URGG!

I agree Charles, places I go to up here near Toronto are ones I ve painstakingly checked out.. most of the ones I frequent for my firebird are actually run by or have parts people that have forgotten more about muscle cars than most. Guys that have taken apart or rebuilt entire cars back in those times. Most are quite willing and often eager to pass on what they know.. I know I ve learned a ton from these guys which is why I keep going back to repay them for their hospitality.

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I always get a kick when I go to buy parts for my '71 and '73 T/A and when the little ricer punk behind the counter asks the engine size I have to tell him its a 7.5L 455 ci :-)

When I had the tires mounted on my new Rally II rims there was some chink ricer boy running the store and he asked me why I went with such heavy rims. All I could do was smile and tell him that with 350HP and 500ft-lbs torque it doesn't matter!

He's probably still wondering what torque is.

Jay S

Now my old pickup, like many, is a strange configuration of parts sorta like Johnny Cash's Cadillac. I have a card I carry in my wallet to keep track of what year what part is. (distributor, water pump, accessory drive pulleys, tranny, diff, etc.) Now the fun thing to do is go into Advance or O'Rielly and try and get a part. You say, "I need a distributor cap for a 69 Chevy

327". They ask what car is it? You try and tell them it doesn't matter. They insist on asking what car it is. At this point you tell them it's a 1960 Ford pickup. The look on their face is priceless. Some will even try to convince you that you don't really want that Chevy part for a Ford truck. Of course if you just want the part without the entertainment you go to a REAL parts store like the local NAPA jobber.

Jay S spilled my beer when they jumped on the table and proclaimed in

It's when you ride around the country in a bus with other people, looking at the sights. :)

NOI

Had a buddy in high school that had a '64 Chevy short box, with a 440 Chrysler under the hood, limited slip rear end, torque flite tranny. Fun truck!

I needed a pan gasket for a 300-I6 Ford a while back. I honestly did not know what year the engine was because it was a transplant, but ALL 300's use the same gasket. I tried to tell the pimply faced parts "man" that it did not matter what year, but he persisted. So I gave him a year! When I got the box in my hand I showed the application on the box. It covered all years to current. Greg

I like REAL parts stores, even if I end up paying more. The problem is, I will do work late at night, after my businesspartners are done with the lift. After 6PM all the real parts stores around here are closed. That leaves Auto-Zone & Advance. Auto-Zone has a 24 hour store. Which is totally useless from 3AM till 4:30AM as their computers go down for system updates. Not even the managers know how to use paper catalogs.

I used to have a buddy that had 2 jobs. He worked first shift at Johns Auto Parts (A real parts house), then second shift for 5 hours at Auto-Zone.

One evening I had the steering column coupler get really lose on ym 1988

4x4 S-10 Blazer (4.3V6/auto). I had grew up calling the part a rag joint. It was around 7 in the evening when I needed the part, after calling around for 45 minutes and getting told it was either a junk yard or dealer item, I had a brite idea. I called the Auto-Zone my buddy worked at, and asked for him.

I said "Hey Greg ya'll sell any Rag Joints?" He replied "Hell Yea old son. I done seen a box of them collecting dust on a shelf. They call them something else in the parts books and computer."

So since I had a suspension & steering parts paper catalog handy, I flipped thru it and found "Steering Column coupler". I gave greg the part numbers from my catalog. He cross referanced them to the Auto-Zone part number. Then he went back, grabed me one, and set it up front for me.

I was in and out of Auto-Zone in less then 5 minutes, cause we jawwed for 4 minutes.

Around here a lot of the older small parts houses, like Johns, and KOI still even let you smoke in them. Charles

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hey hey... easy on the "chink ricer boy"... =o/

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Probably still wondering what that big engine looks like....

Well, catch ya later,

-Geno

1985 Blue Camaro 2.8L w/ T-tops 1988 Blue Firebird Formula 5.0L w/ T-tops (Up for sale on Autotrader.com) Still looking for an '82 T/A 5.0L w/ T-tops