Exploring An Antique Auto Parts Store FULL of Classic Car Parts! New Old Stock Parts (AMAZING!)Part1
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- čas přidán 23. 02. 2023
- A rare look into a historic old building filled to the brim with N.O.S. (New Old Stock) auto parts. This auto parts store has been in business for more than 70 years and has amassed a world class collection of rare parts from 1910’s through 1980’s
The Grand Rapids, Michigan building with beautiful architecture is in poor condition with a leaking roof and ceilings that are falling down. Watch as I do a quick tour from the basement to the upper floors, all packed with classic car parts. - Auta a dopravní prostředky
I would love to hear what everyone thinks about this place. It was an honor for me to get to see “behind the scenes” of this business
Part 2 is now up
czcams.com/video/Q-FDo_MuGlQ/video.htmlsi=9no7LPYhulBjWhbe
Shock absorbers... Pre-war shocks were knee-action so all those tube shocks are post-war and mostly post 40s... Disc brakes did not become COMMONPLACE until the late 60s, but they existed in the 1900s. The clutch covers are mostly post-war as well.
There was a section of lever action shocks in the basement but I did not get it on video
I would spend hours there. Found a rebuild kit for our water pump
Ken in the machine shop would rebuild water pumps in-house. He put in custom bushings that were better than oem and wouldn’t leak. Lots of knowledge with the guys that worked there
@NIXONGarage he gave me a hour long tour into every building a few years before they closed the doors. I found a few hard to find parts for our car there. Sad to see it go.
I bought so many parts and equipment out of there before they closed. Very talented people worked there! GENE and LENNY worked the counter and KEN worked in the back. Kens Father and Uncle worked there. Ken worked there 50 years when they closed. GENE started in '74 and LENNY in '88. Sam the owner passed away and the guys together decided to stay open 1 year from the day of Sams passing their last day was December 3rd 2021
MANNNNN !!!! I remember going to this parts store when i was just a little kid with my pops. that was when everybody used to know how to fix their own cars and did it in their own yards.These guys knew what they were doing here at Northwestern too !!! these guys could rebuild a quadrajet carburator better than anyone else ! i was sure bummed when they closed their doors. thanks a ton for this video. it brings back lots of great memories.
The employees were fantastic for sure, an incredible amount of knowledge. Thanks for watching the video, I appreciate it
6 or so years ago, I bought a complete set of N.O.S intake and exhaust valves for 1923 Durant 4 cylinder touring car I was working on. prices were very reasonable and the 2 guys to were great. One guy took my search request and said give us a couple days.Next morning another guy called me back ,said ,they had them. Sent them out that afternoon.
That’s awesome. Those guys are all very knowledgeable. There can’t be too many places in the world that could send out NOS Durant parts in one day!
This was very interesting, hope somebody or parts business buys up the parts and keeps them available for the restorers to buy. One thing I might add is back in the day brake shoes, clutches, other items that had to deal with heat were made of Asbestos and asbestos combinations so use caution when handling "New Old Stock" brake/clutch parts.
I love places like this. I can smell the smells just watching. It takes me back to a time before the world went crazy. They will probably tear this building down and build a stupid dollar store or some other soulless waste. I'm glad it all got recorded on video. Thank You
Thank you for the comment. I would absolutely love to see this building get restored. I’ve got another video that I’m preparing now that will go into more detail about what is happening
The building is in pretty rough shape, but its clear to see that it once was amazingly beautiful. I too hope to see it restored. I do not have much hope, because the neighborhood is full of people who do not respect other peoples property and its nearly impossible to have nice things.
@GriffinsFanChris the rejuvenation of the city has been spreading to the outside areas. This part of town has a ways to go but what a beautiful, unique building this would be all fixed up. It could be a real jewel for this area
This is mind blowing-thank you! If those walls could talk...
It was a ton of fun to explore! Every time I went back I would discover something new, there was so much to see
Here in the UK we have an old Mill building that has new old stock Ford Parts for British & European Classics, from 1930's to 1990's, the company has been selling for over 40 years, like this, full of body panels,carpets, lights, mechanical, etc, that I have bought parts from, again shelves full of stuff, genuine old Ford stock, bought up from years ago, so I enjoyed this video, as it reminded me of that place, and like you I loved walking around all the amazing stock,
That sounds amazing. Hopefully that place will stay around for a long time and continue to help out the collector car community
That place is a gold mine. Whoever owns that has an unlimited income supply.
I have been by that place hundreds of times and had no idea! Very interesting video, thanks for sharing!!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Reminds me of the auto parts place I worked at in my 20's. It had been around since the mid 50s as an independent, but was bought by a bigger company in the 90's. The place was absolutely massive, covered an acre easy, and had the old original offices for the two old guys that started it still in the back, with nearly everything that they had in their offices from the beginning, I guess they kept their offices even if they did not really have to come into work anymore. When they retired for good the offices were just left and forgotten. And of course at the back in and surrounding that area were all the old leftover NOS parts all the way back to the 50's too. That branch was sold to a bakery a few years ago and all it was probably thrown out.
It’s cool to find an old place like that where time has stood still. Not many are left
The closing of Northwestern marked the end of an era. The owner Sam passed away unexpectedly, and it was only a matter of time after that. The guys did manage to keep it going for another year, but a lot of that year was spent selling the remaining inventory. Ken did plenty of work for me the past handful of years, including re-doing some cylinder heads with springs and seals, and hot tanking/honing a block and installing cam bearings. I can't think of many places like this that are left in Grand Rapids now.
There’s a large void left in the classic car community without Northwestern and the skills that Ken had.
People in Cuba watching this video are going absolutely crazy.
Great video hope it all gets saved and used
I’ve worked in three companies which closed where every
Thing was skipped or weighted in!!!
Unfortunately a lot of these parts will go to waste if someone does not try to get them into the hands of people who could very much use them. If the owner is looking to get money out of them, you may as well bulldoze the building, parts and all! I've been involved with keeping things like this out of the land fills for years. Its a lot of work with very little reward. Obviously the owner of the business thought he was going to live forever, along with the cars..
I would like to purchase anything they would have for my cars.... How do we get in touch with the owner?
I’m working on the next video now and that will explain things better
J lino needs this store
FANTASTIC video NIXON Garage. But i dont understand why these RARE SPARES were not auctioned off to car clubs etc. All the very best from Melbourne Australia.
Thank you for the comment. Personally, I would have handled the situation with the parts differently but it was not my building and I did not run the business. I am working on putting together the next video now and a lot of questions will be answered in it.
I appreciate you watching, all the best to you.
The Nash car club bought trailer loads the week before the doors closed
I now own the SUN distributor machine seen in the Bank Building! It still works!
I had asked Gene about that machine and he told me it was already sold. Glad it went to a good home!
I bought a lot out of there back in the 1990’s for my Nash
Not everyone carried parts for Nash anymore!
Totally amazing!!
This place makes J.C.
Whitney ( in Chicago) look small! I live in Detroit only 150 miles away, and never knew it existed. A little advertising with antique car clubs and car magazines probably would have helped them. Such a shame to see such a treasure go to waste.
I’ve known about Northwestern for 30 years and I still had no idea how extensive their inventory was! WAY more stuff than I ever imagined.
I'm sure Jay Leno would like to buy a lot of those parts
Sure takes me back to a time when things made sense. ❤
Engine sleeves That's back when cars had cast iron blocks and heads/ so if an engine needed repair they could put a sleeve in the cylinder as opposed to just trashing the engine
Is place open or closed, they must have people who go to buy part from them, if it not you must try to save this place. You dont find anything like that in the UK 🇬🇧 .but I wished we did ☹️.love the story of this part 🏬
I have an update video I am putting together that will answer all the questions. Thank you for watching
You move the camera too fast. Everything is blurred
From a time before the corporation parts stores took over, and just worried about " Inventory Turns." Place like that are gone forever.
A few weeks before the doors closed I spent hours there finding parts for my 1920 Nash. I found thousands of Nash parts tipped off the Nash club in Michigan and they saved all the Nash parts they could take from the dumpster. The club bought trailer loads. I loved that place. So sad ots gone.
Wow, that’s a fantastic story to hear. Glad you saved so many parts!
This video came up in my recommended feed, (I had recently watched an episode of Texas County Reporter from 15yrs ago, that had been uploaded to YT, featuring Antique Auto Supply, in Arlington Texas and it’s owner Stacey Brown). Researching after watching the video, I discovered that the store had since permanently closed. Unfortunately, the owner Stacey Brown had passed on April 2020. He was very well known and fondly thought of in the antique auto hobby.
Living in G.R. while attending Kendall School of Design in the late 70’s and being a car lover, I remember North Western Auto Supply but hadn’t thought about them in many years. @NIXON Garage you mentioned you’d be doing a follow up video on what happened to Northwestern Auto Supply, the building and their inventory. Any updates?
Thanks for the comment and checking out the video. Northwestern has a reputation around the country (and the globe) for its ability to supply hard to find parts.
I was actually going through some footage last night and started putting the next video together. Hopefully I can finish it and get it uploaded shortly
@@NIXONGarage Thanks for the quick reply! Cool, I’ll keep an eye out for it.
Crazy!! Are they somehow maintaining inventory system?
Yes, there are inventory lists but they may have been last counted 20 years ago and not always accurate. The workers have been there 45-50 years and they have a good understanding of what they have in stock. Often they will take the customers information, look parts up in the books, check inventory and then call the customer back
Nothing looks like NOS parts. Everything looks aftermarket NORS parts
It's like everyone left town
Shame when you think all the car restoration projects and people looking for parts and here they are gathering dust in these abandoned buildings
What the heck happened to the people that used to work there
???
I’ll be talking about this more in the next video
Im lookn for front turn lites for 77 thru 79 ford ltd ll,restoring one of my trucks
so the most important thing about this video is NOT discussed: is the place for sale; who owns it; how could a perspective buyer find out more information about this property.
The next video will discuss all of that
Another channel (What the Rust) did a similar thing for Toohey's auto parts ( small chain) in Kentucky. A guy (Glenn) was selling off/clearing out the warehouse, had his number up and I got a hold of him. He asked me to make a list, take a picture and text to him. I made 2 pages worth of parts, with numbers, and offered to help pull and pick up the parts. Guess what? Tried two more times to get ahold of him and nothing.
Odds are, most of the parts at Toohey's will get scrapped by the new property owner. I can't see much of anything moving out since it's being handled by that guy.
That’s a real shame. At least you did what you could to try to get what you needed
@@NIXONGarage yup- there are still avenues out there to get the pieces & parts. Was just trying to do "1-stop" shopping and put a dent in the overflowing inventory.
Do they have parts for a 41 buick g body coupe like fennders rear
No body panels, just mechanical parts
You sweeping your camera to fast, it’s hard to focus on the images. Awesome video.
do you sell parts ?such as double rowe spherical ballbearings by Scefco for instance .another question do you sell british motor cycle parts?ttfn& ty
I do not have, sorry
Have these parts being offered to car clubs
And restorers?
What's the status of this place now? Is someone buyiong the stock up ?
What is the current status of the place and inventory ,?
I’m working on putting together a follow up video that will answer these questions
I'm appreciative but not in awe.I've seen places like this before
its a damn shame none of the lables in the janky slowmos are readable.
is it still trading,could historic society notb repair building
I would love to see this historic building saved. More details to come in the next video
Should’ve slowed down while walking through the aisles and panning with the video images were somewhat blurry and gave me motion sickness
I'm surprised that it hasn't been robbed blind
Right. It’s not in the best part of town either
Some one some where needs a part and can not find it, they are all here.
There were more parts here than I could have ever imagined!
@@NIXONGarage This shop needs a web page to get world wide customers.
I'm sure all parts were made in the USA 🇺🇸
Absolutely! The quality of parts you will never find again
Nothing better then a old school part store. Todays part store are awful the parts are garbage the help is garbage
I agree with everything you just said
There’s a fortune there………
If nobody bought this stuff decades ago who are the customers now? As time goes on the demand for this stuff will cease. Just how many 1951 Ramblers are left needing parts? I'll bet you couldn't give most of these items that away. I wonder what kind of business they are doing? How many dedicated employees are keeping track of all that inventory, or is it just one or two old guys left that know where to look? It's overwhelming and scary at the same time, a museum of obsolete stock.
More than you can imagine
That was kind of the point. Most of the stock was purchased as obsolete/distressed parts from parts stores or dealers that had gone out of business. Some stock were obtained as buyouts when other stores changed vendors. Sam and his father had been buying for years. All purchased for pennies on the dollar. At one time, they had three buildings in Grand Rapids packed floor to ceiling. A cousin has a similar store in Muskegon but it closed several years ago.
The upstairs apartments were mirror images. The front parlors had huge oak pocket doors to close them off. Very deluxe apartments for the time.
I hope someone saved this.
I’m working on the next video update now
If I had epilepsy, this camera would definitely set it off. Had to stop watching it to vibrating.
The article give the impression that this place is still in business, but I don't think that's really the case. Please try to be more specific.
I’m putting together a follow up video that will answer all the questions
1k videographer
N.O.S. means New ORIGIANAL Stock Parts , American Pickers came up with the New Old Stock because they did NOT know the real meaning! N.O.S. Parts could have been made 100 years ago or YESTERDAY!
getting sea sick watching this
Camera moves too fast, blurry, slow down!! Cant watch
your video equipment needs to be upgraded.
What a waste get it out an keep hundreds of car blokes happy.
I have an update video that will be coming out to explain what is going on
What an horribel video quality.
What is going on with this business ? The web page states that this business is presently closed. Are these parts going to be sold at auction ? Is the building going to be
torn down ? I'm sure that there are collectors and other repair shops AROUND THE WORLD that would be interested in aquiring some of the parts that you have shown.
When you mentioned the section that had the cylinder sleeves - the CZcams channel Cold War Motors did an episode of putting a sleeve in a 1937 Chevrolet, using the
vintage machine shop equipment to do the job. I do not have a link but the episode was aired about six weeks ago. It is worth watching - very interesting !
I did see the Coldwar Motors episode where they sleeved the engine, it was very cool indeed.
I have more videos coming up that will explain anything that is going on with the Northwestern Auto business.
Thanks for watching
@@NIXONGaragetremendous inventory!
I’ve known about this place forever but I really had no idea how vast their inventory really was. It was so much fun going through these buildings!
Grab me a gearbox for my model A ford....19??
You should fix yur camera ...
Dump