"Basics of Basics" Parts store tricks to get the parts you need.

[MARTINSR]

“Basics of Basics” Parts store tricks
By Brian Martin

You are going to hate me, but after you think about it a bit and realize what you have learned you will get over it. But for a while, you will hate me.

You know the last time you went to the parts store in hope that they would have that brake master cylinder you need for your ’65 Dodge Lancer to get it on the road for the car show that weekend and they told you they didn’t have it? Yeah, you remember that, it was such a bummer. That blew the whole weekend. After all that work you had done on your car, you couldn't drive it. Ok, here is the bad news, the master cylinder you were after was on a shelf 30 feet behind the counter man who said they didn’t have it. Yep, it was right there for you, but you walked out empty handed.

Don’t be mad at the parts guy, it’s often not his fault. He looks it up as per application, 1965 Dodge, Lancer, brakes, master cylinder…sure enough, nothing available. He’s got brake shoes, hoses, but that’s it. What is he suppose to do, he’s got the phone ringing, people in line, that’s what he has to work with. This is where you need to do your homework.

Let’s start with going to the real parts store in town. Forget about the “McParts” stores with the store down at the strip mall, you want to the real parts store, where all the shops in town buy their parts, where the pros go. It’s often off the beaten path, out in the industrial area, that is where you want to go. Look for it on line, google parts stores and see what you get. Ask the shops in town where they buy their parts, that is where you want to go for yours. This is not to say that the McParts stores are all that bad, some are fine, some have great counter guys/gals. But generally it’s not the store where the pros go for a reason. That real parts store is usually much bigger than the McParts stores with many more parts. The one I go to in town, no kidding, it’s about 8 times as big as the McParts stores. They have some serious stock.

Ok, when you asked about your master cylinder they looked it up by “application”. Make-model-year that is what they are going with. We are relying on the supplier of those parts to properly catalog it and that isn’t always as best it can be. Errors are made, and you go home without your part.

Getting a part number may be all you need to get your master cylinder, another supplier may have it cataloged correctly and you now have a part number that can be “crossed” by the parts store. They have Bobs brake parts in the store and Bobs cataloged it wrong, it’s listed for a Valiant but not the Lancer. Blakes brake parts has it correctly cataloged as fitting both the Valiant and the Lancer. So you get the part number to the Blakes master cylinder and go to the parts store and they cross it over and wham, they have one in stock. This just happened to me today. I needed some brake adjuster parts for my son’s 1963 Ford Falcon. I went to the best pro parts store in town, they had everything I needed for the car but I was told they were “discontinued”. I went on ebay and there were all kinds of them. I made a little chart with all I could find. The complete kits, just the adjuster, the cable, etc. I recorded all the part numbers. After I got the numbers that were on ebay I then googled the number with the brand name to be sure it was a real number and most were and they were written down on my list.



This morning I called that parts store and found that when crossing numbers I gave them to the supplier they carried they had both the kits I needed in stock!



Just yesterday they said they didn’t have it, and that it was “discontinued.” I was told the same thing with a few of those part numbers I had gotten off eBay too. They were the suppliers that had it cataloged properly and by those suppliers they were discontinued. But another supplier they carried didn’t have it cataloged correct and it wasn’t discontinued by that supplier!

This happened a few years ago with my ’59 Rambler, nope, no front wheel cylinders I was told. I went to the Wagner web site and found the part numbers, went back to the store and they had them in stock!

With the net you have access to everything the store does and more. Go in with some information; help them provide you with what you need.

Most of the software that is used in these stores has all that crossover info, even OEM numbers, you can walk in there with everything needed for them to find your part. Don’t beat up the parts guy for using a computer and not books, the books are only half of it. Now, we have both and we are much better off for it.

Another way is to look for your part not under “application” make-model-year but under “specifications”. We are talking length-width-function-material or others depending on the part you are looking for. Yes parts stores (the REAL ones) still have catalogs full of photos and diagrams! I call them “coloring books.”

For my Ramblers brake light switch, I was told “nothing in stock.” I asked for a “coloring book” and went through it to find my switch with a slightly incorrect application. Gave him the number and it was stock!

What about your car you bought that’s got a disc brake kit that you don’t have an ID for? You get the “coloring book” and look for the pads from your brakes.



How about brake shoes, they say they don’t have them, look them up by specification.



Brake hoses; length, fittings, it’s all right there.



Electrical plugs or switches?





How about radiator hoses, you have done an engine swap and there is nothing per application, go to the “coloring book” and find what you need. And you don’t even need to use the whole thing. You can cut one in half and use one of the pieces for a perfect molded hose in your small block Ford powered ’55 Studebaker.



Now do a little homework, go back to that parts store and get your master cylinder so you can cruise that Lancer this weekend.

[chevyguyase]

Great post, getting the right part is a skill in it self.

[69l46vert]

Thanks Brian. I'm building a "Hybrid" so I've had to learn this as I go. Would love to find all the coloring books online.

[Old Crow]

Thing that pisses me off is that often, by going to the web sites for whichever store(NAPA, O'Reilly's, etc)we have access to better info than they do at the store.
I used O'Reilly's site to look up all the brake parts for my F100 shop truck. They showed to all be in stock at my local store. I left the house, not intending to go to the store(so didn't take the list), but ended up there, so decided to get my stuff.
Of course, as in Brian's example, they had no listing in their computer for a '61 F-100. I told them I had just looked the parts up on their web site and they showed to all be in stock. I was told they didn't have access to their own web site in the store!
Ended up calling a friend of mine, who looked them up on the web site, read me the numbers over the phone, and Bang! All the stuff was in stock.
Went through a similar situation with a rear U joint for a '68 Mustang yesterday. Had all the dimensions, found the part # on the NAPA web site, ordered the part, and of course it was wrong. Looked it up on the store computer which verified that I had ordered the correct part, but the one they received, although the box had the right #, wasn't even close. Dude refused to order me another. I will not deal with that store again.
Ended up going to the guy who makes my drivelines...he had one on the shelf.

[agnes the dog]

Developing a relationship with your parts guy is important as well. I have only several guys that I will deal with (O'Reilly and Napa). The big chains have competent parts guys, but they are few and far between. I know when I walk through the door if I'm going to get what I need based on who's behind the counter. The new guy isn't going to know what I'm talking about and he's just going to use the computer to tell me he doesn't have it. Find the guy who knows how to use the catalogs and is willing to take the time to help. Often times, taking your old part with you will help them as well. Knowing what your part looks like is the best way to make sure you're getting the right part the first time.

[Advanced Design]

Great advice and information Brian. I hadn't seen the coloring book before. Thanks for sharing!

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by 69l46vert

Thanks Brian. I'm building a "Hybrid" so I've had to learn this as I go. Would love to find all the coloring books online.

I searched for photos and couldn't find a thing, so I went by the parts store with my camera. Believe me, they have them there. Even the "McParts" stores have them. You just have to ask, go to another one if they don't. But they often have them. It's not "history" just yet, the manufacturers of these parts still provide them.

Brian

[joedoh]

great advice. I work as an integration engineer and the amount of commonality in parts and systems is staggering, interchange opportunities are designed in.

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by agnes the dog

Developing a relationship with your parts guy is important as well. I have only several guys that I will deal with (O'Reilly and Napa). The big chains have competent parts guys, but they are few and far between. I know when I walk through the door if I'm going to get what I need based on who's behind the counter. The new guy isn't going to know what I'm talking about and he's just going to use the computer to tell me he doesn't have it. Find the guy who knows how to use the catalogs and is willing to take the time to help. Often times, taking your old part with you will help them as well. Knowing what your part looks like is the best way to make sure you're getting the right part the first time.

Very good point, thanks for bringing that up! Taking the old part with you is always a good idea!


Brian

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by Advanced Design

Great advice and information Brian. I hadn't seen the coloring book before. Thanks for sharing!

Every manufacturer has them, it's a part of the industry and isn't history just yet!

Brian

[MARTINSR]

Originally Posted by joedoh

great advice. I work as an integration engineer and the amount of commonality in parts and systems is staggering, interchange opportunities are designed in.

This is something that I really didn't understand until just a few years ago when talking to a cousin who has lived in the Detroit area his whole life and worked in the manufacturing end of the auto industry.

I knew that the auto maker didn't "make" the car years ago. GM,Ford, Nissan, Mercedes, they don't "make" cars, they "assemble" them. They assemble them with parts they buy. They stamp the steel (most of it) weld it together, and then bolt on a bunch of parts they bought just like you or I could. Now, often these parts are made by companies they own, that is they have bought over the years like AC/Delco I believe is owned by GM. But they also get a lot of parts from companies they don't own. My cousin was working for NSK bearing and they sold bearings to Toyota for instance.

So that being said, often these parts are gotten from the company that made the lowest bid to the auto manufacturer. They are available elsewhere, often on other cars, equipment, tractors what ever.

Now, things are changing big time, over the last few decades these auto manufacturers have gotten more and more tight with these components making them make or model specific....so they have parts that you must buy from them, it's just business. Where once you had an 1157 bulb on every car in your family (as I do with all my old cars, trucks, trailers) now your car will have a special light that you need to go buy at the dealer (this quickly changes of course when there are enough out there that the AM makes it).

But this is something that really hit me when I got my Rambler, AMC was big on getting the cheapest parts, they often were simply from another vehicle like a tractor or something, and they were cheaper because they "existed"and they made their car fit it, instead of giving the manufacturer of the part a design they had to make for them....which would cost more.

There were a lot of other uses out there for many of the parts on my car, thus they are still available from a number of sources.

That is where the coloring books come in handy.

Brian

[meter swinger]

I just went through this yesterday with my DD a nissan maxima.
The bearing burnt up on the A/C compressor. A new compressor is 400.00 ish + the cost of getting the system recharged. Nobody i mean even the "go to guys" i use at the parts stores could come up with anything other than a new compressor. It took awhile hunting the forums and part numbers but i eventually found the same size bearing although a different brand by cross referencing numbers. The bearing was 11.99, and the local starter/ alternator repair guy pressed the old one out and pressed the new one in for 5 bucks. I didn't have to take the compressor of the car, only the pulley.
I think the system in the stores is by design so you will give up and they can shake you down for more $$$.

[MARTINSR]

I don't think it's by design at all, they loose sales because of it. Parts of an ac compressor are realistically not going to sell. Heck, motor parts don't even sell anymore! People replace stuff like that, it's that simple. So I don't think there is a market for what you did personally. But it sure as heck worked for you! That's awesome, you the man!


Brian

[2tractors]

I remember when you could buy alternator brushes now they want to sell you the whole alt. plus core.

[mr48chev]

You can actually find alternator brushes listed for most rigs on the O'Reilly web site. The parts house local to you might not stock them due to low demand but they list them.

Some good advice in this one. The best probably being from Agnes the Dog on cultivating a parts person that you like so you become "their" personal customer.

Other than that do your home work and know exactly what you are looking for either by year, make and model and sub model of what the donor was or by getting the exact part number for what you need.

For most hard parts, hoses and belts the O'reilly web site will give you not only their lower priced house brand part number but give you the part number for a national brand like Gates, BCA or Wagner that can be crossed at any parts house or easily searched online. If there is more than one option as far as size it usually gives you the info on that and that gives you cause to check your old part a bit closer to know exactly what you need.

Don't blow your stack when you get the dumb kid behind the counter who just started and doesn't know squat about car parts. I did the other day and in the process told him that I didn't have the time to teach him how to look up parts. I even pointed out the specific part on his screen but he had it in his head that he needed to look up a different part than what I was asking for.

I also agree with going to the old independent been there for ever parts houses if there is one in the area as quite often they have stock on the shelves that fits our older rigs because they don't have a corporate guy coming in and telling them to pull the part and send it back because it doesn't move fast enough to take up valuable shelf space. They are also the ones that have the rack of paper catalogs over the counter and know how to use them.

I deal more and more with a parts house not far from work that is part of a local chain of parts houses that are connected to the local parts warehouse. I can run down there and ask for a part and if they don't have it on the shelf they check the warehouse and if the warehouse has it they can send a runner after it and have it on the counter in 30 minutes most of the time. They aren't always the lowest price but usually sell name brand parts and everyone on the counter is a top rate parts person.

[OrrieG]

Good stuff. I have an old guy at the local store I use. When they converted to all computer access a few years back, they were told to toss the "color books" as not essential anymore. He hid his on a back shelf and we have used them more than once. I suspect the stores lose a lot of sales to online purchases just because folks find it online and do not bother going back to the original store to cross check the part number.

[Shinysideup]

You notice the huge prices also for aftermarket disc brake kits? They all use basic parts off s10's and such. If you take the time to look these up you can put together the same "kit" for a 1/4 the $.

[MARTINSR]

Absolutely Shiny!

They aren't "making" these parts, they are simply buying them!

Back when "bear claw" latches first came out and were selling like made I got a set for a car I was building at the shop for a customer. I noticed that the part number that was stamped in them was ground off. The dudes selling it ground the part number off so it couldn't be found!

Just weeks later I was working on a motorhome for the RV place next door and couldn't believe it when I pulled the door handle/latch out of the door to see the exact "bear claw" I had bought! This is why they don't have locks in them, they are designed to bolt to a handle that has the lock built into it.

Yep, it's all out there somewhere.

Brian

[mr48chev]

It's a two way street in that you have to know what you are ordering and what it goes on.

Watched as a young female clerk at the local O'Reilly's walked out to a customer's car and first checked the year marked on the tail light, opened the door an checked the tag on the door or door post and then pulled out her phone and took a photo of the vin.

It is pretty normal around here to have the undocumented or just documented farm workers to walk in to the parts house with the registration for their vehicle in hand to order parts because they don't know the model of the vehicle they have or ask for a part for a Capri when they have a Caprice.

[MARTINSR]

We have a parts store in town who's salesmen came to the shop to set us up on the computer to there web site so we can look up parts and not call them!

This just happened yesterday. Ok, the creepy part? How about you put the license number of the car and it knows what the make model and year are! That is just creepy!

Brian

[LEEVON]

Originally Posted by MARTINSR

We have a parts store in town who's salesmen came to the shop to set us up on the computer to there web site so we can look up parts and not call them!

This just happened yesterday. Ok, the creepy part? How about you put the license number of the car and it knows what the make model and year are! That is just creepy!

Brian

Yeah, we are a little weirded out by the license plate data bases as well! My first experience was the old mom-and-pop that I sublet exhaust work to and it freaked me out. What do you mean you can quote the right catalytic converter with the license plate? Do tell...!!!

Lots of truth in all this! There is no perfect catalog, electronic or otherwise. If you have any experience finding parts you are probably better than the retail, customer side parts counter kid that helps you on Saturday morning. That's why I walk I never walk-in without a part number on a Saturday, an exercise in futility. It's not their fault, they are a small piece of a large supply puzzle that gets more complex every day. I own a shop...and it's funny how many off-the-wall ways we have to find parts and part numbers. Another good one for the hobbyist is Rockauto.com, and yes we use it frequently in the shop (and then tease the parts stores about it). And we have numerous subscriptions, high-powered data bases, monthly updated electronic catalogs, etc. There are also retailers, for example there is a BMW parts website called realoem.com that has all OEM diagrams and detailer p/n's and retail pricing. We quite often fax what we need from there to the dealer because they can't find stuff quickly enough. Another advantage we have is pulling OE p/n's from labor estimating tools like Alldata and Identifix and crossing them to aftermarket p/n's.

[mr48chev]

The license plate brings up the vin and the computer program has the info that relates to the vin. Works as long as someone didn't do a drivetrain swap.
Basically they were doing an advanced form of what the young Lady I saw did when she went out and took the photo of the vin to take back inside and use to find the correct part.

[1project2many]

We have two parts vendors that use the plate to Y/M/M databases. I don't really like it either. I hope our state is getting enough $$ to make it worth selling the info. It doesn't help much for existing customers but it can save some time with a new one. Cool part though... we were able to ID some new 2016 cars that we'd never seen before by catching the plate no as they drove by.