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A few rules to follow when shopping at your local auto parts store.

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  • #16
    Triumph Spitfires were fun little convertibles. Great handling, wonderful lines and, well, and Lucas wiring. (In joke: do you know why British bikers drink warm beer? Because Lucas made refrigerators too.)

    At the end of the last year of production, 1980, they pretty much just used all the parts that fit instead of the standard parts. So, those of us (un)lucky enough to purchase one quickly learned about that (un)lovable quirk.

    Parts manuals were worthless, you had to take the actual part to the store to get the one you needed to replace.

    My bf at the time was in the auto repair business, but had only touched my baby once and I almost broke up with him over it*. I still loved him though, and allowed him to take me to the parts shop for a new battery. The clerk looked in the book, went and fetched a battery that I could tell by sight wouldn't fit.

    I told them it wouldn't fit and they poo-pooed the cute little blond girl trying to tell 2 professionals they were wrong. I told my bf that if I was right, he would be the one exchanging it, he agreed and I bought it.

    As he was exchanging it for the one I had asked for at the store, he and the clerk both agreed that I knew better than anyone what I wanted and they should have listened.

    *the bonnet didn't close properly, and the hinges needed adjusting. As a well trained bodyman who knows how to fix these things, he would adjust it for me. I watched as he opened and closed the bonnet several times, put it upright and then body slammed it
    Last edited by Slave to the Phone; 11-01-2018, 03:06 AM.

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    • #17
      Quoth Slave to the Phone View Post
      *the bonnet didn't close properly, and the hinges needed adjusting. As a well trained bodyman who knows how to fix these things, he would adjust it for me. I watched as he opened and closed the bonnet several times, put it upright and then body slammed it
      Well trained by who? Some kind of SC-wannabe?
      Still, you showed mercy by allowing him to live.

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      • #18
        Quoth Slave to the Phone View Post
        *the bonnet didn't close properly, and the hinges needed adjusting. As a well trained bodyman who knows how to fix these things, he would adjust it for me. I watched as he opened and closed the bonnet several times, put it upright and then body slammed it
        'Tis well that you loved him, as I foresee his nuts being used as shims if that had gone badly...
        This was one of those times where my mouth says "have a nice day" but my brain says "go step on a Lego". - RegisterAce
        I can't make something magically appear to fulfill all your hopes and dreams. Believe me, if I could I'd be the first person I'd help. - Trixie

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        • #19
          Quoth RealUnimportant View Post
          'Tis well that you loved him, as I foresee his nuts being used as shims if that had gone badly...
          Would those qualify as "bloody auto parts."
          "I don't have to be petty. The Universe does that for me."

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          • #20
            I loved when a dickbag came in with a franken car that had a mix of carb/motor/trans/body/years and mods come in and try to sandbag me and the computer. For something simple that as the maker of this hot steaming pile of car should just know the part # already.
            So he needed an coil. and says yea good luck with that with total asshattery.
            I give him the "it's a bull shit question look"

            Get the ladder w/o the computer hit the top shelf and get exactly what he needs. Finshed with the perfect *Glad I could help!

            *go fuck yourself
            AkaiKitsune
            Sarcasm dear, sarcasm. I’m well aware that dealing with civilians in any capacity will skin your faith in humanity alive, then pickle anything that remains so as to watch it shrivel up into an immortal husk thus reminding you of how dead inside you now are.

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            • #21
              Here's one for ya, Rosco: My uncle has a '55 Dodge truck, with (incompatable) sections of a later Dodge truck, an '88 Plymouth engine (electronics stripped out to a minimum) and... I lose track of how many modifications were done to the body for various work purposes.
              Of course, he also knows the origin of all the different sections, so he's got a fun list of vehicles in his head for trips to the parts store. The newer crops of parts counter guys sure look at him funny, though. ...that is, if they can even figure out how to make their computers look up stuff that far back.

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              • #22
                Quoth Buzzard View Post
                Here's one for ya, Rosco: My uncle has a '55 Dodge truck, with (incompatable) sections of a later Dodge truck, an '88 Plymouth engine (electronics stripped out to a minimum) and... I lose track of how many modifications were done to the body for various work purposes.
                Of course, he also knows the origin of all the different sections, so he's got a fun list of vehicles in his head for trips to the parts store. The newer crops of parts counter guys sure look at him funny, though. ...that is, if they can even figure out how to make their computers look up stuff that far back.
                ^ yea that kind car. If you have something that modded have a clue before going to a chain parts store- and don't get snooty when your asked the same 4 questions everyone gets asked. Make/model/year/motor.

                Oldest part I looked up- I thought this woman was fucking with me but plugs for '32 something or other, 16cyl (I forget) but the computer had it and nice to say it was 2 plugs per cyl, that impressed her when I asked if she was doing all 32.

                It crossed over to an modern lawn mower plug LOL but she paid and got all then when I was able to track them all down. ( she looked to be the org owner but who am I to judge)
                AkaiKitsune
                Sarcasm dear, sarcasm. I’m well aware that dealing with civilians in any capacity will skin your faith in humanity alive, then pickle anything that remains so as to watch it shrivel up into an immortal husk thus reminding you of how dead inside you now are.

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                • #23
                  Sounds a bit like Johnny Cash's car...
                  “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
                  One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
                  The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

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                  • #24
                    Quoth Nunavut Pants View Post
                    Sounds a bit like Johnny Cash's car...
                    Dang it...I was just about to say that.
                    Skilled programmers aren't cheap. Cheap programmers aren't skilled.

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                    • #25
                      Quoth Argus View Post
                      I had that happen when replacing a fender light on my previous car. Two references had different answers for the part number I needed. Fortunately, I picked the right one.


                      Or, some buildings are already constructed that way. I had that happen at a previous job; cell phones were useless inside until they bought a cellular repeater and installed it. (And they day we had a power failure, anyone wanting to use their cell phone had to go to the picture window or outside entirely.)
                      Regarding references being wrong: I used to drive a Dodge Colt Hatchback. The Fram recommended air filter didn't fit - it was about an inch too tall to fit into the housing. I finally took the smashed one off my car into an auto parts store, and the clerk and I came up with a Toyota filter that was the same circumference but was short enough to fit. So, for the rest of the time I owned that car, I bought the Toyota filter, even when told I was buying the wrong one. But at least this situation was easy to fix.

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                      • #26
                        Quoth Rosco the Iroc View Post
                        I thought this woman was fucking with me but plugs for
                        It's spelled "Butt"

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                        • #27
                          Quoth Nunavut Pants View Post
                          Sorry, I have to take exception to this. While it is absolutely necessary for the customer to know if they have AWD or if they have 4WD, knowing the actual difference between the two systems is completely unneeded.

                          And I'm not even sure it's necessary to know which "flavor" they have; are there any vehicles that can have either AWD or 4WD? If not, just the make and model and the notion that all four wheels can be driven by the motor should be good enough.



                          ... Now, someone who argues with you that they have AWD in a 4WD vehicle and that 4WD is wrong (or vise-versa) can go take a long walk off a short pier.
                          I'll agree with you on this. What I meant was to know what you have.

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                          • #28
                            Quoth TheSHAD0W View Post
                            Just curious... What vehicle was it you ran into that had both AWD and 4WD as options? That'd be pretty rare.
                            Off the top of my head I can't give you a model but I know I have seen it in the catalog. Mercury Mariner pops to mind. It is just a fancy Explorer but did have AWD and I think a 4WD option.

                            I usually just ask them if they have a knob or lever that has 4-low on it.

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                            • #29
                              Quoth Arcus View Post
                              Just be careful with this one. I lost a transmission because the parts guy sold me the wrong vacuum modulator because his computer said my 1988 Ford Thunderbird Turbo Coupe has an AOD transmission when that was only used in the non-turbo model. Turns out that if you put an AOD part into an A4LD transmission, it will eat itself. The AOD part sticks an extra 1/4" into the transmission.

                              The part guy called me a liar to my face when I told him what happened. When I slapped my owner manual down on the counter and pointed to where it said the type of transmission I had, he said that was wrong and his computer was right. Then I handed him the part from my car and asked him to read the number off of it and tell me if his computer says where it should go. Only after he called Ford and asked what my car should have did he finally believe me.

                              The end result... His computer cost me $1200 to replace my transmission all over a $20 part.
                              I can usually tell when someone know what they are talking about. My knowledge is not all encompassing and they catalog is wrong sometimes.
                              Early and late build cars are a PITA because sometimes they are building out last years parts or putting the next years parts on already.

                              More than once I have had customers bring back parts they insisted were the ones for their car and tell me I was right and end up buying the ones I recommended in the first place. Just sucks if they don't come back to me and then someone else gets the sale of the correct part and I take the hit for the return.

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                              • #30
                                Some times you not only have to know they year make and model but when and where the car was made.
                                Some Honda models use different tail light bulbs depending on if they were made in Japan or the UK.
                                Various Japanese cars use different parts depending on if they are built in Japan or the US.
                                Neons made in Mexico had a different radiator than the ones made here.

                                I have sent many people out to take a picture of the door sticker so I can see the VIN and build date.

                                And then there is the random 1 in or 1in 3/4 rear brake pistons on the Crown Vic and Grand Marquis.
                                Or the Ford Taurus with either the 3.0L V6 or the 3.0L V6. One is DOHC and the other is cam in block, which my catalog calls OHV even though every car made in the last 50 years is OHV.

                                Not saying everyone should know everything about every car, but you should know about your own.

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