[ SS old days, did you ever go into one of the 160+ stores?[/QUOTE] Yessir. We had two in San Antonio in the '90s and I was a semi-regular at both of them, lookin' for parts for a "Brand C" Nova. I think they were maybe the only place in town where I could find Holley parts and linkage. I haaunted one in Houston also, on Little York I think it was. Fearless
The Jegs I go to in columbus Ohio when I visit has been really knowledgeable about some varied stuff, and they have 10 ft of books to search through for a certain part if you need something. Real adults and everything, and friendly. You can't expect every phone jockey to know about some obscure olds or buick engine, let's be honest hardly anybody is, much lesss someone making $12 an hour at a phone job. I'd be happy with a speed shop where they didn't give me too much attitude and could get parts at somewhere within 10-20% of mail order, preferably faster. I hate going to any stores, so unless its something I need immediately I really like ordering on the 'net.
One thing, crate engines and mail order has changed everything. You're putzing with the car on a Saturday and need a gasket or some jets for a Holley, you'll never find them anymore. We need some speed shop revival! And the machine shop biz sure took it in the shorts with all these "crate engines." What ever happened to choosing your own cam specs and your own c/r? It's a monkey see deal. THREE THINGS: Support your local speed shop! If possible... Support your local machine shop! If possible... Support your local drag strip! If possible...
I worked in the tampa store back in 96? and if you think the sales people were dumb, you should have seen the people that came in the store. Not carring import parts is what killed that place.
S. Tacoma Way in Tacoma , Wash. across the street from Adams Tacoma Roller Bowl( gone ) there is a 4x4 shop now in the building. Bought my first intake , Carb, Air Cleaner.
I went to the one that was on Stevens Creek Blvd many times when I lived in Santa Clara. When we were there one day,There was a guy buying parts for his car while he tried to pay with a stolen credit card. I looked out the front window only to see the place surrounded by cops. He bolts out the front door running down the middle of Stevens Creek Blvd with all the cops chasing him. Never did make it back to pick up his car. I also visited the one in Fremont on Mowry ave just before you get to Mission Bld.
Any more updates? The largest chain of speed shops in the history of man. Always enjoy hearing about old stories, etc. Where are the giveaway cars today?
I did a couple months at the Torrance CA store between race engine shop jobs. It didn't take long to get 'regular customers' in who were quick to note I had a clue what I was talking about. We got a lot of lowrider guys in too- buying blingy doo dads. It was cool when I could really help someone get what they wanted. I used to live at the air base in San Berdoo and go to the store there or to J&M Speed in Riverside all the time. It was the place to go for plumbing fittings, jets, lug nuts, and all the 'little' stuff you'd need on a Saturday that no one else would have in stock. I didn't mind working there. They wanted to make me a manager, but when I got the call to come work in a race engine shop again, I was all over it and said goodbye to retail. Good thing too- they closed up soon afterwards. The young guys working there were trying to learn as they went. I taught as much as I could to as many as would listen. Mostly good dudes looking to know more. I wasn't there long enough to make a difference to them.
i bought a lot of parts from the one,in fort wayne ind.it was a great place,i hope they do come back.
And then there was the "Super Nanook" AA/FA and later Arrow fuel Funny Cars, one that won the U.S. Nationals with Ace McCulloch in a holeshot over Tom Ridings driving Joe Pisano Yellow Arrow.
I used to work @ Supershops #1 on Baseline in San Bernardino. Steve "Flash" was my boss. He now works @ J&M Speed Center in Riverside,Ca. I have pictures of when Harry Eberling first started off, and he shared that first building with someone else at first. I think it was a beauty salon, but not One Hundred on that. They made there killing on High Jacker Shock & Extra Long Spring shackles. Harry didn't even graduate High School.. had 165 stores acroos america.
My first visit to Super Shops was the store in Fremont. My friend Marc works there. They'll match anyone's price and have the part usually the next day.
DAVE...super shop sound's like A.H.R.A. coming back to compete with N.H.R.A. actualy it's harder than that, it's more like the news papers competing with the internet. but stranger things have happened...POP.
If I remember right we had two in the OKC area, one of which was in Midwest City, It was real convenient. Hope they do come back, Old Guys need places to wonder around and look.
I hope they make it but they need to have people who know what they're doing for that to happen. When I grew up in the late 60s & early 70s the local speed shop was where you went not only to buy your parts, but to get good solid advice on what to buy. The big chain stores tried to be too much like the Walmart of speed parts and got a bad rep because of stupid customers and parts guys with that "customer is always right" frame of mind. So Billy buys a Holley 850 double pumper and bitches when it makes his stock 305 run like crap and blames it on the shop. Tells all his buds they sold him junk and there you have it. I do agree that the huge mailorder places hurt the small local guys bad but in a big way that's the fault of the cheap buyers who would rather save 10 bucks on that Edelbrock intake than get good advice & buy the right one the first time. Sadly the days when your local shop ran a drag car or 2 and had a machine shop out back are quickly becoming just a fond memory.
Speed shops are only as good as the people that run and work at them. I had some good experiences and bad ones at the SS. I guess it's no different than the local parts stores, just depends who you get behind the counter and what knowledge they have. Mail order is killing the local speed shops on price, but I will always do my best to support local business.
I worked at Super Shops here in Des Moines, Iowa. I started out mounting tires and in 3 months I got promoted to Assistant Manager. That place was good in the 80's to early 90's but went to hell quickly. I lasted almost a year but I could see that Jegs and Summit was killing them so I bailed out. I think they lasted in to the middle 90's. The one thing that I did get from Super Shops is all the people that I met. To this day I am friends with lots of them! It was a lot of fun working there.
Thats cool to here, as said before hope they can stay alive against the mailorder giants. The giants killed the speed shop i went to.
I owned the KLOS giveaway Super Nanook Fuel Altered for a while. Sold it to a guy in Monrovia who took it apart. Last time I drove by the guy's shop it was apparently closed and the bare chassis was sitting on top of a storage container. Never saw it assembled again, but then I don't get out much.... That was in 1990 or '91. In the seventies I used to buy all my speed parts at the Service Center on Sepulveda and Victory. The Supershops on Van Nuys Blvd was not hardcore enough. More like a tirestore than a speedshop... I think towards the end of the chain there were also some robberies and employee killings that made a lot of headlines in LA. O r do I confuse that with another auto parts chain? Somebody will remember and set me straight
I heard Dave Hough is working on a new "Super Nanook" that is 'posed to be at 50th Anniversary Winternats --- Those deaths, they happened at the SS Santa Ana store, an inside job, an ex-employee that did it. six people killed or something like that.
Super Shops was a hangout after hours, and I always enjoyed going into Super Shops in the 80's. I learned a lot of stuff, but the 90's was another story. There were a lot of "bodies" filling counter spots. Too many knowledgable guys left. I really miss the 7-days-a-week parts availabilty, but not the guys who were so blatantly trying to sell you the "item of the day/week." That really got old-- I'm after a Holley jet kit, not a new pair of Erson chrome valve covers! Now the Fresno store is a 4x4 parts place. Has been since they shut the doors back in the mid/latter 90's.
When you get to having 165 stores, finding qualified help is a challenge. Regarding the situation with promoting certain items like valve covers, there used to be contests and if it's mentioned as a matter of small talk, that's one thing, but when the guy would blurt it out like a tape recording, yes, didn't work too well I'd imagine.
Funny there was a super shops here in San Bernardino on E st right below rialto across from the pep boys it just shut its doors about a month ago. There was some talk about the owner going down to SD but from what I see super shops kissed this ghost town good bye.
A thread from the past.. I must have dinosaur status here.. I remember Hanging around Blairs speed shop in Pasadena. That was a SPEED SHOP!. Serious go fast stuff and counter guys that knew what they were talking about.. Used speed parts for the guys like me that had to save up a couple of pay checks to get that shifter or whatever.. Tripping over blowers on the floor.. The smell of fast! I walked into a Super Shop store and it was like walking into K-mart. It didn't have the "feel".. Too clean... Too cold.. Don't get me wrong.. I bought a lot of stuff from S.S. It was handy. It just didn't blow my skirt up...
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