Part Sourcing

[Guest Caribou]

Hey. More questions. I have a lot of questions.

I've begun to collect parts for my car, and I'm concerned about compatibility. Is there a reliable way to confirm what the original parts on a car were, and what parts from other make/models would fit?

On the same note, are there any internet shops worth knowing about that might actually have parts for something like my 71?

For context, I'm looking for a couple tail lights right now. I got a quote online for a hundred bucks for one from a site, but there's a pile of them on ebay for similar makes/models to mine. All slightly different, and some look a lot like mine... but at 20-30 bucks plus shipping, I'd still like to know that it's going to fit before ordering.

[NTX5467]

Almost ALL of the trim items, exterior and interior, will be model-year-specific. They'll all go in the same physical place, but with differences relating to the particular model year. If there might be any upscale trim options in a particular model line, they'll most probably be a little different, too, for a more upscale or "expensive" look compared to the standard items. As "LeSabre" or "LeSabre Custom", possibly.

On almost all of the exterior plastic lenses, there will be some casting numbers visible on them. In these casting numbers, there also should be some model year identification on them, typically . . . as in the last two digits of the model year. As they are molded in the red lens, they can be somewhat hidden from view, but once you find them, the casting information is really evident.

With the lenses out of the vehicle, you might also find some casting numbers on each of the pieces which make the assembly. These numbers obviously meant something at the vendor's production facility, but they mean nothing in the GM Parts realm of things. Even if you might find a larger cast number on a main piece, which looks like it could be a GM part number, it could be a few part numbers off from what the parts book would indicate for that assembly, sometimes one or two numbers (i.e., cast = 1368790, GM pn = 1368702), but no set rules in that area.

In many cases, if you can find a Chilton Collision Estimating Manual, it'll have illustrations for each of the model years, with part numbers (and prices in effect at the time of the catalog's printing). Of course, if you can find a sales brochure from a literatur vendor, that could be good, too, as would a paper GM/Buick parts book with a 1972 printing date and all of the green illustration pages in it.

For the time being, it might be good to match what's on the vehicle.

As for mechanical parts, there's more model-year spreads on that stuff, although emissions hardware will be model year specific.

Looks like a car worth saving! I hope your bondo remediation is not too involved!

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[Thriller]

Willis - I thought the production year on the tail light lenses was based on the first year that casting was used, so if the same lens was used for multiple years, it wouldn't necessarily match the year of the car, but would be correct. Is that correct?

Caribou - there are a variety of vendors, and some depend on what you are looking for. ClassicBuicks.com has a variety. The Buick Farm has NOS parts (they used to be exclusively NOS). That's what comes to mind right now. Mechanical parts will generally be available through NAPA or other local parts sources. You may want to check with local wreckers as well - there may be parts cars for you there. They would also have Hollander Interchange Manuals, which give the information of what parts cross which cars.

[NTX5467]

Derek -- In the case the same lens was used for more than one model year, that could be accurate. But I highly suspect that the number of tail lamp lenses which were carried over from their initial model year of use into later years would be very small for non-truck-based GM vehicles. '70-'77 Camaro would be one. Possibly some 1970s GM X-platform and A-platform cars and utilities. I somewhat doubt that full size Buicks were that way, though.

Over the years, I've run across many things I suspected would be similar for different model years which turned out to be totally different and would not fit where I thought they would. Even some things on the same model year but different models of Buicks!

When I noticed the model year coding I mentioned, it was in the earlier 1960s when I was looking at almost every car I could find to learn about things. The "code" might not be really "official", but I did notice the strong correlation back then. Kind of a "shadetree" way of doing things many years before I knew what "shadetreeing" things was about. Back then, things changed yearly on almost every car produced, with light duty truck models being a little less intense than the cars were.

Enjoy!

NTX5467

Edited August 6, 2011 by NTX5467 (see edit history)