I'm
very pleased to have found RockAuto!
I've been a car tinkerer all my
life and at 70 years of
age, that's a lot.
But I just found
RockAuto and am very pleased
with the excellent website, the
fast
shipping,
and the unexpectedly low prices.
Jack in Arkansas
Upcoming
Events
If
you would like
your event
featured here, email us
with details.
Arklatex
Motor Massacre Halloween Car
Show
10/31/2009
Texarkana,
TX e-mail
Elite Corvettes
1st Annual Platinum Series
Car Show
11/1/2009
Pasadena,
CA website
Louisiana
Custom Cruisers Benefit Car
Show
11/7/2009
Boutte,
LA e-mail
Moreland
3rd Annual Autumn Car & Motorcycle
Show
11/7/2009
Moreland, GA e-mail
Flabob Veteran
Fly n Drive Show
11/7/2009
Riverside, CA website
1st Annual
Orland Chamber Of Commerce
Rod & Custom Car
Show
11/7-11/8/2009
Orland, CA website
Veterans
Appreciation Car Show
11/8/2009
Baltimore, MD e-mail
Grass Roots
Jeep Club 1st Annual Jeeps
in the Vineyard
11/14/2009
Atco, NJ website
2nd Annual
Texas Road House Car Show
11/14/2009
Sierra
Vista,
AZ e-mail
Muscle Car
& Corvette Nationals
11/21-11/22/2009
Rosemont,
IL website
RockAuto on TV
Keep
an eye out for the new RockAuto TV
commercial!
Contrary
to popular belief, our IT guy Dave,
was not the inspiration for the customer
in the commercial. But the resemblance
is uncanny.
Forum of the Month
MarkIIForum.com was
started on July 4, 2009. MarkIIForum.com
exists to be a registry, source of
restoration
information, and a place of comradery
amongst owners and enthusiasts of
the car. All Continental
Mark
II owners and enthusiasts are welcome
to join. The forum contains special
areas of interest including general
discussion, technical discussions,
a library of documents, and
much more. Members have unlimited
uploading privileges
which allow
them to show off pictures of their
cars and provide detailed visuals
for repair projects. Valuable information
is at hand for tips on repairing
and servicing this unique automobile.
The Mark II
is a very rare car. Only 3000 were
made in 1956-57 by
Ford to introduce the Continental
Division as a competitor to GM's
Cadillac in the luxury market. Approximately
1500-1800 have survived in varying
degrees of condition. The car sold
for $10,000 which made it the most
expensive US car on the market at
that time. In 1956 that would buy
two Cadillacs. Original owners of
the
car included
Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Nelson
Rockefeller, and Marilyn Monroe.
Examples of the car are on permanent
display at various museums of modern
art.
If you are the
administrator or member of a forum
and you would like to see your
website featured in an upcoming
newsletter and receive a discount
code to share with your members,
contact jessa@rockauto.com.
Repair Mistakes & Blunders
While
attending college in Omaha, Nebraska,
my son had a very rusty (especially
around
the trunk) 1985 Olds
Cutlass Calais. My son called one
day to say he hit a pothole which
caused a tear in the right rear wheel
well which went
from the trunk floor to the upper shock absorber mount. This left a useless free
floating shock.
Being a bit of
a cobbler, I purchased some metal
plates and a box of stove bolts,
then made the four hundred mile journey
to Omaha to repair the Calais. We
went to a friends
house to use his garage as it was to cold to work outside. After we successfully
completed the repair I proceeded to back the car out of the garage...but
left the driver's door open.
Next project...repair
a damaged car door!
Alan in Wisconsin
Tell us about
your most infamous auto repair
blunder
or unconventional fix. Use your woe
to help others avoid similar mistakes
or share off-the-wall solutions that
worked (at least for awhile!). Please
email your story to flamur@rockauto.com.
Include your mailing address and
shirt size (large or extra large)
and we will mail you a RockAuto "Do
it yourself?" t-shirt if we
publish your story (see the t-shirts
under Extras in the catalog). The
story will be credited using only
your first name and your vague geographic
location (state, province, country,
continent, etc.) so you can remain
semi-anonymous!
RockAuto’s
Ten Year Anniversary
It
is RockAuto.com’s
ten year anniversary. A huge thank
you to RockAuto customers, staff,
and suppliers!
Some things
have not changed much. Ten years
ago I was driving a ’79
Chrysler 300 and that car still has
the pole position in my garage. Whether
it is the car or the kitchen faucet,
fixing it myself still makes me feel
more in control and in tune with
my environment.
A lot has
also changed. Auto parts industry
veterans fondly remember
the ‘60s when stocking a handful
of parts would repair nearly every
model of car on the road. Chrysler,
Ford, and GM cars came with relatively
few engine, transmission, brake,
and other mechanical system choices,
but there were lots of great body
and interior styling options. Cars
of different size with radically
different styling often shared many
parts. Need front shocks and a starter
for a ’68 Dodge 426 Hemi Charger?
Shocks and starter off a V8 powered ’68
Dodge Dart will fit just fine.
Now in 2009
we are nostalgically looking back
at the relatively paltry
number of parts we had to inventory
ten years ago. The number of new
parts introduced each year has steadily
increased. In ’99 there were
two Kia models and engines sold in
North America. This year there are
ten Kia models and seven engines.
Scion and new Mini Coopers did not
exist ten years ago. US manufacturers
may be cutting models now, but over
the last decade they were going strong.
Chevy offered nineteen engines plus
a hybrid this year, four more than
in ‘99.
To keep up coverage of new cars
and expand our offerings for older
cars, we added new parts from our
original suppliers and also steadily
sought parts from new manufacturers.
Visit our manufacturer page http://www.rockauto.com/lang/en/lines.html to see our well more than one hundred
manufacturers. A1 Cardone is still
first and WIX is still last on the
alphabetical list, but over the last
ten years lots of new manufacturers
have been added in-between like Akebono
brakes, Kee convertible tops, Marshall
crate engines, ReTech transfer cases
and more.
The convenience
and value of having the RockAuto
catalog online and the
parts shipped directly from the warehouse
has grown along with the increase
in part numbers. Ten years ago it
would have taken a good-sized tree
to print the RockAuto catalog on
paper and now it would take a grove
of trees. There are currently 97,236,859
auto and body part applications listed
in the RockAuto online catalog.
We even list which Europe-only models,
rare old cars, and motorcycles our
parts fit. Thank goodness we do not
have to try and guess which of those
parts to stock in individual store
fronts.
Everyone at RockAuto looks forward
to helping our customers keep their
cars maintained and on the road for
the next ten years. I know I plan
to still be tooling around in my
old Chrysler in 2019!
Tom Taylor,
RockAuto.com
Keith's
1965 AMC Rambler Marlin
I
traded my 1969 Ford F250 4x4 for
this 1965 AMC Rambler Marlin about
nine
years ago. We drove/hauled the car
from
Colorado to San Diego, California.
I got her looking pretty
nice about two years ago and now
drive it on the weekends. From the
paperwork
I found in the glove box, I found
out that the car was originally sold
in Reno Nevada,
and then spent the majority of its
life around Los Angeles. It appears
it was in Colorado for about one
year before I brought her back to
California.
The car drives
like a dream. It is all stock except
for the tinted windows, Torque Thrust
wheels, and the carburetor.
It used to be very hard to find old
Rambler parts, but RockAuto is the
first place I look now. Thanks for
not forgetting the long lost independents!
They are part of America's automotive
history.
I also
own two International Scouts and
RockAuto has many parts for
those old
binders also!
Keith in California
Share Your
Hard Work Do you purchase
parts from RockAuto? If so, RockAuto
would like to feature you and your
car or truck in our monthly newsletter.
Please email flamur@rockauto.com with
details.