5 Places to Find Old Car Parts When Your Restoring an Vehicle
Terry Meetz – Custom Plating Specialist Inc.
If you’ve ever restored a car or car restoration is your hobby, you might already know that at times, it can be difficult to find parts. As an example, 1961 Chrysler Imperial owners had a tough time finding parts, mostly due to the fact that Chrysler didn’t produce as many Cadillacs or Lincolns as did GM or Ford. (Lentinello, 2013) Unlike grocery shopping, car part shopping is not that easy. Most of the time, you can’t just walk into a store and purchase a new “old part”. That’s exactly what keeps chromers, like Custom Plating Specialist, Inc. (CPS) in business.
If you are in the process of restoring an old vehicle, there are several places you can search for parts. The experts at Custom Plating Specialist, recommend starting your search in the following locations.
- Car Shows/Swap Meets. In marketing, you want to market to your target audience, and you need to know where your audience is. Finding a car part is similar to marketing, you need to go where your audience is. You’ll find car enthusiasts at old car shows/swap meets, and you’ll be able to network with people that are “in your target market”. For a list of upcoming shows visit https://customplatingspecialist.com/events/ for more information.
- Salvage/Junk Yards – If you’re an expert in car restoration, and are looking for inexpensive parts, an automobile salvage yard might be a great place to start. You know what you are looking for, you know where to find it, and you probably know what the market value is.
- Google Search. If you can’t find it, most people “google it.” Google has 4.3 billion users worldwide. Based on 4.72 billion internet users worldwide and a market share of 92.24%. (Walsh, 2021) There are online forums like the Antique Automobile Club that allow you to ask questions and provide recommendations to your challenges. When searching, make sure to be specific with your car part, make and model, and you’re likely to find a plethora of online car part stores. As a company, offering chrome services, we advertise in https://www.hemmings.com/, an online magazine/marketplace for all automotive enthusiasts. Another great search engine for finding old parts is http://www.classiccardatabase.com/, a database for exactly that, searching for parts.
- On-line Auctions. This is another great place to search for information in regards to your old parts. Three types of auctions might include https://www.ebay.com/, https://www.liveauctioneers.com/ or https://www.auctionspear.com/auction/194. Most live on-line auctions have a search engine that allows you to search for exactly what you are looking for. In an auction, the market will determine the price.
- Local Brick-and-Mortar Stores. Yes, these still exist, and you might even be able leave the store with the part in your hand. According to this article “10 Places To Look for Classic Auto Parts”, an unspoken rule is that “if you use the expert, buy the part.” (Sundem, 2011) It’s not right extracting advice and then going home and searching for it online.
Once you find what you are looking for, and your part needs to be rechromed, contact the chroming team at CPS. As challenging as it might be to make an old part look new, we have a passion for creating “miracles” in old parts. If you don’t believe us, check out our Google reviews.
For more information on Custom Plating Specialists Inc., our team and the chrome process, go to the website; www.customplatingspecialist.com.
