Last Fall I decided it was time to give the Scamp some TLC which meant getting some metal work done to it. My interior is mint so I didn't need to get many goodies for the inside except the odd screw for trim pieces, radio, radio bezel and sill plates. Since the car is gettig new quarters, etc and a complete paint job, I stipped out the interior and everything on the outside including the weatherstripping before taking it down to the body shop.
I live in Canada so there's not a lot in the way of selection unless ordering from the States and then rolling the dice with Canada customs.
Major purchases were:
Weatherstripping (everything from roof rail, wiper pivot seals, door handles gaskets, lock gaskets, windshield/rear window, trunk, rad support to hood, body bumpers, body plugs, window channel wiskers, etc)
Stickers (jack instructions, tire pressure, engine emission, coolant, dealership sticker, etc)
Moulding clips, wheel well trim, hood insulation, and other small stuff (I should just insert my spreadsheet of all the items...)
And the metal (both rear quarters, trunk floor and front fenders, etc).
All the metal except the fender I got locally through Gasoline Alley which saved me a lot since I didn't have to pay shipping. The rest I of the bits I either sourced thru:
1) Wildcat Wreckers
2) Laysons
3) E-body parts
4) Steele Rubber
5) Penstar Reproductions
I drove down to Wildcat to pick up the fenders and a few other bits and stopped by Laysons on the way back across the border. Since my g/f wanted to do some shopping in the Seattle area about a month later, we stopped by Laysons a second time to get some other stuff that I had added to my list in the mean time.
Eveything I couldn't get from Laysons in person (ie: that they didn't have in stock) I was going to get from other places thru the mail. But I was only going to order from places that had the items I needed in stock since I didn't want to wait months for back ordered items.
So I started with the The Paddock since I've heard great things about them. When I called to ask if they had any of the dozen or so items I was looking for, they had nothing in stock!
So I called up E-body Parts and ordered the half dozen items they had in stock. The items arrived soon after and shipping was reasonable (and it didn't get snagged by customs!).
I then called Penstar for the remaining half dozen items and they had all but one item in stock so I ordered everything and had them ship everything but the one item. It's still on back order but I'm not in a rush (and it's a $10 item so I'm not going to lose sleep if it's permanently on back order). Shipping was quick and reasonable.
Last place was Steele Rubber for a couple of weatherstripping bits no one else carried. They shipped the items out the next day and shipping again was reasonable.
I'd have to say that my parts buying hunt was a success and figured I'd pass along my reveiws of the various shops.
I live in Canada so there's not a lot in the way of selection unless ordering from the States and then rolling the dice with Canada customs.
Major purchases were:
Weatherstripping (everything from roof rail, wiper pivot seals, door handles gaskets, lock gaskets, windshield/rear window, trunk, rad support to hood, body bumpers, body plugs, window channel wiskers, etc)
Stickers (jack instructions, tire pressure, engine emission, coolant, dealership sticker, etc)
Moulding clips, wheel well trim, hood insulation, and other small stuff (I should just insert my spreadsheet of all the items...)
And the metal (both rear quarters, trunk floor and front fenders, etc).
All the metal except the fender I got locally through Gasoline Alley which saved me a lot since I didn't have to pay shipping. The rest I of the bits I either sourced thru:
1) Wildcat Wreckers
2) Laysons
3) E-body parts
4) Steele Rubber
5) Penstar Reproductions
I drove down to Wildcat to pick up the fenders and a few other bits and stopped by Laysons on the way back across the border. Since my g/f wanted to do some shopping in the Seattle area about a month later, we stopped by Laysons a second time to get some other stuff that I had added to my list in the mean time.
Eveything I couldn't get from Laysons in person (ie: that they didn't have in stock) I was going to get from other places thru the mail. But I was only going to order from places that had the items I needed in stock since I didn't want to wait months for back ordered items.
So I started with the The Paddock since I've heard great things about them. When I called to ask if they had any of the dozen or so items I was looking for, they had nothing in stock!
So I called up E-body Parts and ordered the half dozen items they had in stock. The items arrived soon after and shipping was reasonable (and it didn't get snagged by customs!).
I then called Penstar for the remaining half dozen items and they had all but one item in stock so I ordered everything and had them ship everything but the one item. It's still on back order but I'm not in a rush (and it's a $10 item so I'm not going to lose sleep if it's permanently on back order). Shipping was quick and reasonable.
Last place was Steele Rubber for a couple of weatherstripping bits no one else carried. They shipped the items out the next day and shipping again was reasonable.
I'd have to say that my parts buying hunt was a success and figured I'd pass along my reveiws of the various shops.
