National Parts Locator Service (801-627-7210, www.parts-locator-service.com) has been helping people locate hard-to-find auto literature since 1985. In our collection, we have a collection of old automotive mail order accessory catalogs. These catalogs are nothing short of amazing. Do you realize that the automotive accessory business goes back to the beginning, and is vastly rich and varied? For example, you could have purchased an aftermarket top for your Curved Dash Olds back in 1902. It consisted of an umbrella with fringe around it, and it sat in a bracket bolted to the back of the seat. How cool is that?
Also, surprisingly, such things as water pumps, starters, headlamps, fenders, rearview mirrors and trunks were marketed first as accessories, but later became integrated into most cars' designs because they were great ideas. Temperature gauges, windshield wipers and fancy hood ornaments became big in the 1920s; they started out as accessories, too. Then, in the 1930s, oil filters, radios, heaters, directional signals and wind wings came into vogue.
In the Fifties, flash was the fashion. To be cool, you had to have two of everything. You had to have dual pipes, dual spot lamps and dual sweptback radio antennas. A continental kit added class, as did fancy fender skirts, flipper hubcaps and wide whitewall tires. And to protect those tires, you needed curb feelers.
Of course, there were many more not so great accessories that were once popular, but have long since been discarded. There were such wonders as ashtrays with suction cups you could stick to your dashboard, and little glass scopes that let you watch those signal lights that were suspended in the middle of intersections.
And then there were hood ornaments with red glass eyes that lit up, and wolf whistles that ran off of engine vacuum. Simulated leopard fur seat covers are not to be forgotten, either. The only thing that could have topped them for bad taste would have been real leopardskin seat covers. There were horns that played La Cucaracha and Dixie.
And then there was the poor man's air conditioner, which hung in your car's side window. Air came into the front of the thing and entered a squirrel cage filled with excelsior that was moistened when you pulled a string. The device basically turned hot dry air into hot wet air.
These days, the mail order auto accessory business has burgeoned with the advent of the Internet and credit cards. You can get stereo systems that will make you take leave of your senses, along with televisions, DVD players and hands-free telephone systems. And to know where in the world you are and where you are going, there are GPS systems. Because such aftermarket items are good ideas, they are now being incorporated into new cars.
Our parts locator books are specialized directories of parts dealers, brokers, salvage yards, etc. Each book is broken down into categories (engine, interior, transmission, body parts, etc), and each listing will also specify the vehicles and years covered. So, the bottom line is this, if you can’t find the part or parts, you want, within 30 days, using these sources, using the sources in our parts locating guides, you can return it, and we will cheerfully refund the purchase price of the book. Yes, it’s that easy! Or, just like our printed locator books, our new CD-ROM part finder guides are organized and easy to use.
Keyword Searchable information about everywhere to find NOS (if available), OEM Reproduction, Used, or Aftermarket parts for your automobile, truck, motorcycle, semi-truck, recreation vehicle, all terrain vehicle, snowmobile, guns, aircraft, helicopters, assistive technology devices, automobilia, classic car investment guide, auto locator service, literature, military vehicles, novelty, and more.
The National Parts Locator Books are the largest single soources of front-end parts, engine parts suspension parts, sheet metal, body parts, chassis parts, frames, brakes, steering parts, interior parts, decals and tags, rubber parts, heater/ac parts, convertible parts, glass accessories, literature, alarms and much more. Anything from 1895 to the present. Or you can browse entire sections, just like the old paper version of our parts locator directories.
We expect today's bad ideas, such as 30-inch wheels with low profile tires will run their course, much as CB radios have-but we shall see.
