Got some old car ignition parts and other miscellanious parts such as brushes for starters/alternators/generators. Rotor caps, points, condensors. Is there any place I can go to cross ref. part numbers or find part numbers on these. Want to lable them with year and sell. I know that these parts and such are from probably the 50’s. Father was a mechanic and has passed.
Are this loose parts in a drawer, or are they in boxes? New or used?
An internet search engine (google, etc.) might help. Just put the part number and let it search. Also, try Hemmings Motor News magazine — paper or online.
Find a friend or friend of a friend who works at a auto parts store
I say find a way to better describe the parts generaly and sell them as a lot. I could not bring myself to go through my fathers possesions after his death but he is old and ill and its comming. My condolences.
I want to add a story that both lifted and saddened (not a personal one). I read on Yahoo about a little girl (6yrs old with terminal brain cancer) This little girl let hundreds of notes hidden around the house telling her parents how much she loved them. I don’t know if I would be searching endlessly to find every note or paralyzed in fear at the thought of finding one.
these are just some parts in glass jars from some sort of parts storage shelves. Most of the labels are gone. So I need to be able to identify what they are from say stampings on the part itself.
The “stampings/numbers” on the parts themselves are most likely “vendors” numbers, NOT part numbers. The “vendors” are who actually manufacture the parts for the auto manufactures and the auto parts houses. There’s usually a small insignia that identifies the vender along with the number that identifies the part to them, BUT not to you or me, or the auto parts store. These are NOT part numbers as we know them. If you can sleuth out the vender (company) that the insignia represents, then MAYBE you can reconcile the numbers as far as what they fit or were made for. Part numbers are on the boxes, or the packageing that they came in 99% of the time. Dealing with vendors is going to be extremely difficult because most venders are not going to have the time to spend with you determining what all these parts are, so you might be better off going with “Oldschools” sugestion below, and sell them as a lot.
One other possibility is if you have some friends who are into “old stuff” have them take a look and maybe they can identify some of it. To me, Chevy dist. caps, rotors, & points (from the 60’s-70’s) are readily identifiable just by looking at them,(but Fords/Chrysler, I know nothing) Brushes and condensers probably won’t be identifiable to anybody.
Do you know if he specialized in Chevys, Fords, etc? If so that would be a good clue as to what most of them might be.
Do you have “hundreds” of these parts, or “thousands”? The quantity could have an affect on your decision.
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CLAIRIFICATION: I meant condensers are not “identifiable” because most people don’t have the equipment to test the “microfarads?”<-- I think… The condensers may fit all of the distributors from that era, but they might not be correct electrically.
The brushes will be difficult to identify because the angled side is ground at a specific angle to match the diameter of the armature it is suppose to fit, and any angle that the brush holder is offset from 90 degrees to the armaeture… ie: They might measure out to the correct length and width and might physically fit the brush holder correctly, but the angle will not be correct for the armature…