Hey guys I'm new to the site and am looking for parts for my Olds. Nothing specific but just in general. In advance thanks for all the help!! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You'd be surprised how much is available over the counter still. RockAuto can also be a good source for parts.
I'm all for buying from your local NAPA or other good parts store. But lately I have changed my tune. All the old counter men are retiring. The young guys don't have a clue but what is worse, think they do. This makes it impossible to get anywhere with them. So, I have been buying more and more off Ebay and Rock Auto. The prices are way lower and can get stuff in a few days or a week most of the time. This is a lot easier than arguing with some snotty kid and trying to get him to order stuff, paying a lot more, and still having to wait a few days for delivery. Most everything you need to keep the car on the road like spark plugs, brakes, fan belts, hoses, etc are available. Things like body parts, chrome, and things specific to your year and model not so much. This is where you get to use your Google Fu skills.
Thanks everyone! Yah RockAuto has been a real big help!! Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I worked on having a good relationship with the guys at my local NAPA. I make a point of BSing with them whenever I go in there. After doing this for about 3 months, they will order or look up anything I want, return anything or let me buy 4 different radiator hoses or fan belts and return 3 of them to find the one that fits, with no problem. They are not young punks but are at least 30 years younger then I am. But... they are car guys and working stiffs just like I was, so I treat them with respect. A little respect goes a long way when you could use some help finding a part or returning something that you have had way too long and no receipt. NAPA has been my go to place in two different states for 55 years.
With that said I'll try and do the same and tryout my local NAPA. Thanks. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have a 60 Cad. Very similar. Shares a lot of parts. A lot of things that will break as you're using it are not available new. The best place to find old parts, by a mile, is Ebay. It's like a swap meet the size of the earth where you can use a search engine to find exactly what you need. I have been able to find some pretty obscure stuff exactly when I needed it on the bay. And I didn't even have to listen to some old man tell me how rare or valuable it is. Most good stuff was "buy it now", so it really was more like shopping Rock Auto. Try to find the windshield wiper nozzles or a transmission pan for a 1960 Olds at Walmart the day yours goes bad. Sometimes you will need new parts, but again "Ebay" rocks there too. Sometimes you can find better stuff at specialty shops: Transmission parts: Fatsco or USTrans Weather stripping, rubber: "rubber the right way" Most new parts you'll need (suspension/ignition/engine): Kanter is the best There are places like "Oldsmobile Obsolete" and "GM Obsolete", but get ready for a wallet ******, but hey, sometimes you just have no choice. Etc Any old car will reliably provide you with endless projects, in fact just about every time I drive my car there is a new puddle on the ground, a new noise or something breaks. Since working on old cars and bikes is my hobby, that's most of the fun of it for me. Nice Olds, cool looking car. I love anything '59-'60 GM, my absolute favs. You will fly by a dude on the hi way in his Deuce Roadster so fast, the air stream generated by your car will rip the toupee right off of his head and the driver of the car behind him will be traumatized because they'll think they ran over a flying squirrel.
The Zone actually prefers people who know nuthin about cars. But they have everything in the computer now as does O'Reilly's at least on this side of the border all you have to do is tell them to look in Vintage. As long as you have some idea what you want and what the vehicle is that just enter the info.
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