Interesting conversations

[Primm69]

Went into the local Nissan parts shop today to get rubber window seals for my baby (I'll have to find out her name soon, won't I?)

Forgot to look up the part number first, which I usually do. Told the guy at the counter what I wanted, & he replied "I don't think you'll still be able to get those".

So I borrowed his parts book & looked up the part number. He was shaking his head the whole time & saying "they won't be available anymore".

Finally I just said "look, humour me. Just look up the number on the computer".

And what do you know? They are still available! I bit my tongue & didn't say I told you so, I think he was a little embarrassed as it was.

Anyone else had interesting conversations with parts people about supposedly NLA parts that we can still get for our little cars?

[Dave]

I had an interesting and terrible experience at PETER’S Nissan in Nashua, NH, which is why I will NEVER shop at PETER’S Nissan in Nashua, NH again. OK, you get the idea.

I had just moved out to NH from Oregon. I had not realized how spoiled we are on the West Coast with abundant parts and knowledgeable parts people. After unloading the roadster from the trailer I towed it out here on, I realized that one of the safety chains that I had wrapped around the rear axle had chewed a hole into the brake line. Since my tubing bender and flaring kit were buried in one of the many boxes we had, I decided to just stroll over to my new local Nissan dealer to see if the part was still available. I knew it was a long shot but if I could order one and just swap it in, that would save me a lot of hassle.

I show up at the parts counter and prep the guy with the usual “Hi, I’ve got an oddball part I’m looking for, hoping you can help me out.� Most parts folks get a look of “Cool, finally a challenge. If I have to look up one more 2003 Altima fog lamp, I’m going to shoot myself.� Oh, not this guy. Just a dead stare. “OK….So, right, I’ve got a 68 Datsun roadster with a….� He interrupts me. “Can’t get anything for it. Our parts CD only goes back to the late 80s.� I asked about a parts book. Microfiche perhaps. Nope, nothing. He’s got his little parts CD and no interest in looking up anything that is not on that CD.

He did finally divulge that if I could get him a VIN number he might be able to look it up on the Nissan parts database. I didn’t have my VIN off the top of my head, but I did remember it was posted on trusty 311s.org. He let me use his PC to hit the site. As I was navigating to the page with my car’s info, he made a crack about how this site should be shut down. Huh? Apparently, he felt that since there were only 125,000 or so hits, the site was a waste of cyber space and should be pulled! I calmly explained to him that there were only a handful of us enthusiasts out there and that many hits actually constituted a pretty bustling site, all things considered.

Well, needless to say, he was unable to find my brake line. I later found out he was also unable to locate a hood emblem for my girlfriend’s 1998 Nissan 200SX or a neutral switch for a 1996 240SX.

The moral of the story is two-fold: 1) Don’t shop at PETER’S Nissan in Nashua, NH (but you knew that already). 2) Just because the parts person says it’s NLA, get a second opinion before giving up! I got the emblem and neutral switch ordered online from Courtesy Nissan and shipped right to my door.

[spl310]

Dave,

Yeah, some of the Nissan stores have some clowns working there. It is not a new phenomenon either. I had it happen in 1980 or so at a store in Maryland. On the other hand, there are some great guys! A local guy gets me parts at cost.

You should send a nice letter to the GM at that Nissan store. They may be clueless about the lack of service...

[keith0alan]

I had been dealing with one of the two (at the time) Nissan dealers here in Las Vegas. The parts manager new all about Roadsters and actually had some parts in stock. He got in a row with the GM one day and got fired. Next time I went in they had thrown away the parts info and all the parts they had in stock. I visited the other dealer and had a sit down with the parts manager. They treat me very nice. One thing worth trying is ask the parts folks that since you drive a really cool car can you get a discount on parts? They do have some flexability and if you're good about bringing part numbers in and perhaps buy them a soda every once and a while they can be reasonable.

While I'm thinking about it. Dealer vs our vendors for parts? Tough call and I use both. One thought is that if Nissan only sells roadster parts at a deep discount to a few resellers they are getting rid of old slow moving parts. If they sell them over the counter to lots of different people they just might see that it is worth continuing to make a few. Some things like early 1600 name tags they will never make more of but if they sell enough of the more common stuff they might keep making them.

keith

[RC240z]

Guys, these are all valid issues, but i think there is another wrinkle to this that we need to keep in mind. Nissan is moving, and this is going to effect all of us. Currently the parts department at Nissan is in shambles, many of the Nissan employees have already moved on. I know from experience that Nissan is trying to cope with inventory issues, and getting ready to move. I am sure that the cost of moving a large quantity of parts will effect even more confusion and probably the loss of a large number of parts that Nissan does not sell in quantity (can you say roadster parts) and will decide not to move...

I have experienced this to a degree already, looking for parts for my race car....I suspect that this is not going to get better, in fact I am sure it will get worse.

I am stocking up on what I can get, I suggest that you do the same.

Ron

[datsun65]

In November, I ordered some wheel cylinders for my 64 spl310 fairlady from Nissan.

I was SHOCKED when I noticed they had been stocked & shipped from TN. It seems that some of the parts distribution has already been shifted away from the West Coast.

I agree that the large scale move will likely continue to cause additional hardship on our ability to get roadster parts. But, hopefully the move to TN will also allow nissan to take stock of the current haphazard parts ordering system and smooth the process out.

[jhdj250]

Went into my local Nissan dealer today to get the brake switch I need on order. Told the kid I needed parts for an SPL-311 and he said "what". He looked at me and said he wouldn't have any parts for that car. I told him to look it up. Still told me he couldn't find it. Finally I gave him the part # and he goes "Oh, there it is."

Told him to expect to see a lot of me.

BTW Dan, I for one am glad they are moving the parts to TN!!!! Makes them closer to me.

[albert1]

So what dealers carry parts? and are they any cheaper than our fellow vendors?

[Conner]

I order parts from http://www.everythingnissan.com. It is actually Infiniti of Scottsdale, I believe. They will locate and special order roadster parts from dealers around the country and sell parts 25% under Nissan list price.

[spl310]

When you have some time, collect a few part numbers and visit a few local Nissan stores. I have done that over the years and have had all sorts of reactions. I eventually ran into Tony. He is a great guy and is really impressed that I show up with part numbers and cross references for other models. He gives me a HUGE discount as I order all kinds of odd things from him. He gets a hoot out of it all too. When I drove my Roadster up there the first time, they had me drive it into the service bay - right in the middle - and almost all of the mechanics and service writers came out and ogled it. Pretty cool! I didn't stay long enough to really disrupt work - but they all really dug the car.

[Dustin]

So during my first year of owning my 66 i was exhausted trying to adjust my carbs (if i would have read more and fiddled less, but we all know that one right?). Anyway I got bored and desperate one day and drove to a newley built nissan super dealership/parts megaoutlet place in Puyallup. I drove up and not ONE person at the service desk made a single comment. That was the first thing that striked me as odd. I asked if i could get a nissan ninja to do a 10 minute blitzkreig adjust or at least give me a few pointers. After some laughter, i pointed out to them that i was driving a Datsun, and that took a while to sink in too, i was finally told that i could leave my car there for a week and they would see what they could do. Of course that wasn't gonna happen. I says, can't you just look at it real quick? I was lectured for about 10 minutes on how crucial it is to let it sit overnight before they begin or my computer would send false readings.

*insert sigh here*

I slapped myself for wasteing my time

[keith0alan]

Back when the service folks (I won't call them mechanics) did know about roadsters they would all hide when they saw one coming. Seems that for every one that can properly adjust roadster carbs about ten will take your money and make them worse.

I'm working on a Z with the dual Weber 2 bbl downdraft conversion. After going through about 4 shops he was given my number by a shop that I have dealt with. Not my normal carb but he was so frustrated I agreed to take a look. I havn't quite got them sorted but I have made more progress that everyone else put together. What did I do? Got a book on them and read it . His problems were covered in the basic setup section. The jetting was just wrong. Between swapping the 260 engine for a 280 and someone rebuilding the carbs they needed to be rejeted.

[jhdj250]

Went to the NISSAN dealership the other day for the first time in the roadster. All the salesmen were talking about what kind of car it was. As I was walking to the parts department for a new Tach Cable one of them asked me what it was. I shook my head and told them it was a DATSUN made by NISSAN! The look on their face was priceless. Spent about 20 minutes teaching them about the car and had a blast.

[steve68]

i guess im pretty lucky the nissan store that i use, actually has a 68 2000 in the showroom, and the parts guys actually knows about them and spent a day looking fo rsome stroker parts and nismo. (came back with a few)
and another nissan store here the owner is a datsun freak so ive heard and he buys roadsters when ever he sees one.

Ive worked everywhere in a dealership (chrysler) except car sales (i can't lie and i acutally know about cars) but one guy i worked with was always ordering wrong parts (very expensive parts that weren't returnable) and was useless all around, but he worked there for 15 or so years and the owner liked him. ( he would hand write his time on his time card, he was late and left eailer everyday!)He would say the same about some 70's stuff, i would pull out the original parts books and look them up.

Its the same deal at radioshack, don't ask them for help they don't have a clue, on what electricity even is...

Steve

[Import_sounds-of-mid-GA]

My local nissan dealership called their sources and found me a motor mount for $34.....