Any car enthusiast will tell you there’s nothing like using original parts for a restoration. There are a ton of companies making aftermarket and reproduction parts for vintage rides, but no matter how hard they try, they don’t seem to be the same as the originals. Whether it’s changing manufacturing processes, materials or just poor workmanship, a quality original part seems to be almost always better than a new one. This is where the N.O.S. market comes in. N.O.S. or new, old stock is original parts that were manufactured around the same time as the vehicle was made. Manufacturers would make extra parts for collision repair or warranty work and now these parts are coveted by restorers. N.O.S. parts can often command huge prices and they are becoming rarer every day.
This collection is located in Fredericksburg, Maryland and you can find more photos and detailed information here on Craigslist. This stash of parts was apparently acquired by the seller over several decades. The title of the ad indicates the parts came from a “closed dealership” but there is no other information in the ad regarding any specifics. As you can see, there are some amazing original parts in this collection. How great would it be to put a set of pristine/original floor mats in your newly completed restoration?
A lot of the parts look like they are still factory sealed in plastic or boxes. There are some parts that appear to have some surface rust or corrosion, but will hopefully clean up. Unfortunately, the owner doesn’t have a parts list, but the ad does have some general years and parts details. The seller is clear these are all Chevrolet parts and unfortunately there are no 1955-1957 car parts or any truck parts left. If you are near Maryland, it may be worth a look. The seller does say that there aren’t any rare pieces that someone could make a quick buck on, but if you’re looking for some small N.O.S. parts for your Chevrolet restoration, you may find it here.
Fredericksburg Va.
Its probably All chevette parts…lol
Happy holidays everyone!! ( too soon?)
would be nice to know if he requires part numbers in advance since he “Doesn’t keep a list”. How the hell does he know what he has?
Hank,
As a supplier of “single make” vintage car parts for 40 years [Packard], located in a 35X60 foot warehouse, I can tell you it’s not that difficult to remember what you’ve got. I never had an inventory list of my parts, and generally knew if I had one when a customer asked.
Not having an inventory list became a valuable asset when I had a visit from the State of Maryland’s Office of Taxation. They were complaining I had not correctly filed my annual inventory value along with the remittance [$] tax on inventory. I always had declared the inventory was under $5,000 in value, thus it was exempt from the tax. The state claimed it was worth far more.
They filed an official complaint, but dropped the complaint when my attorney insisted they prove the parts were worth more. We had said we would go to court and ask a judge to require the state to prove the actual retail value of every part. We knew it would cost a huge amount of time & money for them to seize and then inventory all the parts, and figure out the part numbers or applications for parts not in their original boxes, then determine the actual recent selling prices for identical parts, providing us with the proof of value for each part.
That was in 1986. I never heard from them again.
Kept me and google busy for half an hour looking for Fredericksburg, Maryland.
Kinda like old photos, if you don’t have a name on them, what good are they. Every major part I saved throughout the years I tagged them by make and year. Only problem was that was 20 – 30 years ago and most of my masking tape with the writings are faded or have falling off the items. This pass year I have started redoing the tags to my best memory, only problem is I’m still using “TAPE”. Hopefully i’ll sell most of the items before the tape falls off again.LOL