<VV> local parts stores

[Bill Elliott]

Our cars are more dissimilar to a standard Chevy than a 1950 Chevy is to 
a 1970 Chevy... a great number of the older parts are more universal 
than might appear at first blush. In reality, they have more in common 
with trying find import parts (like for a 1965 Triumph TR4)..something 
which we in the import world would never really go to a local parts 
place for.

Second is that the commercial catalogs quite often lump the Corvair in 
with other Chevys (how many times have you seen a listing for a Corvair 
radiator cap), a problem not solved when things were computerized.  Very 
often, the parts place will have a listing for a Corvair, but it's the 
wrong part. More often, they won't have a listing for a particular part 
at all.

One of the services our vendors provide us is that they have sorted this 
all out. They may get some of their products from the same distributor 
that Autozone does, but they will get you the right part the first 
time... at possibly a slightly higher price.

Chevy got out of the Corvair parts business by design, not by accident. 
It simply was no longer profitable for them to make and maintain Corvair 
parts... which brings me to my last point...

The larger (and more philosophical) way to look at this is the 
willingness of our vendors (who rank among the very best and least 
expensive of any marque that I play with) to invest their profits into 
reproduction and/or improved products for our cars... something Autozone 
(or even Chevy themselves)  isn't willing to do. Without those profits 
from "bread and butter parts" (which you indeed might be able to find 
elsewhere for slightly less) then there are no specialty parts like we 
rely on...

Bill

DAVID HUSS wrote:

>Just a general question to all why is it so hard for local auto parts stores to carry
>  oil filters, starters, generators, gaskets or other standard replacement engine parts
>  for our CORVAIRS ? See I work for AZO part time and we can get parts for other cars back to 1930, may be we have to order them but we can still get them.Or does people like Clark Corvair and Corvair Underground have a monopoly, cause my local Chevy Dealer can't even get part for the Corvair but many of the other Chevy's parts made before 1960 and around the Corvair they have NO PROBLEM. I just though I would throw this out for a general discussion.
>   
>  64vair
>
>  
>


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