When my son took his '54 Studebaker to Texas for college in 2001 there was a parts list in the glove box. Belts & hoses by Gates #s and size. Ignition by Delco & Standard #s. I was a counterman at CarQuest at the time and Studebaker was almost nonexistent in the computer & had vanished from the catalogs. Many parts were still on the shelf because of other applications. An example of you had a Prestolite (Autolite) distributer parts are the same as the same era MOPAR mostly. If you have a Delco its is GM mostly Chevy, Stude used both. Any way he had quite a list. I also got to know the guys at the CarQuest in Lubbock. We got to know the president of the local Studebaker Driver's Club who took Jake under his wing and was very good to him for the years he was there. Like hauling him to Clovis, New Mexico to pick up a transmission. Borg Warner T86s don't handle supercharged 289 Stude v8s well as Jake demonstrated a few times, but the OD feature is a lifesaver on the highway.
By the time I quit my part time job at O'Reilly there was little left on the shelf I needed a discount for and the frustration & pay wasn't worth being there. My younger son until a month or so ago was the commercial parts man for an O'Reilly in Reno. He could find anything that was anywhere for sale but he couldn't afford a life. We relied on him to find what we needed and still do even though he works fir his brother now. He still has connections.
O'Reilly grew too fast when they bought CSK ( Checker, Shucks, Kragen) who had bought up lots of other parts houses. They had to use the management from the failing places they bought and it hurt. They do have a group back in Missouri that helps stores find things but I don't think the folks at our local stores know that. I know they are not taught to use the books because people got upset with me when I used them, but I found the part. I still use some of my old CarQuest books. The change in parts stores and the disappearance of wrecking yards has taken a lot of fun out of what we do. Old age is not a plus either, but there is some left!
