Restoring a Car? Don't Bust Your Knuckles
By Teresa Ambord
The Old-Fashioned Way
Restoring an old vehicle? Or just looking for some hard-to-find parts for your car? There's always the junkyard. You might be able to find the parts you need by spending hours picking your way through hundreds of automobile carcasses.
And if you're lucky enough to find what you're looking for, you might also get to pull them yourself. If spending a Saturday busting your knuckles on some greasy old heap, subject to the heat or cold or rain, is your idea of fun then you're in the right place.
The Smarter Way
Or you could find a website specifically designed to help locate parts for both late model cars and cars dating back decades.
Jeg's is a great place to search for parts from the comfort of your computer. They put out a magazine loaded with possibilities, including pictures of many of the parts available. Log on to order a free catalog.
Or try Classic Industries. They'll help you find the parts and give you an email address where you can pick the brains of experts in classic restoration.
Horsepower TV supports Year One as their primary source for restoration and performance parts. Whether you are looking for original size speakers for your classic car, an entire body panel, or titanium valve springs, no problem. If you've got a classic car with an old, original key that is getting fragile, you probably won't be able to replace it at a hardware store. But log onto Year One and you're more likely to find the right key blank.
The Year One Story
Year One is one of those basement start-up success stories you hear about once in a while. In the 70's a guy in Atlanta, Georgia discovered just how difficult and time consuming it was to find parts to beef up his 1969 Firebird. What he really wanted was a 1969 Firebird Trans Am, which was an even tougher find since that car was, and still is very rare.
It took years, but his search paid off as he located knowledgeable people who could help him locate those rare parts. Eventually he became known around the country as the best primary source for information and parts for the '69 Trans Am. And from that, a company was born. The name Year One was a natural, since 1969 was the first year Trans Am was offered.
Reproduction Parts
In the 1980's, when the popularity of muscle cars like the Trans Am, Mustang and Camaro exploded, companies like Year One found it profitable to make reproduction parts, which are parts made by non-factory sources to replace original equipment. That new industry made life a lot easier for car enthusiasts who otherwise would be competing for parts that may not have been in production for decades.
Wrap-Up
Whether you are restoring a classic car, or you want more horsepower or a more powerful engine in your late model car, online distributors are the best source for finding parts. And most will send a free catalog, or let you download one from their websites.
