NOS parts question

[Andrew N.]

I've recently begun purchasing NOS parts to prepare for the restoration of my '56. Before I joined NCRS I was relying on ebay for most of my purchases and found out pretty quickly that I basically need to be an expert on every detail of every part in order not to be ripped off. There must be more original parts boxes than actual parts, and even with the AIM and other manuals helping me it appears that some people will find any way to be deceptive. What's the best way to go about finding correct NOS parts that aren't priced beyond what is reasonable and without spending hours looking at details?

Thanks

[Tom D.]

Re: NOS parts question

You either spend the time to study and discuss, or learn from experience (as you have indicated.) I find searching this discussion area and others on the 'net are good. Nothing like the old days, which were harder.

Notice that even NOS parts that were made by GM (or His supplier) in the 60s, 70s and 80s might not be the same as your original parts. Every purchase should be after searching and asking around. Paragon's special times of the day, for asking "tech line" questions can also be very helpful. Ask for Ken, but call at the right times (that they have set aside.) Don't quote me, but I think 11-12 Eastern is one of the times.

VCCA has some volunteer names in their magazine, listed by special area of knowledge. They now consider the '56 old enough to cover.

[Donald H.]

Re: NOS parts question

I went through and continue to go through the same thing. There are good honest sellers on Ebay and there are some not quit as good. I just bought a starter solenoid for my 1960 and it was listed as NOS, but it was clearly a reconditioned part and I knew that when I bought it. I believe it was a somewhat honest mistake by the seller, but still!!!!!!!!!

If you have not done so, I would suggest you also check out the Corvette Forum. That Forum has a parts for sell section and I've also bought stuff there. Still no guarantee that you don't get taken, but I have found the prices more reasonable than Ebay.

And of course, you should be looking at the Driveline for parts. Buying off Driveline at least you know you are buying from another NCRS Member. But again, no guarantee that descriptions are completely accurate. I bought was was listed an an original 4656 fuel pump (Not NOS) from a fellow member's ad on Driveline. When I got it, it was obviously a restamped later service replacement fuel pump. again, I fully believe it was an honest mistake by the seller.

Part of the lesson I have learned there are honest sellers who really don't know what they are selling in many cases!!!!!

Just my 2 cents of where I look for parts.

Don

[Philip P.]

Re: NOS parts question

I have found that just because it is NOS, it may not be exactly like the part that a car was delivered with. In most cases the parts that I have seen are legitmate, but some have a different view of what is correct or used on these cars. It is an ongoing education

[Joyce B.]

Re: NOS parts question

If you are worried about being riped off or not sure of an NOS part, consider buying restored original parts. They are very nice (show quality & ncrs correct, if done right) cost less and they are they real deal!

[Steven B.]

Re: NOS parts question

The best way I have found to know if a part is as delivered on the car during the period is to look at as many cars, '56 in your case, at regional and national meets and question those who know, such as team leaders and parts experts. A short time on this site and you will find out who they are. Post pictures of the parts you question if they are available. NOS does not mean "as delivered on the car."

[Joseph P.]

Re: NOS parts question

I am in the process of getting my car ready for next years regional in Kissimmee. I don't have the experience either to know the correct parts and have been burnt on E-bay. The sellers put the correct box with the wrong part. I called NCRS and spoke with Eric and he gave me Dave Heitzman's name and e-mail addres. He is the team leader for 61 and 62. I believe the team leader for 56 it is John St. Peter e-mail jstpeter@aol.com. . Dave answered some questions I had and recommended I call Roy Sinor who is the National Judging Chairman. He is incharge of the judging retreat in Dallas. It was to late for me to get in this year but I will go next year. Dave and Roy both mentioned you can bring them your questions and concerns and they will help you. Also I am going to try be an observer judge in Kissimmee this year if space permits which is another way to see the best cars and learn from the judges. These gentlemen like Dave, Roy and the other very knowledgeable members are very gracious with their time and direction in helping others and especially very patient with new comers to the hobby. Good luck. Joe

[Joe R.]

Re: NOS parts question

The term NOS New Old Stock does not imply that the part is perfect or ever was perfect. In my opinion it should refer to the fact that it was sold by GM in the original box and is NOT a replacement part.
Most NOS parts are ones that could not or would not be used on the assembly line. In other words most are seconds or parts that were molded in worn or worn out molds or dies!
My words of advise would be to not expect your Corvettes to be like assembly line Corvettes if you search the world for NOS parts.
A friend of mine thought he was buying all NOS parts for his 1963 FI Split Window. He bought the parts from a long time NCRS member and received the part in original GM boxes. We call his Corvette the "REPOMOBILE"!

JR

[David L.]

Re: NOS parts question

If you are going to buy NOS parts you should have vintage Chevrolet parts catalogs. The parts catalogs are very helpful but you also have to do other research to verify part numbers. The assembly manuals are very helpful. Parts made in later years are not always the same even though the part number is the same. Example: The part number for a 1967 Corvette hood in the 1967 Corvette AIM as well as my 1967 Chevrolet parts catalog is 3857463 in Gr. 8.000. The 3857463 hood that I bought in the 1980's had pop rivets instead of the original type rivets and the type of fiberglass was different.


I have the following Chevrolet parts catalogs:

1955 (July 1955) (reprint)
1957 (May 1954)
1963 (Oct. 1962)
1964 (Oct. 1963)
1964 Corvair-Chevy II-Chevelle (Oct. 1963)
1965 (Oct. 1964)
1965 (Jan. 1965)
1965 (May 1965)
1966 (Oct. 1965)
1966 Illustration Catalog (Oct. 1965)
1966 Corvair-Chevy II-Chevelle (Jan. 1966)
1967 Corvair-Chevy II-Chevelle-Camaro (Oct. 1966)
1967 (Apr. 1967)
1967 Illustration Catalog (Oct. 1966)
1967 (July 1967)
1968 (Oct. 1967)
1968 Corvair-Chevy II-Chevelle-Camaro (June 1968)
1969 (Oct. 1968)
1969 (May 1969)
1969 Passenger-Chevy II & Nova-Chevelle-Camaro (Oct. 1969) - Chassis vol. only (Gr. 0 to Gr. 9)
1969 Corvair-Chevy II-Chevelle-Camaro (Oct. 1968)
1969 Corvette (Sept. 1969)
1969 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Feb. 1970) - incomplete- (Gr. 0 to Gr. 7)
1969 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (April 1970)
1970 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova (Sept. 1969)
1970 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova (Oct. 1969)
1970 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Jan. 1970) - 1970 models only
1970 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Oct. 1970)
1971 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Sept. 1970) - 1971 models only
1971 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Jan. 1971) - 1971 models only
1972 Corvette (Sept. 1971)(reprint)
1972 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Jan. 1972)
1972 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Feb. 1972) - 1972 models only
1973 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camar0 (Sept. 1972) - 1973 models only
1974 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Sept. 1973) - 1973-1974 models only
1975 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Apr. 1975) - 1973-1975 models only
1976 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Sept. 1975) - 1976 models only
1977 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Mar. 1977) - 1976-1977 models only
1981 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Apr. 1981) - 1965-1975 models only
1981 Passenger-Chevelle-Nova-Camaro (Sept. 1980) - 1976-1981 models only

Pontiac Parts Catalogs:
1971 (Sept. 1970)
1967-1972 Firebird (Canada)
1967-1976 Firebird (Canada)

Chevrolet Radio Catalogs:
1963 (Oct. 1962)
1967 (Oct. 1966)
1968 (July 1968)
1972 (Sept. 1973)

Chevrolet Parts History Manuals:
Jan. 1, 1965 - July 1, 1973

GM Parts History Manuals:
Jan. 1, 1973 - June 1, 1975
Jan. 1, 1975 - Dec. 31, 1975
Jan. 1, 1976 - Dec. 31, 1981
Jan. 1, 1982 - Jan. 31, 1990

I have the following Chevrolet & GMC heavy duty truck catalogs: 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1966, 1967, and 1970.

I have Chevrolet & GM Price Schedule manuals (1963, 1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1978, 1985. 1991, 1994, and 2001.

I also have about 25 (reprinted) different assembly manuals for 1962-1970 Corvettes, 1963-1966 Chevrolets, 1964-1966 & 1968-1970 Chevelles, and 1967-1973 Camaros.

Several years ago I sold my 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, and 1962 Chevrolet catalogs as I felt that I no longer needed them because I have very few 1962 and older Chevrolet & Corvette parts.

Research is very time consuming but it's what makes restoring vintage cars more interesting.

Dave

[Paul J.]

Re: NOS parts question

...Most NOS parts are ones that could not or would not be used on the assembly line. In other words most are seconds or parts that were molded in worn or worn out molds or dies!
My words of advise would be to not expect your Corvettes to be like assembly line Corvettes if you search the world for NOS parts....

JR

Joe, was it you or another forum member who once said the NOS stands for "Not Originally Satisfactory"! If it was'nt you, my apologies to the person that said it.

Andrew, I'm restoring a car that I hope to have judged in the future. I learned early on from the members of this forum that reconditioned original parts are preferable in most cases.

Paul

[Joe L.]

Re: NOS parts question

All-----


The issue of what constitutes "NOS" is very complicated and there are many different understandings (or misunderstandings) and definitions associated with it. I'm just going to cover a little of it here.

It is my belief that, ORIGINALLY, the "acronym" "NOS" represented "New ORIGINAL Stock". Later, that "morphed" to "New OLD Stock". Aren't they pretty much the same thing? The answer is absolutely NOT.

So, what is ORIGINAL stock? Well, by my belief and by what I regard as the "purest" definition", "ORIGINAL stock" are parts that went into GMSPO inventory of SERVICE parts at the same time that a car was manufactured. Carried to the absolute extreme, it means a part of a particular part number that went into GMSPO inventory on or about the same day a car (or major component assembly of that car) using that part was manufactured. In about 99.9% of the cases, a SERVICE and PRODUCTION parts that meets the aforementioned criteria are going to be ABSOLUTELY IDENTICAL. In the VAST majority of cases, GM did not manufacture, at the same point in time, parts of a particular part number which were different for PRODUCTION and SERVICE.

So, how does one identify a "New ORIGINAL stock" part? Well, if the parts are DATED, it's easy. However, the vast majority of parts are not dated. Consequently, the ONLY other semi-reliable way is to compare an "NOS" part to an original part with respect to every nuance of detail. Often, this is not possible because the original part has deteriorated in one or more ways. It may also be possible to INFER a part's manufacturing date by printed dates seen on GM boxes in which SERVICE parts are supplied. However, there are many pitfalls associated with this since parts are often delivered to GMSPO warehouses in BINS and are boxed at the warehouse as needed (i.e. to conserve warehouse space). So, all the date on the box really tells one is that "the part was manufactured on or BEFORE that date", with no information as to "how much before".

Why did the definition of "NOS" morph from "New ORIGINAL Stock" to "New OLD Stock"? It's my belief it occurred because of the near-impossibility of identifying ORIGINAL stock, as I've described above.

By the way, it's very possible that SERVICE parts manufactured earlier or later of a particular part number are exactly the same as those manufactured on the day that any car (or major component assembly thereof) was produced. There's just no near-guarantee of it.

There's a LOT more to the issue of "NOS", but this is as far as I'm going to go for now.

[David L.]

Re: NOS parts question

Joe,

Excellent description of "NOS". You hit the nail right on the head.

Dave

[Jim D.]

Re: NOS parts question

Most NOS parts are ones that could not or would not be used on the assembly line. In other words most are seconds or parts that were molded in worn or worn out molds or dies!
JR

I've always said " NOS stands for Not Originally Satisfactory". I ordered all new chrome for my 60 back in the early 70's and returned every piece. They were all junk in my opinion.

[Joe L.]

Re: NOS parts question

I've always said " NOS stands for Not Originally Satisfactory". I ordered all new chrome for my 60 back in the early 70's and returned every piece. They were all junk in my opinion.

Jim------


By the 1970's the tooling used to manufacture these parts was probably worn out. Due to the likely very low sales volume at that time, GM would not invest to refurbish the tooling or retool. If you had been able to obtain pieces manufactured at the same time as your car was built (i.e. New ORIGINAL Stock), they would have been in all ways identical to what was originally installed on your car.

[Terry M.]

Re: NOS parts question

A parts counter man who I learned a lot from (now deceased) told me, when I was buying chrome for my 1970 (about 1973), that he understood that the chrome parts that were not accepted for the line in St Louis were put into SPO. I can't prove the truth of that statement, but from a business point of view it makes perfect sense. It also supports my experience in trying to get good chrome through Chevrolet parts channels. Of course this supports Jim Durham's statement as well.

BTW: You think we have a hard time. I bought a bunch of NOS chrome for a 1950 Buick I once owned. The Korean War was going on at that time and any chrome at all was good chrome.