I am having a hell of a time finding normal wear and tear items for my lincoln, where do you guys get your oil filters, brake pads and such??
I guess if ya like Chinese parts or maybe Japan I'd try Auto Zone Wix filters ,Wagner brakes ,BCA bearings ,National seals ,moog suspension parts ,fel pro gaskets ,etc etc .Any decent store thats been around a while should have the books to get the parts you need.If they can't help pm me and maybe I can. A good friend of mine owns an Auto Zone and I've spent time there so I know he has the books to get some cool stuff for us car freaks.
The Autozones here are staffed by those of little or no intelligence. They are barely capable of looking in their computer which only goes back to 1964, so they are not able to look up parts for any of my many ol cars. My daily drivers are in order of use: 1939 Ford pickup, 1935 Ford, 1931 Ford coupe, 1957 chevy, 1959 Ford
I've had fricken awesome luck with Car Quest. I had originally put them with the usual POS chain stores. Pep Boys etc. They have yet to let me down on either of my dailies. 62 Caddy or 64 Galaxy
well, i guess i'll just chalk up my bad luck to tards behind the counter. maybe I'll try another store in town, thanks guys!
parts stores are very hit or miss some have car people who got a second job for car moneys(me) and some have kids who just thought it would be an easy job(everyone i work with) i begged and pleaded with the managers to get all the old books back and now i can find anything if your willing to wonder the store awhile waiting for me to find it heh. i get all my parts for the 48 at work(pep boys)
The problem with parts stores is you need to know your parts interchanges before you go in. For instance, Advance Auto has brake shoes for 51-54 Chevy - but they don't know it, because the computer only goes back to '55. 51-58 use the same brakes. It's not even just old cars, their computer doesn't show the cheap brand shoes that fit like 81-87 1/2 ton pickups, as fitting the 88-91 Suburban, even though a: they're the same and b: they do show the more expensive brands as fitting. Best bet is to find a specialty house like Kanter Auto that covers it, see if you can come up with a part number, and then try the cheap outfits to see if you can find a better price.
When you do find the parts you're looking for I'd suggest buying some extras to have on hand so you won't be in a pinch. I keep some extra brake lines, pads, and filters on hand whenever possible.
Most part stores only go back to 1959.What I do for my '58 Ford is I get all the free catalogs I can, Mac's,Concours, Dennis Carpenter etc. and check the part number and see what years are the same.For shocks I look them up on the Monroe web site.And some time I go to rockauto web site and get the part number.With this info I go to the O'RIELY or ADVANCE AUTO web site and look them up myself.Then I go to the store with my list,then what ever idiot is there can pull it or order overnight.Most parts stores have a web site so you can look it up yourself and even send the order to the store.Also believe it or lot you can get lots of stuff from JC WHITTNEY.I have a advantage as I was a FORD dealership parts manager for 23 years and always kept vendor parts books so I could crossrefrence th Ford number before I called ,this cut down on mistakes.
Most part stores only go back to 1959.What I do for my '58 Ford is I get all the free catalogs I can, Mac's,Concours, Dennis Carpenter etc. and check the part number and see what years are the same.For shocks I look them up on the Monroe web site.And some time I go to rockauto web site and get the part number.With this info I go to the O'RIELY or ADVANCE AUTO web site and look them up myself.Then I go to the store with my list,then what ever idiot is there can pull it or order overnight.Most parts stores have a web site so you can look it up yourself and even send the order to the store.Also believe it or lot you can get lots of stuff from JC WHITTNEY.I have a advantage as I was a FORD dealership parts manager for 23 years and always kept vendor parts books so I could crossrefrence the Ford number before I called ,this cut down on mistakes.
since you're in AZ, go to checker. the main warehouse is in phoenix and has shit you wouldn't believe. we carry carter puel pumps, fel-pro gaskets and there's TONS of other great stuff floating around most depots like mine. if you have a fucktard behind the counter, call me and i'll get you the part# and you can get it from one there. oh yeah, our computer goes back to 40 and i have books going back to the 20's
The AutoZone catalog actually goes all the way back to 1930, but as you go farther back, it has fewer and fewer parts, and is more likely to have mistakes in it.
oh yeah, as for the brakes...we have raybestos. do a google search on autozone's brakes, they are all from albany brake company and suck some major ass. we carry one line from them and i refuse to sell them to anyone.
they ALL blow, it really depends on who is behind the counter and how much they care about their job (very little most of the time). that is why it's up to you to do the leg work, i have catalogs (real catalogs) for major parts companies (napa, raybestos, borg warner, bendix, bca......) and a lot of them have catalogs online. this way you can just go in and tell them the number and even the worst stores can order them. napa is a little more $$ but they're parts are good and most of the time they have them in stock. my .02.
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