rocket69

Hey guys,

I'm ready to tackle my project, a '69 Olds as you can tell by the screen name.

I'll need to start ordering a lot of parts. I came across a company called Brothers Auto Parts out of Kansas. Their 69-page catalog covers tons of Olds parts.

The prices seem pretty good, but some seem too good. Like, $60 flywheels and the like.

I'm wondering if anyone else has dealt with this company, and are they legit? Because while the prices of different items fluctuate and some seem more realistic, I have skepticism from an online company offering a $5.95 thermostat.

If this company indeed is legit, they'd be great, because it would be an affordable one-stop shop.

Oldsguy

I think that they have had some trouble with another Oldsmobile enthusiast site. I am just working from memory here but I think you will find that I am right. Someone posted a while back about vendors and provided a list. I just can't remember where it was. Perhaps a search will turn it up and they may be on that list. At any rate, wait for replies from others because I am not saying this from first hand experience and if I am wrong I don't want you to miss out on some good business.

Olds64

I would suggest that you don't use one supplier for your parts. I don't know about Brother's but I do know that $6.00 for a thermostat is high. Especially since you can buy one from the auto parts store that is only $3.00, and it is the exact same Stant thermostat that you would buy from an Oldsmobile supplier. If you need a supplier for specific parts just ask around, there are alot of people here that have good connections.

texasred

For those who do not like BAP, may I suggest you do not defame them on the internet. They have brought action against another Olds board and members who spoke ill of their parts and service, or lack of them.

Do you want to do business with folks like that?

Not that I'm saying anything here....just asking is all....

C.J.

don71

Well then, my lips are sealed.....

442Harv

They have lots off parts, and good prices. My problem with them, is I would not order any thing that is not in stock. Their back orders, are a pain in the butt. I had a BO, and if I remember right they charged me when I ordered, and took month to ship. Keep telling me it will be next week, and kept going and going. So if they have it,and will ship right away, probably not a problem

aliensatemybuick

Try Fusicks. They have alot of mechanical, interior and exterior items. Never a problem with them.

don71

Thumbs up for fusicks

Olds64

I have ordered from Fusicks before. They have good customer service.

Sorry if I trash talked Brother's. As I said, I have never used them before so I don't know what kind of services and parts they offer. I just think it is a bad idea to use one supplier for all of your stuff.

66 Olznut

I WILL NEVER DEAL WITH BAP AGAIN

72hopilot

I agree with 66 Olznut! BOP Sucks. I had the same experience.
Use The Parts Place out of Illinois. They rock! Never had a problem and ordered ALOT of stuff. Their shipping is fast and items are great quality.
Hope this helps. - HOP

Redog

Personally, at least for engine parts. I like Mondello.

I emailed them over the weekend about one of thier Trannys. I'm thinking of replacing mine instead of getting it rebuilt, since the rebuild could be the same or more than the rebuild.

I find their shipping to be a bit slow, but that's only because the parts have to come all the way across the USA. Takes about 8 days or so VIA ground, but the parts are worth the wait

Topless72

I'm still awaiting to form to return a wrong part from 3 "attempts" by BAP to straighten it out. Excuses after excuses. 6 years ago I ordered a boot bag for my car. I moved a year later and it showed up at work a year after I left with no Customers name. The guys new I was an Olds fan and figured it was mine. I should have stayed away this time too......

66 Olznut

I WILL NEVER DEAL WITH BAP AGAIN

New'n72

Guess I must be the "odd man out", on this topic. My dealing with B.A.P. has been smooth and wihtout incident. One backorder was a few weeks in coming but they told me that when I ordered it.

I ordered several things from both Fusick and B.A.P. and really can't say I saw any difference in the quality of service.

Perhaps I was lucky? Perhaps I was patient? I see a lot of "immediate gratification" in some postings dealing with ship times and service. If you call them with a chip on your shoulder because your package didn't arrive in your anticipated time frame, I would expect that the person on the other end would not be as cooperative as they might otherwise be.


This is all just an observation. I'm not trying to ruffle anyone's feathers here.

New'n72

I never heard of Tamraz. I just did a search on the internet and found their site. Looks interesting. I may give then a try next time I need something.

Like I said though, I never had a problem with any of the other parts suppliers I have delt with.

J-(Chicago)

Tamraz is only about 15 minutes from here, but unfortunately I have no need for 70's parts and have not dealt with them at all. I have heard good things though.

viper771

I was wondering about BAP. I looked though their stuff and it looked good but never ordered anything from them. Now I am having second thoughts. Do they carry anything different than fusick???

66 Olznut

They don't have anything different than anyone for my year at least.

Topless72

I've personlly never dealt with Tamraz, but when I looked into using them 5 years ago I was given a heads up about some issues people had with them. Like I mentioned, I've never used them though so I can't say anything about them first hand - good or bad ..

I've used Fusick and have had good luck. Year One's been OK too. I like the Original Parts Group catalogue, but have never used them either.

Gary's 2 442-S

Bap and Fusick have both have basically the same parts but from my experience using Bap their customer service was not good. I printed catalog from both from the internet and compared the prices and on some things they are comparable. Fusick puts a lot of their parts on Ebay and you can get some really good deals. They ship very fast and you dont have to make several calls to inquire about your shipment.Fusick's catlog gives actual pictures of their parts so you see what you are buying.

olds1968

ive delt with fusick, original parts group, and ebay and i haven't had any problem but im always looking for different suppliers if i can find any beside fusick, original parts group, year one and ebay. if you guys now of any can you list them.

Sam Barrett

Try Legendary Auto Interiors and The Parts Place.

442

I won't do business with BAP again.

66 Olznut

I just had a VERY POSITIVE dealing with Fusick again. I was installing the 442 emblem on my grill and one of the studs broke. I called them up and without hesitation, they said they're gonna send out a new emblem free of charge, they didn't even want back the old one, and 3 days later, there it was at my door!! I know who's getting my business, even if their prices are a bit more, the service is what seals the deal with me!!

Fred H

You might try USA Parts Supply--see www.usapartssupply.com

Their prices are very competitive. I ordered several things for my 69 442 and they were very responsive. The parts arrived promptly and they handled things very well over the phone.

I ordered parts from some of the other suppliers and didn't have as much luck. Some things took a long time and the bronze engine paint from Year One turned out to be a dirty brown. They made it right by giving me credit on my account, but the paint was nowhere near the Olds bronze.

My engine guy just got done with a 455 rebuild. Can't wait to hear it fired up--bored .30 over, with a cam and Edelbrock carb. Isn't the rumble music to the ears.......

Fred H

Mike77

BAP is "the" worst company I have ever dealt with. After 2 attempt and 2 month to have stuff sent to me because of them not sending to my CORRECT address they decided to deduct the cost of shipping on my refund! A refund of which I never recieved a dime of. BAP can kiss my ***
Fusick is great. They know how to provide service. IE: I bought a trunk emblem from them (one of many things). I closed the trunk lid one day and the plastic rocket emblem fell off and was damaged. Sent an e-mail about it to Steve, 4 days later new emblem at my door.

Bob1971442w30

I will just say, what ever you buy if you put it on a credit card, LOOK CLOSE!!!
They will charge you more and add extra in shipping- thats if they ship!

joe_padavano

I've stayed out of this thread up until now. I also know that many, many folks have had bad experiences with Brothers. All I can say is that in my own dealings with them, I've been satisfied. One particular instance from about ten years ago comes to mind. I had ordered an upholstery kit for one of my cars. During the installation, I damaged the seatback cover for one of the buckets. This was entirely my fault. I contacted Brothers to inquire about purchasing just the seatback cover that I needed, and they sent it to me for free, even though I was offering to pay for it. As I said that was ten years ago and I have not had the opportunity to deal with them since then.

DaLump

Hey Guys,
Ive had both good and bad with pretty much everyone. BAP, ThePartsPlace, Tamraz, etc.

On my latest project 70 442 conv, I used mostly BAP. ThePartPlaceInc is just outside chicago and not far from here. On the bigger sheet metal items like quarters, fenders, and even bumpers, I ordered through BAP and picked up at The Parts Place. (that's where they get a lot of their parts). It saved me a TON on shipping so it worked out great.

Both places stock a ton of parts, but neither stock everything for all cars. Can you imagine how much warehouse space that would require? Ive been to the Parts Place Inc. It's not a huge place. Maybe 5000 square feet with racking? But they do a good job. If it's Olds parts you're looking for, get them from anybody, but the guys at BAP deal strictly in Oldsmobile. The partsplace, tamraz, etc, deal in a butt load of brands and models. You might get lucky when you need help, but I wouldnt go anywhere but BAP for a high dollar Olds restoration. All the parts are top quality as far as reproductions go. There's a lot of cheap junk out there you might save a few bucks on, but then struggle like hell to make the stuff work in your car.

Mike, Steve and Garret at BAP were always very professional and helped with the details when I got stuck. I did have a few back ordered parts like the Pearl White seat backs and bottoms. Those took probably 6 months to get. The problem was NOBODY had them. I tried EVERYWHERE. Of course you could have bought the plain white and painted them pearl to match but who wants to do that? It was kind of funny. About the same day I received the parts from BAP, I got calls from 3 other parts places saying they were finally in if I still needed them. Im pretty sure that all of these guys get alot of these reproduction parts from the same manufacturers.

The only real bitch I have with BAP is their lack of an answering machine and their promptness of returning emails. I know they are busy, but that little bit of customer service carries a lot of weight with me.

Good luck in your parts hunting! Keep the Classic Cars Rolling!

agtw31

there are a lot of vendors out there,why do business with a vendor that has such a terrible reputation?

try supercars unlimited,they never did me wrong.

by the way,BAP cant sue or bring legal action against anybody if what they said about them is true.

bjamincarr

I made a order a 71 442 ram air hood(for my 69 442, I love the look) and a hole bunch of parts like trim and step plates and the wood grain for my dash. The order went fine but when the parts arrived up at my shop in Barrie, On Canada. I was not happy, the step plates were bent and dented, the wood grain for my dash was bent in half. My hood has a nice dent on the inside frame. I made a note on the order sheet before i accepted the order and contacted ThePartsPlaceInc. They told me to deal with the shipping company (UPS) This was about 3 months ago and still no answer! This problem could of been all avoided if they knew how to pack a skid!!! but they will not own up to it. which has made getting new parts a drag!

442scotty

BAP

Just had dealings with them on Ebay...bought a couple of hoses, waited 1 month and no parts....got ahold of them and they express shipped them out at their expense. Someone in shipping dropped the ball but they stepped up and took care of the problem..So I would probably deal with them again...

Coltonis

Very interesting info guys. I too had been looking at parts from BAP as there prices seem to be consistently lower than Fusicks. However, USA parts supply has the same parts I need for cheaper. I was leary of USA Parts Supply at first since there online presentation is really lacking. (ok, it completely blows) For what its worth, I ordered a *free* printed catalog from them which suprised me with really good pictures and descriptions of the parts. I will probably be using them. Should things go south, I will be sure to report back.

68Tom

I just placed an order with Brothers. I called them up and spoke to a really helpful guy where he immediately told me if they did or did not have particular parts I needed in stock. Called back the next day to add something to the order and they already had it packaged up and ready to go. They said it was no problem to add it to the order, before it was shipped that day. So, that's one good order for me.

Oldsguy

Hope your order arrives complete and un-damaged. Good luck.

Lady72nRob71

I ordered $700+ worth of stuff from bap in November.
No notifications on backordered stuff and they sold me stuff that was not even for my car (over the phone). Also their Delco fuel pump was an Airtex. Had to send them back at my expense.
I'm still waiting for two door lock **** ferrules ($2ea) that were not included in my order. I called 6 times and they said it would be right out each time. That was back in December and I am still waiting.
Guess they thought I wanted an extra set to sell on flea bay...
That was my first and last order with them.
I ordered new ferrules from the Parts place along with lots of my other stuff.
Fusick and OPG have good service, but higher prices. Gotta pay for something though...

68Tom

Yikes. Well, I hope my stuff shows up and it's correct.

#1CutlassSupreme

I'm doing a frame off on my Cutlass and Here's a list of the vendors I've used. The beauty of the internet is that you can take advantage of price competition among a variety of different sellers.

Below is a list of some the vendors I've used:

Fusick
The Parts Place Inc.
OPGI
The Paddock
Year One
Summit Racing
Jegs
(and of course Ebay)
Schucks


Beware of $2.00 items with $5.00 shipping costs. Unfortunately, some mail based vendors build their mark ups into their shipping. Too bad "Honest Joe" passed away a long time ago.

As for being sued for giving a review on a vendor...that's bunk. If you were charged a high price or received bad service from an agent of the company, then you have a right as a consumer and citizen to speak your mind (1st Amendment). Demfamation is when you tell people a lie about someone to defame their character, but giving a review of your experience is a matter of fact. If they shipped late, were rude on the phone, didn't follow through, or were 200% higher priced than why can't I share that info? It's not our my fault they're losing business, it's theirs. Right?

...I'm probably wrong.

greenbird

I was searching for reviews on another parts supplier and stumbled on this thread. (Very helpful info, by the way - thank you all).

I've owned my Cutlass for 22 years. If BAP were the only Olds supplier left on Earth, I would sell it before doing business with them again.

I was suckered in by their low prices and placed a pretty large order a couple of years ago. Some parts were on backorder, but they didn't tell me. They held up the entire shipment waiting for the backordered items. I must've called four or five times to check on the status of the order, and every time they told me "it's going out today." They were pleasant enough on the phone, but they were lying.

It took nearly two months before I made enough noise that they finally shipped what they had. And some of the items were for the wrong year.

They charged my credit card for the entire order even though they only fulfilled about half of the order. I had to file a claim with Mastercard to get the charges reversed. It was a nightmare.