag acts as a barrier between carrier and part, while providing a cloak for the part. Leave a portion of the part protruding so the other guys who have parts wrapped in red shop rags can look over and try to guess what part you brought in….this is kind of an adult version of show but don’t tell.
Okay, walk in, pull up one of the plastic covered stools at the counter and clunk your cloaked part on the counter. Aimlessly roll the part around, lift the red rag up and look in there, like the part may have disappeared—or possibly repaired itself—while you were rolling it around. At this point one of the parts men has looked up over the catalogue rack at your red-rag-covered part, sized it up and looked back to his catalogue without a word. Now to the uninitiated this may seem like a snub, a form of impolite neglect by the parts man. Not so, rookie, he just let you know he saw you and your red rag, and has made a mental note that you are to be waited on right after the rotund gentleman in the blue work uniform. No words needed…continue to roll your part, glance over at the others, feel free to stroll an aisle. You’re on the list.
Now, behind the counter there are always at least two people. One has six phones hangin’ from or being pressed to various parts of his head. On three of these phones are warehouses searching for needed parts. On the other two or three lines are customers describing the parts they are rolling around on their work benches. His conversation goes something like this. "Okay, you have the bearing kit for the 1970 454, .010 over, ship it for Tuesday…Now sir what year was your Toyota built, I’m showing two belts for that, one for cars built after March of ’91, check your door plate…Yes I’ll hold; great, send the outshaft overnight" And so on. Now that’s the guy you want, he knows his stuff, and has seen every part in the world twice. He knows part numbers, sizes, shapes and makes. He used to drag race a C/Gasser and knows cars. He is Parts Man. (No, he doesn’t wear a cape or have a big "P" on his chest)
Next to him is a "less experienced" parts man (for lack of a better term we shall refer to him as "Parts Boy") who steps up and says, "Can I help you?" The ritual has officially begun. "Yeah, I need a set of motor mounts for a 1966 Pontiac 421." I offer. Now experience has told you what the next question will be…"What kind of car? With or without air? Power windows? Digital dash?" asks the parts boy. "Dunno" I respond. "Dunno?" he says. "That’s right, dunno, could be a Grand Prix, Catalina, and full-size Pontiac with any combination of options would use the same mount," I add. "What kind of car is the motor in now?" he asks, with a completely befuddled look. "Well, it’s not, but it’s going into a 1955 Pontiac…" before I can finish he says he doesn’t have a listing for that engine with air in a ’55. "I know, I’m putting the motor in the car myself." "Yourself, how do you know these mounts will work?" he queries. "Well, I’m fabricating mounts…" It’s time to disrobe the part. The red rag folds open to expose the required motor mount. The phone rings so the Parts Boy is on the phone and I’m standing there with my part in clear view. This is at least uncomfortable. All the other parts holders are now gazing at my motor mount giving varying degrees of nods and looks.
In every parts store there is a third important party, the Hanger-On. You know the guy, he hangs around the parts house and drinks Coke for a living. I’m not sure what you have to do to secure this position, (besides wear a dirty ball cap) but most good auto parts stores have a minimum of one hanger-on for each three counter men. At this point Hanger-On strolls over and Yikes!...picks up my part! I almost throw the red rag, a foul has been committed. No one but the parts bearer and Parts Man are to touch the part. Well, he’s got it in his hand, why make a scene…he rolls it around and looks at it for what seems like a long time. At this point I figure this guy is going to tell me something I don’t know about motor mounts, like maybe it would interchange with a 1947 Kaiser-Frazer, but no, this is what I get from him; "Yep, that’s a motor mount alright!" Well noooo ….!
At last "Parts Boy" is off the phone. He finds a number for motor mounts and lo and behold has one on the shelf. We open the box and it is the same. I now have some degree of respect because the part is exactly what I said it was. We take the time to roll the old and the new parts around and comment on just how exactly the same they are, exchanging phrases like, "That oughta do it." "Yep, that’s the one." "It doesn’t come any closer than that." Even the other parts holders chime in about the sameness of the parts; the new part goes back in the box, the old one is re-wrapped in red. "What else can I get you?" asks Parts Boy smugly.
"Okay, this should be easier, I need a tranny mount for a Muncie four-speed. Any GM car with a four-speed, mid-sixties to mid-seventies should work," is my response. "What kind of car? Air? Power Steering?" Parts Boy asks without missing a beat. "Dunno" I respond. "Dunno?" he responds. "Nope, dunno. I bought it from the same guy who had the engine, no idea what kind of car it came out of." I offer almost patiently. At this point the phone rings once more, and Hanger-On makes his move behind the counter, where he secretly would love to be all the time. In an act that would make Alexander Haig proud he commands, "I’ll look it up for ya!" He dives into the big books mumbling makes, models, and numbers and occasionally barking things out like "How about a ’69 Camaro?" "Yeah that’d work," I say with little hope. Parts Boy is off the phone, disappears into the back and comes out with a mount I’ve never seen. I mention that it looks something like that but without these three tabs and it has two holes in the insulator block instead of one stud. Hanger-On looks over and says, "How about ’70 GTO?"
"Yeah," I mumble. Then Parts Boy says the magic words: "Hey, how about coming in the back and looking at mounts until you find one that’ll work." Bingo, great, super, as I’m walking down the aisle to the promised land (I’m [FONT=Calibri,Calibri][FONT=Calibri,Calibri]in the back[/FONT][/FONT]! The supreme vote of confidence!) Hanger-On shouts out "How about a Dodge Dart?" I turn and let a "Don’t think so" fly. In about five minutes we open fifteen boxes when I find what appears to be a GM four-speed tranny block. As I’m walking out front the guy with six phones is finally off all of them. Parts Man looks at the mount and says, "Putting a four-speed in something?" "Yeah buddy" I smile.
We look up the part backwards, part number to find application. Sure enough it fits any GM four-speed 1902-1995. We exchange the "That-oughta-do-its" one more time, ask self-answering questions like "Hey, have we got the stuff or what?" and just generally have a round of verbal back slapping to complete the parts purchasing ceremony and then I’m outa there.
It’s a good day, I’ve got the parts I need to put the engine in the ’55. I know that the parts house is in good hands; someday Parts Boy will become Parts Man, Parts Man will move to the corner office, and Hanger-On will still be looking for a four-speed tranny mount. All is right with the world.

 

I sure miss Rodders Digest. Wish it was still goin.

R.I.P. Gray!

 

Nice story-sounds like our local NAPA

 

Parts man VS Parts boy, damn you folks are living in the past !

We in New England now have new and improved FIBTC's (fib-tic's),
Fuc--n Idiot Behind The Counter, air breathers.
These "experts" usually end up needing your help finding the part you need in thier store !

 

I totally agree with you Banjeaux Bob. I have a saying about the current generation; 25 is the new 15. I am 34 and I see myself at 15 more responsable for myself than most 25 year olds now. I try to encourage any teenagers that I have the abilty to influence to rebel against low expectations and to get up and do something.

 

Log on, find your own damned parts. You KNOW the headache is waiting for you. I call ahead, period.

 

We have a great old-style car-truck-tractor-industrial parts store in town, 3rd generation, grandson is in his 50's now, and when I started going in there in '73 he was stocking shelves on summer vacation- later sold him a Detroit Locker and N-case for his '57 Chebbie he was building. So I go in there one day for some valve cover gaskets, he's buried in a parts book and just nods. I'm down the counter and get the new know-it-all that just came there from another smaller parts store, so I'm gonna make it easy and do it the "book" way- "I need a set of valve cover gaskets for a '66 Thunderbird with a 390." "Sir, just give me the make, model, year, engine and transmission of the vehicle you're working on" By now grandson is grinning, still looking down at his book. "It's OK, gaskets for that 390 Bird will work" "Sir, I need the correct information for the vehicle you're working on" Grandson is about to bust out laughing by now, as he knows the car well. "OK, it's a 1962 Ford Galaxie 500XL, 406-6V High Performance 4 spd car, with a 1964 427-8V, a C-6 auto with a 4000 converter, and 5.14 gears- go look it up" Grandson starts laughing and says "Why don't you go get him his 390 Thunderbird gaskets now"

 

What's really funny is when you walk into Kragen/O'Reilly's with a printout from their website that has the part # and even a picture of the part, and they still bring out the wrong stuff or say they don't carry it

 

Thanks, Energy. Ive been looking for that issue now for years. around here years ago, there were a couple of ma and pa parts stores that could get almost anything i needed usually within a few hours. now they have sold out to a national chain and i have a hard time getting parts for my domestic 20 yr old beater car.
A few years ago i walked into my local store on a weekend and parts man was behind the counter on the phone. He looked up, greeted me by name and asked what i was working on today. I was working on the daughters OT car. I just held up the part and he said, "Oh, working on a Honda, eh... be right with you."
Ah, yes, I do miss those days.....

 

#4 Aint it ironic that the GOD of heaven created humans with opposing thumbs...one of the dinstinguising features man has over ALL other animals.Yet,it seems that the onlt thing we see kids today doing with their thumbs is.....texting or playing a video game.It's hard to get a young person with any kind of mechanical reasoning.Where are you going to discover a kid that wants to jump into a pair of coveralls and get covered with grease and dirt much less break out a sweat?

How many of those kids do you think will have movable,useful thumbs when they're 30? If I were a young, enterprising young man, I'd become a thumb surgeon and develop new ways to assist chronic repetitive stress syndrome of the thumb. Then I'd make a large fortune,retire early and build hotrods.

 

That guy can sure write about something simple and turn it gay as hell.

 

I copied that article directly from the magazine when I first read it years ago. Made actual copies of the page. Have handed out several dozen copies of it since then. I KNEW that I had a copy stashed somewhere safe around here, but couldn't find it to save my life. So today I said "THWI" and started looking EVERYWHERE!! Finally found a single copy I had left in with last years tax records.

Took me almost 2 hrs to type it into my puter with my clumsy 2 fingers, and then went out and made another 2 dozen copies of it. I won't have to look so hard for it again.

I have another issue of Rodders Digest and the "15 Things" rant is about how to tell you're getting old. I'll post that one on here too in the near future. Funny stuff!

 

WOW !!!!!!!

ANOTHER FUKKIN THREAD ABOUT LACKLUSTER PARTS PEOPLE .........


C`mon guys, can we give it a damn rest ? please ?

 

Donman, you got it all wrong. This is not a rant, this is done to praise "Parts Man" and hope that parts boy will keep learning till he achives that lofty level. This is one of my favorite bits from that mag. It was printed in two different issues and I too spent hours typing it out and have thought about trying to find it recently. Thanks Energy

 

Actually, most parts men I have given it to get the biggest kick out of it about the rag covered part, calling a foul (for touching someone elses part), and Hanger-On!

 

I agree with mean gene. Went to autozone for rear shocks for my 51 Chevy....as soon as I got" 1951" out of my mouth he says ..... No we can't get them . This "parts boy" didn't even bother took even look it up. So then I left and drove 10 minutes to the next autozone where the "parts man" is . And what do you know he searched and found the rear shocks and ordered them.... I had them on my car the next day.

 

My dad was a journeyman partsman - he remembered the numbers 20 years after he quit being a partsman. Thankfully I have found one of the best at a local parts store (Bryan at CEP) so he finds what I need! Also - some of the Parts boys (or girls) are learning thanks to the Partsman. The key is to thank them when they get it right and encourage them to get better. It is not always an easy job dealing with our requests.

 

ive been to parts stores were the girls give you the right parts after u bring back what the guys gave you

 

The keyword is "learning". Some of them don't want to. Some are just plain lazy. If you need a part for a car/truck pre '70 they give no interest. You get the look of "your wasting my time.. Can I get back to reading my gamer mag now"

 

Always go to Nikki at NAPA.

 

Someone is hired for a low wage. They are told very little aside from don't steal, come in on time and all the answers are in the computer. Oh, and don't stop the customers from stealing and upsell at the register.
They know after 3 hours of paying attention or a full day if they aren't that this job, the next step up, heck any position in the store is not a career. It's not a long-term position, it's not a step up the corporate ladder, and it won't pay for the lifestyle they imagine, let alone a family and college for the kids.
There is no incentive to learn and excel, they are probably looking for another job after a week anyway. They get 60% customers that can't tell them the basics needed to find a part, 10% that can but the store doesn't stock it so they walk, another 10% that come in and tell you that it fits every Ford made 30 years ago but can't tell you the number, another 15% that treat you in such a manner that if it were on the street you'd punch them and the final 5% that treat you with respect and understanding, if you are lucky.
You guys have been paying attention to pre-1964 cars all your life. That boy behind the counter was born 20 years after that and needs to know stuff like what year the Ford F-150 changed, but Ford still made the old one too (Hint, it's called the Heritage) .

 

When you ask the guys here to check in The Book...They give you the look like
"how does he know about the book"

 

The difference between parts man and parts boy is, the parts man knows what the f%$k your talking about and the parts boy is the one to go fetch it because thats all hes good for.

 

That was a real hoot!!!!

 

i was parts boy.i became parts man.parts boss didnt want to give me the 5 year overdue raise i was entitled to,and i walked.parts boss hired two parts boys to replace me.i am now the guy with the red rag and the need for decent service.

the comparable parts store is 30 miles away in the next town.they have parts men.they live not far from me.parts get delivered.

i can relate very well to the story.
as well as the related rants about poor service.
if it paid better,had a pension plan and benefits i'd be all over it.
naaah,i have a government job.....

 

this story brings back memories.we would go to my dads on weekends. he ran a used/new autoparts store.it was owned by a family and employed nearly all of them.they would be behind the counter answering phones and handling the walkins.90 percent of the time they would ask him if they had the part.he could tell you every part they had and where it was.on top of that they had a "hot line"that linked all the junk yards he kept up with.i guess he was a partsman

 

I have great luck at a couple of parts store with great parts-ladies. Always pleasant, no pretense, and do a super job with a pleasant smile and a enjoyable experience over all. ~sololobo~

 

Thank you! Very good read! And I am printing that off for my counterguys to read and enjoy, infact, I think I will laminate it! We are still an old school independent parts store ans on our counter you will find old hot rod parts lying around as well as just oddities and the coolest new tool of the week if we think it's worthy to share. Hopefully you guys all have a FLAP (Favorite Local Auto Parts store)

 

If you've got a hot rod and need parts for it, ask for the part that you need in way that allows the 'partsperson' to find it.

Got a '49 Chevy with a nailhead in it, and you know you adapted motor mounts out of a '57 Buick, when you need new mounts don't tell them you need mounts for a '49 Chevy - ask for '57 Buick mounts; when they ask if it has A/C or four-wheel drive, give'm an answer that will make the computer happy.

Less stress, better chance of getting what you need.

(the above parts were used for example only; I don't know if '57 Buick mounts will work in a '49 Chevy, and, yes, the computer probably doesn't list '57 Buick parts either, but you get the idea)

 

Damn, I miss Star Auto, but I'm starting to like Burlington County Auto Parts