What becomes of the old Parts stash?

Kevin Channer

Kevin Channer

True Classic
I know there was a lengthy discussion about what people choose to do with their cars, parts , and related memorabilia in the event of their demise. On a similar but different note I was wondering about some of the known but not recently heard from parts guys; For example "Bruce's Parts Bin" or more local Hess? Has anyone heard from or about these guys lately? There are probably a few others I don't remember. Some had some interesting parts, like 150+ beige Strada window cranks:D
 
And not just individual's stashes, but many former Fiat specialist parts businesses. Several years ago I was quite active with Fiats, and at that time there were a number of places that had tons of parts; NOS, OEM, used, aftermarket, race/performance, etc. Furthermore prices for all of it was very low. Then I sort of got away from Fiats for a couple years. As I returned to it I found most of those sources are gone. And the prices had shot up significantly at the remaining ones. Your mention of Bruce's Bin is a great example, and there is a list of others.
 
When my father moved he gave about 6 parts cars (they were pretty rough) and a complete rust free roller away to bayless.

He kept the good stuff but didn’t have time to deal with everything.
 
I'm surprised that two westward guys mentioned Bruces Parts Bin, I thought he was only an east coast phenomenon. I had a lot of dealings with him and usually went to his Halloween Spook Out. He did close shop decades ago and rather disappeared. Oddly enough, just a week or so ago a buddy of mine called me to say he bought a spider part on ebay and it turned out the vendor was Bruce. Apparently he still has a little bit of Fiat stuff. Back in the good old days he was a character but then who in the Fiat business wasn't.
 
I thought I have purchased from Bruce's Parts Bin and I have only been in the Fiat biz'nes for 12 years now... wow and that sounds old to me.
 
I figured in the last several years, a lot of those islands of NOS inventory migrated towards the larger US vendors. I know in my case, I've had stuff that I kept around so long & pretty much couldn't give away & finally recycled or repurposed some (think Beta sedan, Strada, etc. specific parts). Now, fast forward a few more years & I've found myself owning a few of the cars for which I had said, "I'll never find one of those & own one"...like a 128 wagon, 124 sedan/wagon, etc. Heck, even an X1/9 at a time...if you'd asked me between 2007-2015, I'd probably have convinced you I'd never own another x1/9. never say never, eh?
 
Too bad we don't all live on ranches out in the desert where we just stash stored Fiats and parts "out back" where moisture never gets to them and they provide a source of parts. Even my totaled rat is still providing me useful parts in the form of sheet metal I need to replace rusted sections on the Fatrat. But without use of my secret storage lot I would have had to send that X to the dumpster.
 
As a specific case here, what did Autoricambi do with the Fiat parts they got from IAP? they seem to have just evaporated. Since I was in the IAP database, they send me their catalog of Alfa parts that don't help me (unless if I want expensive wheels!).
 
To be honest, in the waning years I don't think IAP had all that much stock of Fiat parts left. The high point for those of us in the DC area was their annual customer appreciation day with lots of nice Fiats in the parking lot, good food and a great time.
 
Thanks Carl! I only got to order from them a few times before they were gone.

Are DiFatta Bros still in the Baltimore area? They seem to have a part no./ price list online, but I don't know how current any of that is; some of the prices seem to be too good.
 
DiFatta is still around. That list on their site isn't current and the prices are not valid. But they do have a rather large selection and the prices are not bad. Email them with your list of part numbers and they will reply with the availability and price. I have the impression they sell mostly genuine Fiat parts (where available), can anyone confirm that? Calling them isn't the best approach. You will get a guy that speaks Italian, who passes the phone to one of the employees that speaks English, and he will talk to you for hours about everything but what you want. Really nice guys though.
 
I had forgotten about them until I noticed the faint pencil notation on the back page of my Haynes 124 manual I'm using again after 30 years (time for a new one, really).
 
I remember stopping by DiFatta Bros on a road trip heading north...didn't need anything, just wanted to check the place out & say high. I remember talking to one of the guys there about how much he loved his 128 until the left front corner crunched from rust. That was some time in the 1990s...I'd kind of forgotten about them also.
 
And other Fiat places, not just replacement parts suppliers. Apple Motors, Millers Mule, OE Manral Inc, Van-Zeeland, X19 Spares, Fun Imported Auto and Toys (actually they might be around still?). And of course the loss of John Edwards and R&D Motors.

But I also came across a couple that ARE still around...or at least their websites are. I have no info on them but they were bookmarked on my old hard-drive: Alternative Autos, Fiat Torque, and anyone remember the guys at Midwest Bayless? I guess they are still around also? :D

Seems like there were several more but I dumped them from my hard-drive as they went under. Judging by the time frame of when many of them vanished I assume the big economic recession had a big role in their demise.
 
DiFatta is indeed still in business although I personally have not been there since I had my Milano. All my classic Alfa buddies go there.
Fun Imports is alive and well, a buddy of mine uses him for many of his Fiat parts. Apparently Danny is a pain to get hold of but is otherwise good to deal with. I used to visit Danny's trailer at Carlisle but never had the need to get any of the hard to find parts he can usually come up with.
Bayless sold their stuff to Matt when they went out of business, hence the name change to Midwest Bayless. I used to get the Bayless catalogs but for whatever reason never got anything from them.

Then there was that certain specialty shop called FAZA...…………….
 
carl said:
Bayless sold their stuff to Matt
Click to expand...
Ya, I was joking about Midwest Bayless (not Bayless) still being in business. But you are right, the closing of the old Bayless is another example of the demise of Fiat houses. And as you say, FAZA is yet another good example.

Getting back to the original question from Kevin, what happened to the inventory from all of those old companies.
I imagine some of them were bought out by other surviving companies or repair shops. That is what sources like RockAuto are based upon. However I've seen a lot of examples over the years (non Fiat) where a guy goes out of business and just stashes the entire remaining inventory into his garage or a storage unit. Not sure if he thinks it might come back some day, or is waiting to get a big offer for it (ie. not let it go at a loss), or just can't stand to deal with it after losing his life's work. But eventually it ends up getting dumped (trashed) when he succumbs to health issues or passes away. I always seem to hear about it after the fact unfortunately.
 
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