Team Chevelle banner

This morning's waste of time

2K views 15 replies 11 participants last post by  busterwivell 
#1 ·
I need a set of calipers to turn in as cores for my '64 wagon project, so I decided to try the local pick a part here in Vegas. I pack up my tools, bring extras in case I encounter something unexpected.

I leave my house around 10:15, arrive around 10:45, ask the guy if he has any older GMs. He checks the inventory, 76 El Camino, 77 Nova, etc. Great, I'm sure I'll find something. I locate the few older GM's that are there & most of them have been stripped clean. Finally stumble upon a '74 Buick Century with all 4 wheels still bolted on...perfect. I take out my Snap On 1/2" cordless impact, pull the wheels. I have both calipers off in about 5 minutes, its pretty easy when you can snip off the brake hose. Calipers even have the Delco Moraine casting, excellent cores to get back into circulation.

So I walk back to the front of the yard & get out my wallet. Throw the calipers on the cashier shelf & the guys rings me up for $48! :eek: Yes, $24 per side for 45 year old calipers with both piston seals halfway out of the bores. :mad: I do a quick double take & ask, "are you sure that's correct?". I was speechless. Rebuilt calipers are $15 each on Rock Auto!!!!

I did the quick math in my head. Summit & Rock Auto each charge between $30-$35 for a core. By the time I pay to ship them back, I'll be in for $48 plus $20-$25 for shipping. It would cost me more money than to just eat the core charge & I'd still have the hassle of going to the Post Office to ship them back. I just looked at him & said "No thanks".

When I was driving home, I realized he asked me what kind of car the parts came off. It didn't register that maybe they're charging more for older parts? :confused: I remember the not so distant past when most pick a parts had a price list & calipers were around $6. Regardless, there's 90 minutes of my life I'll never get back. Sigh...
 
See less See more
#5 ·
Trust me Jerry, if I had an original set to rebuild, I would've already. The cores I pulled off were from a mid 70s Buick so I think they're different somehow than a first gen Chevelle. Anyone know for sure?
 
#4 ·
Yeah... pick a parts are RIDICULOUS now.
I grabbed an old flow master muffler just for the fun of it(I needed pulleys and other stuff so I just brought it with me to the front). They wanted 89 dollars for it. I had also found a heavy duty transmission cooler that I could flush out and use and they wanted 105 dollars for it.
The icing on the cake? They wanted 120 bucks for a set of electric camaro fans when the previous week I had bought another set for 40. I generally don't even bother anymore, it's USUALLY not worth the time what so ever.
 
#6 ·
that stuff I just go to the local oriely or autozone. you get a lifetime warranty so when it fails it's easy to deal with. then again I probably have 4 or 6 cores sitting in the shed. jim
 
#8 ·
Jim,

I ****ing despise autozone. Before Amazon & Rock Auto showed up, I wasted more time waiting in line or dealing with some 25 year old girl who doesn't know sh!t about cars. Plus they sell crap parts. The only thing they're good for is borrowing a tool that I might not have on a rare occasion.

My time is too valuable, so I plan ahead. I can order whatever I need & have it show up from Summit or Amazon the next day. Plus I save money, parts are cheaper, I'm not driving to the store wasting gas & I'm not standing in line for 20-30 minutes. I haven't been to an auto parts yet on my wagon build. :D

I usually don't mind eating the core charge if it's $10, but 2 calipers would be almost $70 in cores. So I took a shot at pick a part. Lesson learned.
 
#7 ·
As places like Auto Zone sell more and more junk made out of Chinesium, the price for OEM stuff keeps going up.

Miss the days of being able to stop in any NAPA and get OEM parts from grumpy old cars with half naked girls sitting on WWII airplanes.
 
#9 ·
I think I'm going to order rebuild kits for my calipers and keep it old gm. Aren't the single piston calipers the same from 69 to mid 70s? trucks included? jim
 
#10 ·
Jim D52 brakes were on a lot of GM cars/trucks over the years (I'm sure you already knew) but I'm not sure when they stopped or if they had any backset/offset changes, FWIW I do know for a fact 72 Impala front wheel bearings/races are the exact same for a 70-82 Harley shovelhead frame swingarm and cheaper, just some needless info :grin2:
 
#11 ·
FWIW I do know for a fact 72 Impala front wheel bearings/races are the exact same for a 70-82 Harley shovelhead frame swingarm and cheaper, just some needless info :grin2:
Harley's used to use a lot of common parts for their bikes. I always went to the parts store to look around for parts that would work. It's 35 miles to the closest Harley dealer, and as you know, wayyyyyy to expensive for parts. More needless info, 6cyl Chevy points are used on my 75 XLCH Sportster.
 
#12 ·
I just include the core charge in the price of the part I'm buying and usually scrap the core. I have a steering rack for a 4th gen F body in the rafters if anyone needs one. It wasn't worth the cost to send it back. I like U pick yards mostly for the adventure of finding cool stuff and a set price list. My favorite yard is still pretty reasonable. Price List :: EZ Pull & Save Auto Parts | New Ringgold, PA Sounds like you need to find a better yard.
 
#13 ·
#14 ·
I just KNEW there was a reason I hoarded all those "junk" calipers, rotors, starters, alternators, driveshafts, exhaust manifolds, over the years......:D
 
  • Like
Reactions: shovelrick
#15 ·
Pete I think your location might have something to do with the price, dry desert area is where the better project cars are found so the junk yards want to cash in on that, Desert Auto Salvage or something like that with the show they do/had on restos probably started it ?
 
#16 ·
Desert Auto has always been high priced. I haven't been to a u-pull in a while, but the ones here are much more reasonable than that.
I take this back, I was a a local u=pull last summer, where a friend works. I was inquiring about a 700R4 core for my son-in-law's 67 wagon. Bought it for 75.00. Thought that was too good a deal to pass up.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top