I was scouring the internet for an obscure part for a project, and was getting a little frustrated at the time it takes. Then, I remembered. In the "old day's" I'd patently wait for my new Hemmings Motor News to come in the mail. It would be like Christmas when I'd see that big book of a magazine in the mail. I would then thumb through it and make a dozen, or more, long distance calls. I'd locate the part, and often send a few dollars to get some polaroid's. A week or two later I'd get the photo's of the sought after part. Then the trip to the bank for a cashiers check, or money order, and back to the post office. Up to a couple of weeks later, I get the "prize" delivered to the doorstep. Often times a month long process from start to finish. Thank goodness Al Gore invented the internet, lol! Now, it is totally realistic to order something on Monday, and install it the following Wednesday!

 

Since it took so long for anything to arrive, did mechanics just keep a huge inventory of spare parts?

 

In the old days these cars were much newer and trip to the local wrecking yard usually netted a positive result and an inexpensive part. How I miss them.

 

No need to, because parts stores and dealers (and junkyards) stocked a lot of parts back then and a phone call would do the trick. Lot of them would even deliver the part in less than an hour. Plus lots of service stations and garages kept a stock of commonly used parts like tune-up parts, belts and hoses, brakes etc on the shelf.

JetstarJim is talking about finding obsolete and difficult to source parts that no one has stocked in years. I used to look forward to Hemmings every month too but after finding nearly a year's worth still in their plastic wrap, I realised I wasn't using it anymore.

 

How I miss Saturdays searching for parts. There were at least six "you pull it" wrecking yards I could go to and almost always find what I needed. Then there were the yards that you couldn't go back into but could ask the guy at the counter (usually in an old trailer) and he would either have it on a shelf or send someone to get it right there while you waited. Occasionally it would be a phone call and then a trip the next day to pick it up.

 

I had to laugh a little when I read that. There was an old guy around here that sold parts out of a trailer. It was probably at least a foot out of level, and you would have to bend one knee to remain standing straight in front of the counter, lol!

 

I have been building cars for decades and I love the interweb!
I recently bought a mold from a fella in Oklahoma, from the online version of the local Trading post. To say he was surprised to get a call from a guy in South Australia is an understatement.
After having to talk to all of his family , I ended up buying heaps of bits cheap!
Good bye old days....hello new

 

Hope that wasn't Billions & Trillions...

 

Someone posted these on a Oldsmobile group on facebook yesterday and I feel like they just belong on this thread.

EDIT: These are obviously clippings from a long time ago. Please do not try to call the numbers :-)

 

Anyone know where I could rent a time machine and long term storage no questions asked?

 

That particular purchase wasn't, although I have made one purchase from Bills and Trills which is not going to be followed up with a repeat purchase.
Seems accurate descriptions are not part of their corporate policy, but heavy handed pricing is.

 

I put a 37 Pontiac coupe together back in the late seventies.
Yes, It was a lot harder then. Writing letters with SASE's (self addressed stamped envelopes). Lots of expensive long distance phone calls, etc.
Hemmings Motor News and Smoke Signals (the Pontiac club magazine) were my best friends then . A lot of parts also came from swap meets. I went to about 6-10 a year.
I still managed to find two NOS running boards, a couple NOS fenders, and an NOS gas tank among other items that I needed. I even found four NOS hubcaps and a few other parts on the shelves of a local Pontiac dealer.

Today , I love the internet and E-bay. They make the search for obscure parts for my 63 Dynamic so much easier.

 

Used to go to a junkyard owned by a guy called "Smitty".Good ol' toothless, barefoot, chain smoking, Smitty. Just ask him where something might be, take your tools and pull it yourself. Pay him what he asked (which was always pretty fair)or better yet help him out for hour or two around the place and you had a friend.Poor broke kids with hot rods need friends.

 

Yeah, back in the late '80's & early '90's seems every yard had 2-5 Cutlass, Vista, S, Supreme, etc.... I pulled a bunch of parts, but passed up even more.
I bought a set of nice black bucket seats & a black console & shifter for my '71 Supreme & paid $75.00 for everything.....

 

Joffroi, those ads have to be from the early late 70's early 80's, very cool.

 

Although im far too young I still got the very last of the classifieds adventures. I remember my dad and uncle always had the latest Trading times . I remember when we score the 350 buick for my dad's 84 lesabre I was about 10 years old so that was 15 years ago and we made the trip to Indianapolis . I still pick up the local papers because some people are still really old school and have not kept up with the times. Im lucky that there is still a local yard where parts for old cars can be found. I bought my core support from that junkyard , I also took the whole front grille set up for a 66 Riviera in mint condition to restore and sell. My little honey hole in the middle of no where where they will pull the parts for free and pretty much sell it for nothing.

 

I can remember when my dad had his "body/fender" shop, going to the
wrecking yards around Reno for all sorts of stuff, I was a little guy then. but even today, like to walk thru a "good" junk yard. A long time ago, when I got my cutlass, I was looking for window trim, found a complete 65 442, right down to the center console, took the window trim, should have taken the whole car. Who has that time machine, can I borrow it?

 

We had several big wrecking yards in Lubbock back in the day. They had some very nice cars! GM, Furd, Chrysler. I was like a kid in a candy store there, Got some good things for my Vette back in the late 70's early 80's. They had a perfect split window VW, body only but it was I mean perfect. Wish I had had more money back then.

 

Yes. A bad habit I am still trying to break. It's much easier storing the stuff I need at someone on the internet's place.

 

Back in the '60s and '70s over here if you wanted something, whether a car part or a home stereo, you went to a store, paid a deposit, and waited, and waited, just when you were ready to give up you would get a letter, or a phone call if you had got on the waiting list to have a line installed maybe two years ago, that it had arrived. Then you would go to the store to find it was wrong, broken , or both.
New cars might be off the road for days while dealers tried to find essential spare parts.


Thankfully, those days are long behind us, modern communications have their drawbacks, but locating things we want is far easier than it used to be.


Roger.

 

Hemmings,trading times and swap meets,ya the good old days.

 

Why do I still have a stack of HMN's? Fireplace fodder?

"Lots of expensive long distance phone calls"
===
Yeah, used to ring up a $100/mo LD bill. Not anymore! What with cell phones, the whole family has a phone with free long distance within the country. Oh, well, it's $200/mo now.... but hey, EVERYONE has a phone handy. All the time. Everywhere. With a camera.

 

Lubbock?? Did you ever see Waylon picking parts for his cars?