47-55.1 "American Pickers" episode I LIVED today at a parts store.

[MARTINSR]

I posted a photo a while ago with me and Don Knopps from Don's Antique Auto Parts in Niles California (actually Fremont, Niles is now a district there.) Don died last year and his parts store is still there and darn near full! Don was an odd dude, someone with real "character" when you met Don, in or out of his store, you didn't forget him. He is a legend there in Niles, about every Antique store there has framed photos and painting of him on display. He is without a doubt a forever legend.

Well today was the Niles Car show and Don's daughter had the store open! Now mind you, she has been paying $4000 a month rent on this place since he passed away! She has sold off a lot but HOLY CRAP there is a lot there. He was a hoarder, pure and simple, he bought things he NEVER should have to put in the store. There are HUNDREDS, MANY HUNDREDS of every common part you can think of, starters, clutche discs, pressure plates, fuel pumps, water pumps, parking brake cables, speedometer cables, and on and on, MANY HUNDREDS of most of them.

I dug and dug and dug, walking over PILES of parts, I mean WALKING ON TOP OF. I climbed up between a couple of shelves and found the grille I bought. I had been in there many times over the years (I will be putting an NOW door handle on my truck I got from him 30+ years ago) but you were always going right to the part, this time we got to rummage around freely. It was WILD! OMG BOXES of something like the bezel for a window crank, or shock bushing, 5 gallon pails of sway bar bushings, trunk lid strikers! How in the hell do you think you are going to sell 30 trunk lid striker for a 49-54 Chevy? How in the world do you think you would need that in stock? Well that was just the tip of the iceberg. Rebuilt master cylinders, HUNDREDS of them!

I went back with my brother just getting home now, holy crap, that was WILD going through there.

Brian