Finding Vintage Car Parts
Finally after much savings and hunting through many garage or even eBay, you have managed the purchase of the vintage car you have always wanted, So what next? There is no way that you are going to let your dream car sitting around in your back yard, collecting dust and rusting. Hence the obvious path for many people is to start finding the bits and pieces, putting the vintage car back into its former glory.
Depending on the price your paid and sometimes your luck, vintage cars comes in all condition, but most of them might be missing bits here and there, or some of them are simply make road worthy using converted modern parts. To the opinion of the discerning vintage car enthusiast, this does not count as restoration at all. A true restoration of a vintage car demands nothing less than the original parts from the original manufacturer, even the original car manufacturer are no longer manufacturing the parts or the car company simply went out of business year ago!!! This might prove a daunting task for beginners as they begin their first journey down the junkyard to search for the parts they needed.
Now before you start the hunting expedition over to the junkyard, there are a few things to know...
1) Understand the model and the make of your car. There are some versions of the model that would need special parts, hence the part you may find might not work with it, that means wasting time and money.
2) If you are inexperienced with restoration or simply don't have the time, there is always the option to send your car to a specialty shop, where most of them would be equipped with the proper know how and the skills to restore the car. Specialty store might also be able to help you locate your part in case you still want to do the restoration work yourself.
3) A warning or two, depending on how rare your car is, the time spent in looking for spare parts can range from a day or two to many years, and hopping from junkyard to junkyard can be a tedious chore for many, sometimes yielding many trial and error to the beginners. Again, decide if you are really eager to devote your time on this.
4) You could start with looking through the internet or simply browse through our store pages here to see if your part can be easy to find, and get an expectation on how much to pay for the part. To some people, searching for parts through the internet are more hassle free, saves more time and more secure as many sellers offer money back guarantee. And the parts are mailed right to your door step.
5) There are also some companies willing to work with you to locate the part you need, but be prepared to fork out a locator fee for it and make sure that what you pay is reasonable.
6) Most of the parts you look for are generally made of steel, metal or hard plastic, examples like the transmission or panels. Not all parts are to be bought from the junkyard, parts that are made from rubber like sealing, or soft plastic, have to be custom made or replaced with modern parts, as rubber hardens and disintegrate over time. Hence the old part you bought are useless.
Okay, at the junkyard...
1) Once again be sure that you get the exact part that you need. Junkyards don’t have money back guarantees nor do they offer warranties and have return policies. You don’t want to lose money over this and surely you don’t want to waste your time.
2) Bring a more experienced friend along if you are a newbie.
3) Check the condition of the part, look for cracks or distortion before making an offer, ask for the usage history (used / never used/ used as rally car etc...), sometimes such damage would render a part useless.