We'll REALLY be screwed when the mail order guys fold, too!!

yep

 

Hack,

I go to Summit Racing website and look up my own parts. Then, order them and the shipping is free. I get them in 4 days down here. That way, if the part is wrong, it's my own damn fault. I take the middle monkey out of the equation by choosing the part numbers myself.

And, if Summit ain't got it, probably no one will have it.

 

Totally get that, man.

I usedta buy EVERTYHING from Jim Steadman & Sons Auto Parts on Ten Mile in Farmington. From machine shop work (chuck) to ditzler paint - Steadman carried it all. I had an account - could walk in, pick up what I needed, and walk out. The bill showed up every month, ad I was HAPPY to pay the extra few % for the convenience, as they were less than a mile from the house.

As for the carb - PM me. I think I have an OEM 2bbl core in the garage circa 1970 - you can have it for nuthin' - and you're within drivin' distance.

 

the CORPORATE MACHINE is working overtime.

 

I got a stock 2bbl for you if you want it let me know!

 

I just checked the carb out...


It's an OEM 2 barrell Ford carb as manufactured by Holley; has 'Holley' cast in the air horn. It's similar in configuration to the 2 bbl on Pop's 351 Mustang, FWIW.

Lemme know if you want it - all it costs is gas to pick it up.

 

the mailorder guys ARE the reason that your local shops have closed up... (well them and the Auto Boys and Pep Zone chains...)

Don't get me started...

 

The saddest part of the truth is this...I try on every car we build or service to get our parts from our local speed shop (Austin Performance) and I charge about 3-5% mark up from my price. (basically gas money) even then, there are some parts that they simply can't compete with. carbuerators are a big one. (figure holley sells scummit or jebs about 1000 carbs a year. think they get a killer discount?)
What burns my ass is when a customer insists on ordering from a catalog and the damn car SITS for week or more just to find out that the parts are backordered and then find out Bill has 40 of them on the shelf a few miles away!
Honest opinions here. Is it unethical of me to charge a customer for ordering waits? I would rather order it through my guys and pay more purely because they are damn cool old school(ever though I detest that term) and have literally devoted thier lives to our hobby.
how many cars would have never gotten off the ground if it weren't for these guys?
how many problems would have never been solved without thier knowledge?
in my opinion, 10% is worth just havin' these guys around.
over and out
Lux Blue
CRUSHPROOF

 

I wasn't trying to start an uproar about mail order versus local with my post recomending Summit.

Fact is, here in this area, there hasn't been a real speed shop since Super Shops went bankrupt better than 10 years ago. If I don't mail order it, I don't get it. I want to build cars, so I do what I have to to get my stuff I need.

 

Hey! Didn't mean to get all uppity.I have been through weatherford, and I can see your need for catalogs. My point is just that support for the locals in towns that could easily support them is diminishing. and that sucks.

 

I'll admit I buy from teh mail order guys but mostly on the big items/orders. but for all my little stuff (mostly plmbing) I hit the speed shop. when doing some fancy ass custom setup it helps to be able to take in what you have and lay it all out on the counter and get something working after a bit of messing around.

 

Thats what i'm talkin' about.If I can go fondle the thing, I'll probably figure out wether or not it will work or look right. alot of custom guys have to spend the time looking at this stuff in person. I only know that because theyre in line with me!

 

I know the feeling, in my area there used to be 2 places you could for sure go to and get the stuff you needed. Now the one shop called H&H speed shop is a dang quilting supply shop for all the old women! The other shop is still there, called Juniors Holley Shop, but you gotta catch him when he's actually open. If not then you gotta go at least an hour away and you may get lucky cause the auto parts stores in my area no nothing unless its a taurus or some other jelly bean car.

 

one of my favorite things about A.P. it the huge volume of carb stuff hanging on hooks right behind the counter. If you let me know what you need, I will go get it monday and mail it to ya for an additional 32 cents. (they also have a large volume of those "pit packs" with various holley parts in them--bowl gaskets,accererator pumps&umbrella seals, power valves, bowl sight gaskets,needle and seat parts, etc. fortunatly, this is still drag race country)

 

Hey Greg, I know where you can get a couple of Holley 450's!
(How are those coming btw?)

Also, Advanced Auto & Autozone sell Holley parts, and I'm pretty sure that Steve at Nightmare Racing Supply can get 'em for ya too.

 

I bet the guys in North-Eastern Europe are going to be laughing their Arses off when they read this whining.

 

I work at a mom and pop hot rod shop, we fight that fight every day. This shop has been open since 1986, and believe me, in the 5 years I've been there, it's been a constant battle for us. Trying to buy competetively so we can sell against the local auto parts chains, the mail order hot rod guys, etc. is no fun deal. Our saving grace is that people come to us for the stuff we stock, because we can offer experience and customer service. Try finding all the brass you need for your brake system at a chain store or Summit.

 

although one thing I did learn after talking to a local bike ship was this....

if you order from a chain you get ZERO customer service...

ordering throught he shop (same supplier but a 10% mark up) you get service! I bought a billet clutch hub and needed a hand installing it and the shop did it free of charge. Owner said a guy came in once asking about a tire for his bike......then went and ordered one online. got the wrong one or something and was bitching about the shop owner not giving him any help.

 

I have told several people who have come in solely to pump me for information, then never buy anything, that I don't owe them shit for customer service if they're NOT A CUSTOMER! don't usually see them again after that.

 

People won't pay extra for anything anymore. It's the WalMart mentality. You either sell for bottom dollar or you go under.

It's not the military-industrial complex running America anymore, it's the box stores.

 

That's true and it reminds me of the corporation that pulls all the strings in Robocop and Robocop II.
As Wallyworld gets even more power it may become the corp. im Robocop.
And to keep this on topic, Gene Winfield's still unhappy about the Robocop producers blowing up "his" car when he wasn't there.

I have fair luck getting parts at Auto Zone.
At least their computer will let you look up parts for cars back 100 years. PepBoy's computer won't even look up a part for a car more than 30 years old. You can ask it for a water pump for a '67 Chevy, but not a 64!

 

I'm a former speed shop owner. Years ago, Summit, Ramchargers, Speedomotive, etc. did business so poorly that it was easy to compete. They collected orders until they hit wd status and then ordered. If it took a month, so what. Then they figured out how to do it. They bought and sold at what I was buying at. All the suppliers told me to stress the service. As we entered into the credit card era, it no longer worked. Kudos to the people that just went broke. They lasted 15 years longer than me.

 

This post is a good one.Really a shame that people do not understand what they are missing when they buy from Summit or Jegs.How many of them are Hambers?...I doubt any are.Your local speed shop has forgotten more about this stuff than the mass merchandisers will ever know.

Thirdyfive,I got my start in the industry working for your co-worker Ernie.That was 1988,and I have been in the business since then.It really hurts to see the small guys folding up,as they will never come back.

Now the performance aftermarket is implementing M.A.P. (minimum advertised price)...Which basically means the days of Summit selling parts at 10% or less over cost are over.Service will play a bigger role than ever.Something the mail order houses do not have.

Support your local speed shop...it is part of our culture,and the history of the hobby.

 

Hack your about 10 years late, the last three cars I built through mail order. Local shops couldn’t compete in price and there parts guys were incompetent and always trying to sell you what they thought was the right part.

Ramchargers, Super-shops, Mid-America, Grand River, all sucked as far as I’m concerned every time I needed something they had to order it and it took a few days to get it, and then when I went to get it, there was always a problom and it didn't come in. Well fuck that I can get it the next day from Summit, Jegs, or Speedway and cheaper. Out of the last three years I've only been left waiting for parts that didn't make on time once. It came down to If I have to order one thing from someone else cause the local shop couldn’t get it then I’m ordering everything from someone else.

There was only one place that I ever had great dealings with around here (over 10 years ago) and it was called Performance Warehouse on Ann Arbor Trail and that was because he concentrated on what was hot at the time (5.0’s) and kept everything in stock and priced as good or cheaper than the big guys. He has a new shop in Garden City and is into everything now, prices are still good but it’s a small shop so he keeps the most common stuff in stock and can order everything else for the next day. Performance Parts Warehouse (734) 762-6050 I can’t Remember the owners name.

If you want it you can have the intake and carb from the 302 out of the donor car I bought from you. It will save me from having to chuck it.

Don't know if this is one of the place you tried but I heard the Taylor Ramchargers closed it's doors Thursday or Friday, I'm not sure if there all doing that.

 

I too had a shop in conjunction with my fabrication business. I sold to mostly circle track guys and it amazed me the way business grew, basically word of mouth, without any advertising. By the 6th year of working it, I had customers traveling up to 1 1/2 hours to shop with me. Maybe they got trained the way I did business but I always encouraged them to call or e-mail a list of what they needed and I'd do about ANYTHING to have it in 2 days to keep them racing and they really seemed to appreciate it. This year I could have made it my full time business but we moved earlier this year so I sold my inventory and turned my customer list over to the buyer. It's up to him now to keep it going or kill it!

I'm slowly starting the process over at my new location but hope to broaden my approach this time to include hot rods, circle track, drag race and street performance.

I always tried to meet or beat catalog prices on about any item. I felt it was better to make a little than nothing, and also keep my customers coming back. It worked for me before, I guess I'll see if it works again!

 

Maybe getting a job and moving out of the old hood will light a fire under your ass? No offense but everytime folks on the HAMB lament the economy and shit, the loudest whines come from Michigan! I live in BFE and between our shop that stocks rod parts, the local Speed shop that sells all the goodies you mentioned and 3 local parts stores, I can buy about ANYTHING!

Stop yer dying and start living!

 

Good luck to you Lynn! I am sure you can make it work.
Charlie
formerly of Motorstate

 

It sucks. I try to support the local shops as much as I can, but the nearest speed shop is about an hour away, and unless you need a very general, or very sbc part, they probably don't have it. Ofcorse, they can order it for you, but by then you could order it from summit or something yourself, have it the same time, not drive an hour one way, and end up with the same price. It's sad but true.

The napa by me can order lots of specialty stuff, holley carbs, genuine holley parts, edelbrock stuff, ect..., but the countermen don't want to be bothered with it. If you order a 700cfm and decide you wanted a 750, they don't want to pay to send it back, or pay thier shipping to get it there, so they blow you off, tell you to call summit.

 

carbking , try this guy. i havent ordered anythig from him yet BUT he does have the kit for my brother Ball & Ball carb for about $50 & was told he carries lotssssssss of kits for many carbs. in the past he has given some good advise on carbs to the folks of Stovebolt......joe

 

I got a stock 86-up FI setup off a 5.0 HO Mustang for you...very reasonable...if you wanna go that route and be done with it. Get a computer and a FI in-tank pump. You won't need Holley gaskets anymore.