How do people find parts for obscure vintage cars.

[John_S_in_Penna]

And the best case is that the seller of the car

will be an earnest long-term owner, who has his

own supply of spare parts for the car.  They may

come with the purchase, or be available for you

to buy for an extra amount.

[Leif in Calif]

15 hours ago, TTR said:

Yes, but I would add another to that, often the easiest:

Call someone who has it.

If none of these are viable option, it's likely you're over your head ---> Backyards, driveways and garages around the globe have millions  (or more) of these examples (i.e. people having gotten over their heads) laying around until such project gets sold (too often to another person getting over their head) or hauled to dumpster/scrapyard.

Totally true! For every old car we see at a meet or on the road, there are at least 10 like it in someone's garage that "just need a little TLC" (according to them). 

[TTR]

5 hours ago, Walt G said:

If you are new to the old car interest  it takes time to get to know who to ask or go to  so you may wind up with a useable part or find a replacement. 

Join a club and become friendly and active and the "secrets" shall be shared.

100% agreed.

I’ve been into the hobby of old cars for close to 45 years and professionally restoring them over 30.

I’ve also been a member of some car clubs for +/-30 years and while rarely or almost never participate in their social type events and have never met most of the membership face-to-face, almost all know me or of me because for decades I’ve been advertising some of the obscure/specialty products I reproduce in club newsletters and have sold some to most of the members over the decades.

 

In last couple of months, I’ve ran into unexpected difficulties finding a relatively simple part for a 1960 automatic transmission I’m rebuilding for a clients car and after weeks of contacting all my known and long established sources specializing in such parts, etc, I came up dry and decided to dig out some old (unread) newsletters and membership rosters to see which members in these clubs might have same model cars, etc.

Well, it did pay dividends. I found a member (+/-3000 miles away) who also offers rebuilding services of same type transmissions. He instantly recognized who I was and apologized for not being willing to sell any spare parts from his own diminishing stock of hard to find or obscure items (completely understandable), but offered to photograph and provide all specific measurements of one like I need, so I can try to find an alternative, custom fabricate or modify something else to work.
I just received an email last night with everything I need to move forward.

 

Similar happened recently here on this AACA site. I was hoping to find someone experienced with a car/job one of my clients asked me to work on, so inquired about it here and received several references + contact information for such person, a very nice and helpful gentleman, whom I eventually had lengthy and informative conversation with over the phone, right before the holidays. He also offered to provide further advise, help and information if or when I need any during this job.

 

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by TTR (see edit history)

[TheCatOfAges]

1 hour ago, TTR said:

100% agreed.

I’ve been into the hobby of old cars for close to 45 years and professionally restoring them over 30.

I’ve also been a member of some car clubs for +/-30 years and while rarely or almost never participate in their social type events and have never met most of the membership face-to-face, almost all know me or of me because for decades I’ve been advertising some of the obscure/specialty products I reproduce in club newsletters and have sold some to most of the members over the decades.

 

In last couple of months, I’ve ran into unexpected difficulties finding a relatively simple part for a 1960 automatic transmission I’m rebuilding for a clients car and after weeks of contacting all my known and long established sources specializing in such parts, etc, I came up dry and decided to dig out some old (unread) newsletters and membership rosters to see which members in these clubs might have same model cars, etc.

Well, it did pay dividends. I found a member (+/-3000 miles away) who also offers rebuilding services of same type transmissions. He instantly recognized who I was and apologized for not being willing to sell any spare parts from his own diminishing stock of hard to find or obscure items (completely understandable), but offered to photograph and provide all specific measurements of one like I need, so I can try to find an alternative, custom fabricate or modify something else to work.
I just received an email last night with everything I need to move forward.

 

Similar happened recently here on this AACA site. I was hoping to find someone experienced with a car/job one of my clients asked me to work on, so inquired about it here and received several references + contact information for such person, a very nice and helpful gentleman, whom I eventually had lengthy and informative conversation over the phone right before the holidays. He also offered to provide further advise, help and information if or when I need any during this job.

 

 

this is one of the primary reasons i love manual transmission cars, they arent a hydraulic computer like an automatic, and are much easier to find parts for should something major fail

[TheCatOfAges]

4 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

And the best case is that the seller of the car

will be an earnest long-term owner, who has his

own supply of spare parts for the car.  They may

come with the purchase, or be available for you

to buy for an extra amount.

most field cars are "just as they sit" sales, the current owner knows next to nothing about it, but is selling it rather than scrapping it. are these cars usually lost causes, or just "not for beginners" cars. i know a field car is usually not the best start, however i got mine from a field, and it came out wonderfully, the owner had simple greened it after i first saw it, so most of the moss on the car had died and fallen off, but it had a solid 1/2 inch of moss on the hood. the owner was the 2nd owner and had nearly 63 years of ownership at the time, i think him walking out and seeing the condition of it now finally made him say it was time for it to move on to a new owner who has the time to fix it, and its so close to the road, i just need to replace the rear end seal, the old radiator needs tanked and restored, as I don't plan on keeping the aluminium rad in it. i need to weld a patch in my inner fender and replace the battery tray. as well as patch the rear floors, and quarters, i will be using 18 gauge steel from a barrel that i roll flat and reuse, as that seems to be the cheapest source of 18 gauge i can find. (this is not a rodent rod, you wont be able to tell it was a barrel i used)

 

 

Edited January 4, 2023 by TheCatOfAges (see edit history)

[jensenracing77]

Somewhat related, The late Ken Dennison (great man) once told me about my Jetfire cars when I first got into them. If you see a part for a Jetfire in the wild, buy it. Does not matter if you need it or not, you buy it. That advice has turned out to be priceless to me in my Jetfire adventures. I later trade some of those parts for other needed Jetfire parts. Jetfire parts are really hard to find, I can't even imagine how hard it is to find pre war stuff. I will say this, The Jetfire model has made me learn to restore parts I didn't think was possible to restore. 

[TheCatOfAges]

2 minutes ago, jensenracing77 said:

Somewhat related, The late Ken Dennison (great man) once told me about my Jetfire cars when I first got into them. If you see a part for a Jetfire in the wild, buy it. Does not matter if you need it or not, you buy it. That advice has turned out to be priceless to me in my Jetfire adventures. I later trade some of those parts for other needed Jetfire parts. Jetfire parts are really hard to find, I can't even imagine how hard it is to find pre war stuff. I will say this, The Jetfire model has made me learn to restore parts I didn't think was possible to restore. 

Jetfire... that's the second turbocharged gm car, right?

[TTR]

3 hours ago, Leif in Calif said:

Totally true! For every old car we see at a meet or on the road, there are at least 10 like it in someone's garage that "just need a little TLC" (according to them). 

I believe your "at least 10" is rather conservative estimate.

1000...+ is likely closer, not to mention probably far more commonly used saying  "No, it's not for sale. I'm going to fix/rebuild/restore it someday", but that day rarely ever comes.

Reality is incredibly hard pill for many, including antique car enthusiasts, to swallow.

 

[8E45E]

1 minute ago, TTR said:

I believe your "at least 10" is rather conservative estimate.

1000...+ is likely closer, not to mention probably far more commonly used saying  "No, it's not for sale. I'm going to fix/rebuild/restore it someday", but that day rarely ever comes.

Reality is incredibly hard pill for many, including antique car enthusiasts, to swallow.

 

The '1000' figure may be true for the big three volume cars, but not higher end vehicles because of much less production.  I'll agree there may be 1000 'just like its' for one 1966 Chevrolet hardtops, but not 1966 AMC Ambassador hardtops.

 

Craig

[jensenracing77]

54 minutes ago, TheCatOfAges said:

Jetfire... that's the second turbocharged gm car, right?

Just a matter of who you ask. Going by the GM Heritage documents, you could purchase a Jetfire before the Turbo Corvair. Either way, They were both available within a couple weeks of each other. But these were not the first GM turboed cars, They were the first ever in history of all brands turbocharged production cars. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by jensenracing77 (see edit history)

[TheCatOfAges]

The current unobtainium i need is an original carb linkage for my '57, the ball broke off in the linkage and i cant get the "bell" off

[TTR]

1 hour ago, 8E45E said:

The '1000' figure may be true for the big three volume cars, but not higher end vehicles because of much less production.  I'll agree there may be 1000 'just like its' for one 1966 Chevrolet hardtops, but not 1966 AMC Ambassador hardtops.

 

Craig

I was just generalizing, hence “1000…+”, which could be read as 1000s, 10000s, 100000s, etc. of old cars combined waisting away due to lack of common sense and reality.

 

i wouldn’t be surprised if (combined) 1000s of unrealistic “projects” could be found among all contributors/members of this forum.

[TheCatOfAges]

9 minutes ago, TTR said:

I was just generalizing, hence “1000…+”, which could be read as 1000s, 10000s, 100000s, etc. of old cars combined waisting away due to lack of common sense and reality.

 

i wouldn’t be surprised if (combined) 1000s of unrealistic “projects” could be found among all contributors/members of this forum.

I doubt there are thousands of '57 ford sedans left, most were probably cut up for parts or scrapped decades ago. There is nothing i hate more than scrappers, people who buy classic cars only to scrap them, and destroy all the metal, trim, glass, etc. Or part savable ones out only for profit.

[carbking]

The Jetfire was blessed with a Rochester side-draft carburetor; to my knowledge, the only automobile Rochester side-draft ever produced. They are somewhat scarce, we probably have less than a dozen of them. The vacuum controls are right out of Mr. Goldberg's worst nightmare!

 

The turbo Corvair used a more conventional Carter side-draft carburetor. The turbo carburetors are often confused (both directions) for marine carburetors.

 

Jon

[60FlatTop]

Interesting, I just listed a few pounds of used 331 Chrysler Hemi engine bolts on Ebay. It is a good place to look. I have picked some old cars pretty clean and took the time to list items as small as 10 lug nuts for the rear wheels. They sell.

 

I used to package up all the items related to cars I sold as part of the deal. Manuals, filters, spares. All part of the deal. Until 1983 or 1984. That year I sold a 1978 Buick Electra to a guy and the additional parts and manuals made him so confused I always hid the extras when car buyers were near. The guy thought they were needed immediately and that he was going to have to repair the car, read the manuals before he got home. I never wanted to experience another one of "Him".

 

Over the years I have bought stashes of parts and marketed them. I tend to pass those by for the most part now. And it is a loss since I have seen those loads hauled away as scrap or trash. The expectations of the heirs have been very high. The expectations of the buyers have been too high. The costs of marketing and delivery have become very high. The car owner has to begin to realize this and know that in today's world bargain hunting may be the impediment to future parts sources.

 

When a hobbyist looks at this source of hardware that was found, retrieved, photographed, marketed, offered shipped for $23 and says "Outrageous!" that's the one who will be wondering where the parts are.

Edited January 4, 2023 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[TheCatOfAges]

3 minutes ago, 60FlatTop said:

Interesting, I just listed a few pounds of used 331 Chrysler Hemi engine bolts on Ebay. It is a good place to look. I have picked some old cars pretty clean and took the time to list items as small as 10 lug nuts for the rear wheels. They sell.

 

I used to package up all the items related to cars I sold as part of the deal. Manuals, filters, spares. All part of the deal. Until 1983 or 1984. That year I sold a 1978 Buick Electra to a guy and the additional parts and manuals made him so confused I always hid the extras when car buyers were near. The guy thought they were needed immediately and that he was going to have to repair the car, read the manuals before he got home. I never wanted to experience another one of "Him".

 

Over the years I have bought stashes of parts and marketed them. I tend to pass those by for the most part now. And it is a loss since I have seen those loads hauled away as scrap or trash. The expectations of the heirs have been very high. The expectations of the buyers have been too high. The costs of marketing and delivery have become very high. The car owner has to begin to realize this and know that in today's world bargain hunting may be the impediment to future parts sources.

 

When a hobbyist looks at this source of hardware that was found, retrieved, photographed, marketed, offered shipped for $23 and says "Outrageous!" that's the one who will be wondering where the parts are.

if that were a full set of Y block hardware for 23 dollars i would jump on it faster than you could say Ford!

[hidden_hunter]

10 hours ago, TheCatOfAges said:

I knew he would break something as he was forcing it over, i had my vave covers off first thing to make sure i didnt bend pushrods, only to find them already bent. 

This is what happens with the Cadillac v8’s of that vintage if you have a stuck valve

 

(the seller claimed a ‘minor’ ticking sound)

 

 

[arcticbuicks]

OOOOooo........thats some nasty damage !

[1957Birdman]

Hi Cat,

You may be able to find the linkage parts that you need if you check with the 55-57 T-Bird parts suppliers such as CASCO, Prestige Thunderbird, Concours Auto Parts, Larry's Thunderbird Parts, NPD, or Hill's. Many of those part are interchangeable with the full-size Ford. One difference is that the T-Birds all came from the factory with Holley carbs. Yours probably has a Ford or Carter carb. If you can't find it there than look at Ebay.

By the way, your car is a top-of-the-line Fairlane 500 Town Victoria. My dad owned a Fairlane 500 Club Victoria that he bought new in 1956. It looks like your car is two tone Colonial White and Inca Gold. Nice combination!

Lew Bachman

1957 Thunderbird

Edited January 5, 2023 by 1957Birdman
Adding additional information (see edit history)

[jensenracing77]

2 hours ago, carbking said:

The Jetfire was blessed with a Rochester side-draft carburetor; to my knowledge, the only automobile Rochester side-draft ever produced. They are somewhat scarce, we probably have less than a dozen of them. The vacuum controls are right out of Mr. Goldberg's worst nightmare!

 

The turbo Corvair used a more conventional Carter side-draft carburetor. The turbo carburetors are often confused (both directions) for marine carburetors.

 

Jon

Not to hijack the thread but just wanted to add, I actually have 12 extra turbo and carburetor setups and likely to get more when I find them for a correct price. These Rochester side drafts are actually very simple. One of the most simple automotive carburetors I have ever worked on. It is the fluid injection and safety systems that can be a pain in the butt. I just took one apart this past weekend and done a poor quality time laps on it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTmE3LXAI2U

 

 

[nickelroadster]

I have one of the 1915 Oldsmobiles that you speak of.  All the things that others have said apply and the search for parts is half the fun.  Cars from the teens are not as complicated in many ways and you just have to learn about making parts.  Engines are the easiest as there are many places to get engine parts made.  I once looked for three years to get a hubcap.

[TheCatOfAges]

2 hours ago, 1957Birdman said:

Hi Cat,

You may be able to find the linkage parts that you need if you check with the 55-57 T-Bird parts suppliers such as CASCO, Prestige Thunderbird, Concours Auto Parts, Larry's Thunderbird Parts, NPD, or Hill's. Many of those part are interchangeable with the full size Ford. One difference is that the T-Birds all came from the factory with Holley carbs. Yours probably has a Ford or Carter carb. If you can't find it there than look at Ebay.

By the way, your car is a top-of-the-line Fairlane 500 Town Sedan. My dad owned a Fairlane 500 Club Victoria that he bought new in 1956. It looks like your car is two tone Colonial White and Inca Gold. Nice combination!

Lew Bachman

1957 Thunderbird

Ive been searching, havent had any luck, but yes, its a top trim model... with no options. Ive seen custom 300s with more options than this.

[nick8086]

Find a hoarder?

 

That collects cars...

[TheCatOfAges]

6 hours ago, hidden_hunter said:

This is what happens with the Cadillac v8’s of that vintage if you have a stuck valve

 

(the seller claimed a ‘minor’ ticking sound)

 

 

That looks extremely complicated and extremely expensive.

[TheCatOfAges]

38 minutes ago, John Smeltzer said:

lol 

hoarders don’t sell car parts

If they hoard too much who will notice a wiper motor or small trim piece dissappearing? (Joking of course leave peoples stuff alone)

[hidden_hunter]

3 hours ago, nickelroadster said:

I have one of the 1915 Oldsmobiles that you speak of.  All the things that others have said apply and the search for parts is half the fun.  Cars from the teens are not as complicated in many ways and you just have to learn about making parts.  Engines are the easiest as there are many places to get engine parts made.  I once looked for three years to get a hubcap.

Mechanical stuff you can mostly find something that will work, modify or make - it’s the interior pieces and visual items that seem to present the biggest challenge

[hidden_hunter]

10 minutes ago, TheCatOfAges said:

That looks extremely complicated and extremely expensive.

The top cover is interchangeable between most of the non balanced engines, though Cadillac obviously realized it was a problem as they reinforced it every model year - mine is from a slightly earlier car that doesn’t have as much reinforcement around the generator 

[Dandy Dave]

13 hours ago, hidden_hunter said:

This is what happens with the Cadillac v8’s of that vintage if you have a stuck valve

 

(the seller claimed a ‘minor’ ticking sound)

 

 

I saw that episode. My first impression was he should leave it alone and sell it to someone for parts rather than try to start it. Now it is a real mess.

[TheCatOfAges]

7 hours ago, John Smeltzer said:

lol 

my buddy 

He is 71 years old has several properties with barns full of cars and parts. cars in the yards and if a screw is missing, he’ll know it.                    
And he still is buying 

And can’t sell anything 

 

 

What a shame... they're going to be rotten junk if he doesnt sell some of the savable ones.

Edited January 5, 2023 by TheCatOfAges (see edit history)

[John_Mereness]

swers on this topic and tend to gripe: 

 

My "general answer" is time, resourcefullness, tolerance, and money.  I get a lot of compliments for getting project done and never had much thought for the person who cannot get out of their own way and X years later is still sourcing a whatever or just telling people of their journeys in sourcing = turns out he who has cars in parts or that do not run "may be into that", though usually do not come out first albeit if the case is you are dead then you will not know what rank you came in). 

 

Join a club or clubs that are appropriate (aka if it is bad on your car it is probably been bad on someone else's too).

Start asking people if they have machinist friends, welding friends, and ....

Realize your limitations and the limitations of others, including technology limitations (ex. some cars should just not be restored).

Sometimes it is not about costs - it is about resourcefulness

Sometimes it is all about costs.

 

Misc:  Pre-WWII diecast will fail - just give in and count on replacement matched to such as tater running through aluminum is not a good thing either (generally speaking), plus there was a lot of marginal to bad engineering out there. 

 

Add's Misc.:  There was a 1931 Cadillac V-12 Sedan that sold on Ebay a couple years back.  For years the car sat with a stuck engine.  Apparently, quite a few people inquired and the owner was was not happy with the price offered via peoples concern over engine.  A friend of the owner told me he eventually drug it around behind his far tractor to "unstick-it."  Guessing it un-stuck it, though also guessing it was just not "the same" or a wanted result. 

 

Add'l Add'l Misc.: JB weld is not a solution - if you use it to sell a car to defraud in a sale and someone is savvy, then keep in mind fraud is 3 x times damages. 

 

 

[Leif in Calif]

On 1/4/2023 at 11:26 AM, 8E45E said:

The '1000' figure may be true for the big three volume cars, but not higher end vehicles because of much less production.  I'll agree there may be 1000 'just like its' for one 1966 Chevrolet hardtops, but not 1966 AMC Ambassador hardtops.

 

Craig

Even the oddest cars are out there. Many years ago, though some strange circumstances, I came to possess an AC Cobra someone had turned into dragster using the jet engine from a 50's fighter aircraft. When I placed an ad to sell it, I received calls from three other people who also had jet powered cars.  

[60FlatTop]

 

Old men, the heart of the hobby tend to think:

 

"If I can't get what I want it can sit there."

 

"If I can steal it I will buy it."

 

When they get together they are generally scared ti death to mention money other than to say the other guy wants too much.

 

That comes around to bite them and will erode the availability of old parts.

 

I have learned to be very independent and resourceful. That's where my confidence in future repairs comes from.

[1912Staver]

23 hours ago, John_Mereness said:

swers on this topic and tend to gripe: 

 

My "general answer" is time, resourcefullness, tolerance, and money.  I get a lot of compliments for getting project done and never had much thought for the person who cannot get out of their own way and X years later is still sourcing a whatever or just telling people of their journeys in sourcing = turns out he who has cars in parts or that do not run "may be into that", though usually do not come out first albeit if the case is you are dead then you will not know what rank you came in). 

 

Join a club or clubs that are appropriate (aka if it is bad on your car it is probably been bad on someone else's too).

Start asking people if they have machinist friends, welding friends, and ....

Realize your limitations and the limitations of others, including technology limitations (ex. some cars should just not be restored).

Sometimes it is not about costs - it is about resourcefulness

Sometimes it is all about costs.

 

Misc:  Pre-WWII diecast will fail - just give in and count on replacement matched to such as tater running through aluminum is not a good thing either (generally speaking), plus there was a lot of marginal to bad engineering out there. 

 

Add's Misc.:  There was a 1931 Cadillac V-12 Sedan that sold on Ebay a couple years back.  For years the car sat with a stuck engine.  Apparently, quite a few people inquired and the owner was was not happy with the price offered via peoples concern over engine.  A friend of the owner told me he eventually drug it around behind his far tractor to "unstick-it."  Guessing it un-stuck it, though also guessing it was just not "the same" or a wanted result. 

 

Add'l Add'l Misc.: JB weld is not a solution - if you use it to sell a car to defraud in a sale and someone is savvy, then keep in mind fraud is 3 x times damages. 

 

 

Hi John, your statement that " some cars should just not be restored " strikes home with me. Over the 20+ years I have had my Staver Chicago project I have almost come to believe that it may fall into that catagory. 

 It's a car that has been in hobby ownership since at least just after WW2. Two big problems, it is a very rare , and low production car, and it was very incomplete by the time someone decided to save it.

 It has had at least 4 previous car hobby owners before I decided to take it on. Each one seems to have found more pieces , and restored a few more components. But the car is still a long way from being a complete , starting point of a restoration.

 It's a car that is too interesting , and appears to be too complete to just give up on. And so it has been passed down from one owner to another, but has never had really substantial movement toward being a running car.

 But it appears to me that 1912 era parts have really dried up over the last 30 years. 

 People on this thread keep talking about collectors with mountains of spare parts stored away , perhaps some day moved on to other collectors, perhaps some day scrapped.  But if this is the case with pre 1915 , non- Ford or at least top 4 sellers of the era I sure have never found that person.

  I have come to the conclusion that in order to progress steadilly on a project like this a person has to be quite well off and able to attend all of the swap meets that are likely to include reasonable numbers of Brass Era parts. Hershey would be #1, but I expect others would be helpfull as well. 

  When I first took on this project around the year 2000 I was still seeing a reasonable amount of parts from at least the correct era . Particullarly at the Portland Oregon meet , but also sprinkled around all the Pacific North West meets I attended. Fast forward to 2022, almost nothing seems to show up at either Portland or the other smaller meets. And even Ebad went from reasonably helpfull { year 2000 } to nearly useless { 2023 }. Horseless Carriage club has not been of much help either. Look on the parts for sale part of the HCCA forum and you will see lots of restored brass lamps and various accessories, but few actual parts from the cars themselves. The AACA ? just look at the Brass Era sub forum and you will see the traffic is very light indeed. Except for JV Puleo's Mitchell, Sloth and his pair of Brass projects ,alsfarms and his Locomobile and AHa and his Buick there only seems to be a trickle of pre even 1920 action let alone Brass Era.

 Where did it all go ?

 

 

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[John_S_in_Penna]

5 hours ago, 60FlatTop said:

Old men, the heart of the hobby tend to think:

...

Come now, Bernie!  Don't take the worst few examples

of unillumined human nature and extrapolate it throughout our hobby.

A newcomer, such as the original poster, might think that is really true.

As we all know, the hobby has many, many knowledgeable people

who are willing to help each other and encourage newcomers.

 

Edited January 8, 2023 by John_S_in_Penna (see edit history)

[junkyardjeff]

If I had a obscure brand I would try to find parts cars and every part that I hear about,if I see something in a junkyard that could possibly be used I grab it and I have mainly 50s and 60s vehicles.

[TheCatOfAges]

2 hours ago, John_S_in_Penna said:

Come now, Bernie!  Don't take the worst few examples

of unillumined human nature and extrapolate it throughout our hobby.

A newcomer, such as the original poster, might think that is really true.

As we all know, the hobby has many, many knowledgeable people

who are willing to help each other and encourage newcomers.

 

Oh im aware of old men being wary of selling, and often wanting too much for a rough shell. The owner of my '57 wanted 5k for it, and his son talked him down to 1k.

 

2 hours ago, junkyardjeff said:

If I had a obscure brand I would try to find parts cars and every part that I hear about,if I see something in a junkyard that could possibly be used I grab it and I have mainly 50s and 60s vehicles.

I wish i knew a classics junkyard for fords, i need several parts for a '57 that arent usually for sale on the internet. The only classics junkyard near me is astro salvage by newark ohio.

 

Off topic my carb isnt even for a y block, a holley 2300 its for a mercury 383 two barrel, meaning its making close to double the cfm of the original 225cfm 2300... lucky find i guess, gonna have to give it a little advance i guess?

Edited January 9, 2023 by TheCatOfAges (see edit history)

[JV Puleo]

I have hesitated to reply to this thread because I think my own case is generally exceptional. Nevertheless, it can serve as something of a lesson on "how it's done." I'm rebuilding a 1910 car, starting with a pile of parts that I'm certain someone (and maybe more than one person) gave up on. I have no background in machine work...I was a printer & typesetter most of my professional life but I do have an abiding interest in the subject and, in my 20s, did quite a bit of work with SG and PI RR's. When I was approaching my 60th birthday I decided that if I didn't start on an early car project soon, I'd never be able to finish it. Purchasing a complete, running car of the period I am interested in was simply out of the question. Besides, my own observation is that more than 90% of the "restored" early cars are a worn out mess with new paint and upholstery. So, I assembled a machine shop. All of the tools are old, most as old as the car. Many were given to me just to get rid of them or purchased for scrap metal prices. I've spent less on my machines than the cost of a new Chinese-made lathe. That was the start...and I started a good four or five years before I had a car to work on.

 

As 1912Staver has correctly pointed out, you either make the parts yourself or you pay someone to do it. You also have to use a bit of imagination. Some things are simply not going to be found. They may not even exist. But, there is always a way to fix something or, if need be, replace it with something that is available.

 

I've found that  actually having a car is the ticket of admission to the circle of enthusiasts...many of which you will not find otherwise but are perfectly willing to help someone who has demonstrated their commitment. I've a good friend I made through this forum with a similar car...I have loaned him parts to copy and he's done the same for me. What we have NEVER done is put a price tag on everything we do.

 

[EDIT] I should amend this to add that I have a second friend, made through the first, who is also trying to assemble a similar car. I've given him the parts I have replaced and he's made things for me...most prominently, a new camshaft. What does a custom cam cost? This is a case where one hand washes the other...I'm making him new timing gears. This is how it should work. It doesn't always but if you don't try you'll never succeed.

 

Edited January 9, 2023 by JV Puleo (see edit history)

[junkyardjeff]

2 hours ago, TheCatOfAges said:

Oh im aware of old men being wary of selling, and often wanting too much for a rough shell. The owner of my '57 wanted 5k for it, and his son talked him down to 1k.

 

I wish i knew a classics junkyard for fords, i need several parts for a '57 that arent usually for sale on the internet. The only classics junkyard near me is astro salvage by newark ohio.

 

Off topic my carb isnt even for a y block, a holley 2300 its for a mercury 383 two barrel, meaning its making close to double the cfm of the original 225cfm 2300... lucky find i guess, gonna have to give it a little advance i guess?

Where are you located,my local old junkyard has a few 57s and a 58. I grab anything I think I can possibly use out of that junkyard before they decide it's time to close it,just grabbed a dash out of a 65 Mercury since it had a nice dash pad and gauges just in case I would need them for mine.

[jp1gt]

I just traveled 500 mile to get a part from my car. I have been in the hobby my whole life. I can not believe the LACK  of help that I have received from the other collectors that have cars like mine. I know what I am talking about. I have helped countless other collectors in my time.

[nick8086]

3 hours ago, jp1gt said:

I just traveled 500 mile to get a part from my car. I have been in the hobby my whole life. I can not believe the LACK  of help that I have received from the other collectors that have cars like mine. I know what I am talking about. I have helped countless other collectors in my time.

I had to drive to MN.  To get this part because a collector in my car club  would not sell me the parts he had..

 

Two years later he call me.. Do you still want the part..  I picked it up.. He was 50 miles from me..

 

He had 8 month left with us..

 

It was for this car..

Edited January 9, 2023 by nick8086 (see edit history)