spare parts disease

[c david]

this is not a mental condition in it's self, nor is it a detrimental part of being a car enthusiast. it is in my opinion an extension of our hobby prompted by: the need for spare parts, investigating different part and configuration options, the want for something new to do "for our car" and the use of knowledge when buying or picking up a part from a jag, j30 or 240 sx that can and will fit. sometimes i buy or investigate a part option because i've heard (here or elsewhere) and i want to prove or disprove it's viability for myself.

i could list the goods, stuff and junk i have on hand but some would make me look the fool and others would only make me a crafty mechanic if it were on my car. an example of this is a non-clutch nylon fan i have which blows so much air the car will not reach 170 degrees in the hot tampa summer. ( it also makes her sound like an airplane ). now that i am done with that configuration i will switch to the csr electric water pump for the new engine.

i've had three 81 to 84 mercedes during the past year. these years were exceedingly successful cars for them and the worldwide draw which keeps them on the road means there is easy and many times cheap access to parts ( but it can be very expensive to get them on ).

a story about a 2000 bmw with cracked plastic in the sunroof led a friend of mine to the realization bmw will ra pe you when they can. the part was very common to break and the price went up every year until it hit $1600.00. i recommended welding the roof shut and new paint.

the bottom line for me is; its just part of my love for the car, driving and being my own mechanic.

[=Enigma=]

I am constantly tempted, but I've done a pretty good job of limiting the spare parts to a set of tail lights, and a rear finish panel. This is mainly due to the fact that there are still plenty of things I need to complete my refresh/upgrade so I'm focused on that for the moment. Once the refresh/upgrade is complete, I can see possible spare part hoarding in my future.

[veritech-z]

I've got a variant of this disease, my symptoms include hunting for wheels at all times. I'm always looking for older wheel models that fit my car, usually early Advan models (ONIs and SA3As mostly....but once I saw a style I'd never seen before, it was just a bar that went through the center of the wheel, like a two spoke version of the SA3....never seen them come up for sale again....), but I also like the older SSR and Impul styles. Works are nice too. I've already got three complete sets of wheels, so more wheels is the LAST thing I need, but I just can't help it. I'm like a girl with shoes...It's pretty bad when you're looking at wheels that are made by other marque's house tuning companies that would never look right on your car...I've been eyeing some old Mugen CF-48s, and I've even seen some Mazdaspeed wheels that almost made me want to get an RX-7 (88 turbo II with the Mazdaspeed three spokes in the front and MS-02s in the back)...

[BRE-240Z]

I'm like a girl with shoes...

Is this going to be your new sig, Veritech?

[veritech-z]

Maybe...

[hls30.com]

I collect Z parts and I have a problem...

I have run out of space!

Will

[zbane]

I collect Z parts and I have a problem...

I have run out of space!

Will

Sounds like you need to move to a larger house, one with a four car garage!

That would solve the problem, at least for a while.

[biddljj]

My 72 240Z came with the whole pile of parts too..... The previous owner had been afflicted by Harley disease after 5 or 6 240Z V8 projects.

Jay

[sakijo]

Knowing that the parts are NLA helps fuel this desire for spares. I have a spare set of trunk hinges for the Skyline because the right side one wears out and is NLA. The left side is always good and they are still stocked by Nissan.

As said earlier, "just to have a different look" is yet another reason. I have 3 valve covers but only one motor. One is a plain stock cover, one is a crinkle coated black cover with the raised parts (NISSAN OHC, etc) unpainted and polished, and the last one is a fully polished NISSAN 2000 OHC cover. I'll give tha last one "collector value" points, but I do intend to use it on the car occasionally.

My point is that spares are needed and hard to find. Collect them when you can, but don't make it a budget buster.

[26th-Z]

What are you talking about Zhead? I bought a car from you! In boxes, yea, that made it convenient!

Hi. My name is Chris. I'm a recovering spare parts collecting addict.

[zhead240]

you have two zeds. oh yea, did i thankyou for taking them off my hands??

[vercingetorix]

There is no such disease. If you think you need to be cured just send me your parts, Im sure I still have some room under the house somewhere.