From Auburns to Studebakers, NAPA offers thousands of parts for your classic

Working on your old Ford and looking for a thermostat? Is the carburetor in your classic Chevy kaput? No need to scour the internet for hours or pay a visit to your local junkyard. NAPA has been selling replacement parts for classic cars for years.

“We haven’t been keeping it a secret, but people are still surprised to hear what we have available,” said Ken Ingram, Director of Catalog and Profile Pricing Services, who has worked for Atlanta-based NAPA for 34 years. “During my entire career, we’ve been a go-to place for car enthusiasts and car clubs. Counting only mechanical products – not windshield wipers or upholstery or a hood, things like that – we have over 400,000 part numbers for passenger cars and light, medium and heavy-duty trucks.”

NAPA has been selling auto parts since 1925, and the company provides replacement parts for cars that were built long before that.

“We sell spark plugs that fit Model T Fords because that engine was widely used for more than just cars,” he said. “Farmers used those engines; saw mills used them. People used them to run the pump in their back 40.”

Oftentimes, something designed for a modern car will also fit a classic. For example …

“Depending on what it is, a part for a 2005 Chevy might be the same for a 1985 Chevy,” Ingram said. “If you define a classic car as any car 25 years or older (the 1989 model year and prior), we have 12 million application records for classic car parts.”

And that includes a radiator hose for a 1962 Chevy Impala, an ignition coil for a 1935 Auburn 653 Six and a voltage regulator for a 1949 Studebaker Champion. NAPA has plenty of Corvette parts too, as Ingram found out. “I gave my wife a 1980 Corvette a number of years ago, and we keep it running almost exclusively with parts we sell.”

Ingram said some NAPA dealers know their clientele so well that they stock up on parts for specific cars, just in case – like the Chicago-area store that has just what the local owner of a 1960s Amphicar might need to get his amphibious vehicle up and running should it break down.

“That goes on every day in every store,” Ingram said. “We help owners of classic and antique vehicles find what they need.”

For more information or to browse NAPA’s parts catalog, visit http://napaonline.com.