I stopped in my local Advanced Auto asking if it was possible to buy a flex brake line for the left front of my 41 Olds. He asked if that was the line that goes from the frame to the caliper. I told him that was the line but the car does not have front calipers it has wheel a cylinder. He then told me all cars have front calipers and some have shoe brakes in the rear. So I must have the front confused with the rear axle line. In a feeble attempt to explain to him that this car was made before calipers and then added that master cylinder only had one sump that operated both the front and rear brakes then went through a splitter. It was then I was told my breaking system must have been an after market system and it did not sound safe and I should put it back to factory specs before I killed somebody. It was then I saw no point in any further education and told him it must be a kit car! You just got to love American youth.
Not much that I see on line makes me LOL, but this did it.
Remember when Pep Boys said they could get parts for any car? Some one challenged that, and that advertising practice stopped.....
Will, I second that 100%. Most of the "Kids" that work there are not too sharp!
They allways ask...year or make of car,then the fun starts! Pep Boys....they took the Cigar out of Mannys Mouth!!!
Wick
One of the first things they ask is....does it have air conditioning?
The companies have dumbed the jobs down with their computers so they don't have to pay a living wage.
Pay peanuts and get monkeys.
Funny
Strange.I got everything I needed for the brakes on my 47 Pontiac from the local Advance.
I rebuilt wheel cylinders and master cylinder with kits from them.
But the rubber lines and such,no problem.looked them up and ordered and there the next day.
Next time go in there and rub behind their ears and when you find 1 dry enough back there,ask them.
Will, a 1941 Oldsmobile did not have calipers.
Maybe that's what confused the counter person ?
Mack, I went back and was told they could not help. There was nothing on file for a car that old....I was able to get every brake part I needed through Kanter. com
I use Rockauto.com quite a bit as well as my local NAPA. They can get most anything for the older cars and are cheaper than Kanter.
I have a account at the local Advance and so happens I just got a survey call from a company asking about their service and parts and such.I mentioned this to the survey taker and let them know it is mighty strange that folks at my local store can get what I need but another store out of state is telling people no help.
She took note of it.
The wheel cylinder cups come in different sizes.The kits for my car,probably fit a dozen different kinds on up into the 60's
It's not just auto parts. If anything you're looking for is old or particularly unusual it won't be in "the system" of most retailers. You are therefore just SOL and must look elsewhere.
Ralph is correct. Pay peanuts and get monkeys. It's MUCH less costly to have everything in a computer system so the dummies, I mean the employees, can just point and click than it is to have employees who actually know what they're doing. Removing a part off of anything, cars or otherwise, and asking for one "just like this one only new" is a waste of time.
Speaking of computers. The new Windows 8 mobile interface has been dumbed down. It's like a McDonald's cashier screen with point and touch cartoon images.
The auto parts shops I frequent have pretty sharp guys and gals working there. Some occasional assistance is provided to them when I need parts for the '56 JD Crawler or the 76 Sulair air compressor engine (GM) but most of them are not kids. The ones that are seem to have been working in the auto industry or were trained well.
The hard drive was dying in my six yo laptop, so I looked at new ones. They're lower priced than ever, as in all electronics, but all come with Windows 7. That thing is so stupid I bought a used laptop with XP. I have been packing a laptop since 1987; before laptop batteries and before Windows.
I do love the American youth. Our young people are our national treasure. I wouldn't be so quick to call them dumb or as Ralph has done, compare them to monkeys. We need to face the fact that there hasn't been many cars built in the last 40 years with drums on the front. Take that fact and the fact that the cars these kids are growing up with are user unfriendly with regard to maintenance. These kids just don't have the exposure we did.
Before I retired from the military in the mid 90's I taught in the Navy's jet engine program. These were kids right off the farm and mid town of any major city. Their exposure was about the same and they aren't the ones to blame for the lack of the same.
Look at it this way, if you were working in an Amish hardware store and someone came in looking for the parts to repair a windmill pump you might not know what he's talking about either. Doesn't make you dumb.
I promise a full 50% of men under the age of 50 couldn't install a ceiling fan, garage door opener, garbage disposal, etc. It doesn't make them dumb, only non-talented.
I was glad to have grown up on a farm and learned from my dad to weld, rivet, wire simple circuits, fix a broken window, and a ton of other things before my dad died when I was 13. It didn't make me one bit better than the kid who never learned it from their dad and I realized it.
Remember, it is these same dumb kids America will call upon one day to protect all us smart people. I think we owe them more respect than they are usually shown.
One other point, Ralph has mentioned how "companies have dumbed down jobs to avoid paying a living wage". More of his usual Huffington Post 'see how bad capitalisim is' drivel. Computers have made us much more efficient and it takes more than striking a flint on a rock to make them work for you. The computer has created more high paying jobs than it has eliminated.
Just checked on Ebay and there is a listing for 41 Olds brake hoses.
I typed in "41 Olds brake hoses" to do a general searce and there it was.
Hope this helps.
One often overlooked resource for car parts is Amazon. They are connected to hundreds of parts houses all across the country.
I found parts for mu 1939 Delta band saw on Amazon !!
Be_Zero_Be
Pease do not take the following as criticism – I’m smiling as I type this
Hmmm - I think sometimes we are a bit unfair to expect everyone to know
about cars or anything else from an era much before their time, even if they
work in today’s version of whatever product is being discussed.
The premise of this group is to answer questions about model T’s, and no one
with any question on that subject is considered dumb or derided for asking.
I agree that its nice to find a sales person who listens and understands parts well
enough to know if there is a possible replacement or adaptable part that may work,
but these days a job is a job and a chance to work at a job where your personal
interests or skills are helpful are scarce.
I recently needed some parts for my 04 F150, and needed the vin # to see which
of 3 possible part numbers were correct for my vehicle. No more one part fits all!
(Did you know that 48 ford pickup wheel cylinders fit a 53 Lincoln ?)
We all access this group with computers, so anyone know what a SS/SD 5 ¼
or Dos or basic is/was ? How about a 300 baud acoustic ? (I’ll bet Ralph knows)
Ask at your local big box computer store and they won’t know either.
It’s tough enough to just keep current let alone something from another century (1900’s)
This group for the most part are hands on collectors and know there T’s.
Why should the non afflicted be expected to discuss them at a knowledgeable level ?
Go forth and teach them
Regards
Art
"The computer has created more high paying jobs than it has eliminated."
That is arguably true, Gary, but most of those high tech jobs are filled by ChiComs and Indians. I say "high tech", not high paying, because those jobs are not high paying in those other countries.
How many Apple jobs are there in the US, vs. Communist China?
Just an observation, not a judgement: Capitalism is not Democracy; it is dictatorship/oligarchy by its very structure. The ChiComs prove you don't need democracy for capitalism to thrive.
rdr
Ralph,
Please stop with the political BS. I for one don't care and don't appreciate your agenda constantly being pushed here.
Art - Your '48 Ford wheel cylinder that also fits a '53 Lincoln reminded me of something that, back in the '60's, I found quite surprising, but is another example of what you were explaining:
I had a good friend that had an approximately ten year old Cadillac Eldorado convertible that was absolutely flawless, except for a very erratic and noisy speedometer.
Long story short, we took the dash apart, removed the defective speedometer and took it to the wrecking yard and matched up an identical speedometer head that we took out of a Nash Rambler. That speedo and the defective one out of the "Caddy' were identical, including the name of the manufacturer, which I've forgotten, but I remember that it was a company in Cleveland, Ohio.
I made a mental note that it is (was) surprising how many automobile components for radically different types and makes of autos are all the same. Bet it's even more common nowadays,.......harold
As a young person myself, I can say with all sorts of confidence that I have much to learn of the older ways. I am also willing to learn these things. The part of your story that bothered me, Will, is the way this youngster seemed so sure that your brake system was not only not factory but not safe. We must educate those less knowledgeable than us, while be willing to receive education from those more knowledgeable.
Try explaining why ...when you change the oil you don't need the filter...
Ever notice that if you hand them cash they need the cash reg. to tell them the amount of change to give you. It the power goes out there rely out of luck.
Bob
There're only a couple of auto parts store in my area worth messing with. Autozone is NOT one of them (shudder).
In most auto parts places what I see is high school kids hired who are only looking for a job (which is great on one hand) but they really don't know and act like they don't car to know much about cars, instead, letting the computer do the work for them.
ANd we all know that if that computer says it ain't so, it aint so!
Try these folks. I stumbled on these folks a few years back on a Texas T Party.
Halamicek Auto Supply
626 St. Joseph Gonzales, TX 78629 830-672-3017
In business since 20's,no t parts,lots of later NORS parts, incl windshield glass
I guess I'm lucky. My next door neighbor owns a local auto parts store and he and his employees will make an effort to look stuff up that they never heard of. Not only do I get a discount but also free home delivery.
As most of us are 50 ? or older I am guessing ...
Not so hard on the Youth
I wonder how they can even buy a car, let alone
insure it and then pay for the gas to run it.
Jim
Pep Boys started off great. Tons of stuff and great customer service. Something happen as the service fell off rapidly. I bet the problem was dumb a$$ MBA. They do not know the difference between cost and value. About 3 months ago I had enough. I went in and loaded a buggy with stuff I wanted to purchase. When I approached the unmanned cash register the lazy girl that was at the parts counter was looking at some papers and told me the she would be with me in a minute. She paged through the papers. Bull $hit. After 60 seconds I dropped the contents of my basket on the floor and left. I will never darken their door again.
My local NAPA store is more expensive but they have experienced folks behind the counter, and a person at the register, that will check you out. Count me as a NAPA customer. The only draw back to NAPA is their hours of operation.
Paul
The older I get, the older "youth" gets! Not that long ago, I would have thought that my four sons, all in their 40's now, were pretty much "over the hill". And by the way Jim, none of those "boys" of mine drive anything nearly as old as my '89 pickup, let alone my Model T Fords!
I'm 34 so not the average age. My first job was at an auto parts store- at the parts counter- when I was 15. Did I know everything? Hell no. Did I have to put up with people that had Ralph's mentality? Certainly. Thankfully narrow mindedness is in the minority. However I was eager to learn and did what I could to get needed parts to customers.
Anymore the computer is a greater asset than the paper catalogs when it comes to finding parts. I can find parts on the computer using a part number that I would've had trouble with using a possibly outdated paper catalog.
I am fortunate that I deal with a number of parts houses that are on the ball and get me most anything I need.
I remember one time, I went in to ask for some 2-stroke oil for my Maytag 92 engine. They had the oil, and that was no problem. I then asked if they happened to have a replacement spark plug for it, since the old one was certainly tired. I asked them specifically for an Autolite 3095 and I told them nothing about the engine, and I was pretty sure that they wouldn't have one, but it would have been convenient if they did. I also told them that it was a big, half pipe thread spark plug.
The guy went into the back and pulled out a standard plug, and told me that it looked to be about half-an-inch. Of course, that's not half pipe thread! After explaining that to him, he decided to look in one of their big books.
I kid you not. The Maytag 92 was actually listed in there! The plug the book recommended was, you guessed it, an Autolite 3095.
Needless to say, they didn't have one...
have you ever seen the original plugs for maytags??? look up champion gas engine special.
llllooooonnngggg reach spark plug, dual electrode too if i remember correctly.
Back in the mid '70s, my everyday car was a '39 Chev****t four door sedan. One day I needed a brake cylinder--fortunately I had a '28-54 parts book, which told me the '54 cylinder would fit. So off to the parts store I went. The guy didn't want to sell me the cylinder, "It won't fit kid!" I had to argue that it was my problem & I would live with it, no return. Yep, casting number was the same, fit just fine. So this isn't anything new!
Fortunately there is a parts store here that will look up stuff for you. And their owner likes to buy closed stores, so sometimes they have really odd stuff, like a diffy seal for a '41 Packard!
T'
David D.
Youngsters or oldsters........at the shop THE MOST impatient customers were retired men.
Many acted as if they wouldn't live to see tomorrow (in which case nothing would matter anyway) so, most of the time, we'd drop everything, get 'em fixed up and out.
A little patience and a few kind words go a long way.
If I was a "kid" and was getting bitched at by "old" people how do you think I would feel?
Would it take so much effort to EXPLAIN things instead of EXPECT them?
Someone needs to teach these kids a few things.......why not you?
I can see your point, Craig...to a point.
But when I have grease up to my elbows and I am in the parts store because I just discovered I am missing a needed part, it is my sincere hope that the employer has done THEIR job and educated THEIR employee.
I am not in a position, nor am I in the pay grade to train someone elses employees.
Sorry man, this isn't an old guy thing - this has been my chief complaint since I was in my 20s - parts stores hiring people who don't know a lug wrench from a lug nut.
I purposely go to the Napa in town because the guys working there have been working there for a long time and before that they worked on cars.
sometimes they dont even look up a part no. they just go to back and get it, and they know exactly what your talking about.
It's not only auto parts stores, try getting something from a hardware store!!
It's the same everywhere in most retail environments, not just car parts places, or the well known hardware store that Peter refers to. I noticed it about 20yrs ago in electronics stores - staff had no idea that what I was looking for even existed. But, mention a catalog number and it would magically appear.
The key to purchasing parts is know exactly what you want, know part numbers, including equivalents, and find out if there are other substitutes before even entering the shop. Don't expect store staff to know anything about what they sell - they are there merely to pick things out of numbered drawers.
No one these days Knows how to use a catalog, and most parts places like Kragen / O'Reilly's / Pep Boys /Auto Zone don't even have catalogs.
You have to go to a real parts house and HOPE there is someone who is knowledgeable.
Even when I worked for Kragen in the early 80's we had catalogs....no computers.
That is sad... the other day i went to the electronics store to look for LEDs and they had none. They had nothing. Not blank floppy disks not blank cassette tapes, Just game consoles and a few cameras. They might have had a USB drive if i asked nicely...
Kep,
you are going to the wrong shop again...
try Jaycar for your electronic bits...
Regards
Bede
OT Lowes...went to the store the other day looking for 7/16th bolt and nuts. Found the nuts but not the bolt. Went to the specialty section and found the bolts. The nuts are packaged in a small bag two per bag. They were all loose in the drawer so I took the 8 i needed. At the check, the cashier tells me she will have to charge me individually for the nuts. I explained to her they were all loose in the drawer. You might have well been talking to the wall....
Having less than adequate knowledge behind the auto parts counter is not a new development. 45 years ago I used to get a kick out of going to the local foreign car parts place for LUCAS electrical stuff. "I need a voltage regulator for my MGB" look look look...."sorry, we don't have one"..."ok, give me one for a TR4 then", "they aren't the same, sir..and we don't have one of those either". "ok, give me one for a TR3 then". He disgustedly looks one up and says, "I've got one of THOSE", Me..."great, I'll take it"
The big problem is, and has always been, the willingness to admit to oneself that you do not know everything that you may think you do. I don't recall who said it, but one of my many favorite sayings is "I did not really begin to learn, until I learned how little I knew".
Drive carefully, and enjoy, W2
The problem with all chain auto parts stores is twofold. One, all parts are cataloged by computer for ease of the salesperson's lack of knowledge, and Two, most of the salespeople are younger than the baby boomers, who are the last generation growing up before computers became common. I have worked for Auto Zone, so I know. If you are fortunate to live in the "sticks" and have a locally owned parts store in your area, manned by a salesman who is 60+ years old, you probably would have excellent results.
When I was a teenager (1980 or so), I got a job at the local hardware store. I wouldn't take a million dollars for what I learned there. This was the type of store where every customer was personally waited on by an employee. When the bell rung as the door opened, you were expected to say "Come right in Sir. Can I help you?" On my first day, the boss said "Never tell anyone we don't have something without asking one of the other employees who has been here a while, as it takes 6 months to a year to learn where everything is." Good advice. The boss only hired older retired men and high school boys and worked them part time. After I had been there a year or so, a customer came in and when I asked if I could help him, he said he wanted to see "One of the older gentlemen". Just so happens, there was a new guy. A retired fellow who had been there about two days. I called him over to wait on the guy and just bided my time. Guess who the retired fellow called to show him where something was? I could not wipe the smile from my face as I helped the customer find what he needed.
Do I blame the guy for stereotyping me as a young dumb kid? No. I didn't blame him even then. I knew where he was coming from. It would have been a good bet. He just would have lost that particular one.
I see the same thing from the "other side" I work at a mail-order GM antique parts supplier. Some of the people that call to order parts just leave me shaking my head. The customers tell me that their car has the "big engine", but when I ask what model they own and they say 1941-41 or similar I tell them its the "little engine". I tell them the "big engine" won't fit that car, it must be the little one.
I often have customers wanting to buy a new water pump because their car is overheating. Only once was the water pump the problem in 15 years of selling parts. I often have to go through my causes of overheating 101 to help them diagnose the overheating problem. When I mention leaking head gasket the most common reply is "it can't be that, there's no water in the oil". I then have to to a short course of different types of gasket failure.
Sometimes these conversations have my boss sitting in the background trying to keep a straight face as he follows my half of the conversation. On some occasions he has to leave the office to keep from laughing out loud....
Its not just the person behind the counter that is clueless. This is an equal oppertunity hobby.
Bill
Bill, you said, "I often have to go through my causes of overheating 101 to help them diagnose the overheating problem. When I mention leaking head gasket the most common reply is "it can't be that, there's no water in the oil". I then have to to a short course of different types of gasket failure. "
You would be considered you parts-house GOLD in these parts. Actually having the knowledge to steer folks in the direction they need to be steered.
Yesterday I went to my favorite advanced auto parts, the one with the employee Jim that was very knowledgeable and helpful when looking for parts for old cars, only to learn he had passed on last week. He was only in his mid 50's. What a lose.
Steven