Parts are parts?

[Jack J.]

Perhaps a good question for our own expert Joe Lucia. Is there any difference between a part advertised as OEM and the "same" item advertised as NOS in a GM box or wrapper? Thanks Joe in advance.

[Joe C.]

Re: Parts are parts?

OEM means "original equipment manufacturer", but the part is not necessarily manufactured in the same way as an original, "new old stock" part was.

[Craig S.]

Re: Parts are parts?

Joe - I would say NOS MAY BE the same as original, quite often, it is GM's service replacement part that functions identically but may not be visually identical. Often called NORS (New Original Replacement Stock) but always says NOS on eBay. There are times where these parts look more different than reproduction parts, but frequently are still a better quality part, particularly if the part in reproduction is overseas...... personally, I usually trust a GM older part even if not identical more than more current reproduction parts, but not always........Craig

[Joe C.]

Re: Parts are parts?

That's right Craig, NOS could be "interpreted" different ways by different sellers. But the short answer for Jack is as stated. I never buy "NOS" parts without either knowing the source, or having a very strong return guarantee.
An example of what you correctly point out, might be a GM part manufactured in 1972, for a 1965 car. We just never hear the term "NORS", although we should.

Joe

[Craig S.]

Re: Parts are parts?

Yep - we are on the same page. I have 3 midyear water valves for my AC 67, the holy grail part being a NOS 68 vintage part. I also have a GM 71 vintage, far better than the repros, but not absolutely identical like the 68 vintage part.....Craig

[Joe L.]

Re: Parts are parts?

Jack-----

There's no way to provide a precise answer in this matter. The problem is that there's no precise definition and consistency for the terms used to describe a part.

The term "OEM" generally means a part supplied through the original vehicle manufacturer's parts system. Generally, it denotes the difference between an aftermarket part and an original manufacturer-supplied part. Even here terms can get confused. For example, many folks consider that a Delco part (Delco being a GM entity) is therefore an OEM piece. Not always, though. Some Delco parts system-available pieces are exactly the same as those available through the GM parts system, but some are NOT. Some are simply aftermarket-type parts.

The "definitions" for "NOS" are too numerous to describe here. We know, of course, that "NOS" is an ancronym for either New OLD stock or New ORIGINAL stock. Either way, it's a nebulous term. The term "old" is a relative term. How "old" that a particular part is can often be impossible to discern. The same holds true if the "O" stands for "original". What is "original" stock? Does it mean a part that was part of the FIRST "batch" of SERVICE parts of a particular part number that was entered into GMSPO inventory? Does it mean the first TWO batches? Whatever, there's no way to tell which "batch" that a particular part was from.

How about the "dates" which can sometimes be found on box ends? That MAY be helpful IF a part is supplied in a box AND IF the box has such a date. However, many boxes don't have such a date and many parts are supplied with a parts tag or label only. PLUS, the date on the box, if there is one, only tells you when the BOX was made, NOT when the PART was made. Keep in mind that for warehouse space conservation reasons, many parts are received by GMSPO in BINS and are not individually boxed as received. From time-to-time, some are boxed, as required. So, a part may be much older than the date on the box would indicate. Or, if there happens to be some "old stock" of the size of box used to package a part, then the part might be a lot "newer" than the date on the box.

There's also the case in which a part might truly be "New Old Stock", but that applies only to a certain model year or years. For those years, the part may be exactly the same part as used in PRODUCTION. However, the same part may be the SERVICE part for earlier models and this can be the case WHETHER OR NOT the part number ever changed. Sometimes parts change after a certain point due to non-engineering changes, optional construction methods specified on the original part specifications or due to revisions to the specs for a particular part number.

Whenever you see the term "NOS" used, the best that you can assume is that the first letter of the acronym (i.e. "N") is accurate. Even then, I've seen some cases on eBay in which USED parts were being advertised as "NOS".

[Michael H.]

Re: Parts are parts?

Jack,

The term NOS always meant "New Old Stock" or "New Obsolete Stock". This would be new parts manufactured by the original source, GM, Delco or one of their vendors, but no longer available from these sources. The problem that began about ten or fifteen years ago was that many Corvette parts vendors on ebay lost the original meaning of the term NOS and started listing new "currently available" parts as NOS. Their not NOS, their just new. Ebay is currently over run with these vendors because they know that most buyers have no idea what's still available from GM for much less money. It's the scam of the new decade and one that's quite irritating to all. Always check to see if parts are still available from GM using one of the links above provided by Craig Schultz.

The term "NORS" means "New Obsolete Replacement Stock". That would include brand new parts that are no longer available but manufactured by a source other than GM. An example would be a brand new "Wix" air filter for a 57 FI car. (if there is such a thing) Didn't mean to answer for Joe Lucia but I thought it was a very interesting question and I couldn't resist. He's #1 when it comes to part numbers and anything related.

Michael

[Michael H.]

Sorry Joe...

Didn't mean to post right after you and say basically the same thing but your post wasn't there when I started mine. Guess I type a lot slower than you do. However, I am improving tho, now up to using two fingers instead of peckin at the keys with just one.

[Joe L.]

Re: Sorry Joe...

Michael-----

Not a problem. "Overlapping" posts can and do occur all the time for a number of different reasons.

I had not heard the "New Obsolete Stock" that you mentioned as one of the definitions of "NOS". However, it would be a much more precise term than any of the others. The fact that a part is NEW and also OBSOLETE (i.e. discontinued) can be determined fairly definitively. As a matter of fact, that's effectively the "definition" that the majority of folks apply to "NOS"-----in other words, it means that the part is new but discontinued. Most commercial vendors that sell "NOS" items use this definition, too.

[Jack J.]

Re: Parts are parts?

An OEM 4 speed shifter/with linkage recently sold on Ebay for $227. Yesterday's auction yielded $510 for a NOS shifter and $465 for the NOS linkage both purchased by the same party for a grand total of $975!