Vintage Appliance Parts. What To Keep & What to Sell On?

In an analogy to my classic car hobby, the rarer the part, the more I keep on hand. I have 8 spare tail lights for my 1958 Buick Limited (rare part) and two extra rear gravel guard sets (extremely rare), I wont't get rid of them unless a close friend needs one. Common and cheap parts I let go or keep one spare, can always get more later.

Old appliances are different because many parts are rare - who would have thought that people would collect them? I would keep spares only for the machines I own or plan to own, sell the rest if you have no space*. "Expendable" parts (belts, hoses): I buy as I need. These parts often dry rot as they age, so they'll break anyway if used.

* Always seems to bite me in the butt, 'cause I'll get rid of a part for something I think I'll never own and then I'll run across the infamous "deal that can't be beat" and I'll then need the parts I just sold.

Basically, if you have storage, keep'em all. You can always help out friends and AW.org members as the need arises.


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Post# 180611 1/4/2007 at 00:31 (6,321 days old) by launderess (Quiet Please, There´s a Lady on Stage)
Checkrate/Likes Query, How do you seasoned vintage applinace collectors/sellers decide what parts you wish to keep versus what to sell on? Can understand keeping one or two of the same part as spares, but how many "spares" should one keep on hand? TIA L.

Post# 180641 , Reply# 1 1/4/2007 at 06:13 (6,321 days old) by christfr (st louis mo)
Checkrate/Likes good question.. guess the more room you have the more you hang on to.. i have been trying to find and keep as much as i can and that usualy is not very much..a buddy or pal will turn up needing something and then you try to help them out so you let things go.. i think as long as you gonna keep the machine its good to have at least one of that extra part

Post# 180648 , Reply# 2 1/4/2007 at 07:13 (6,320 days old) by mayken4now (Panama City, Florida)
Checkrate/Likes Depends on usage of a particular part. Say, belts, several sets. A bearing or bushing, only one. However, if you use the machine as a daily driver, any mechanical parts should be forever stached. Tis how my inventory runs. Steve

Post# 180712 , Reply# 3 1/4/2007 at 13:38 (6,320 days old) by rolltideroll ()
Checkrate/Likes Depends on what you are doing in your appliance life. Are you buying and selling them as I dd? I keep about everything but the shell. Then sometimes I wish I had the shelll back if I have scrapped that. I do have a tendency to scrap out most Maytag, Amana, Speed Queen etc. transmissions.

Post# 180979 , Reply# 4 1/5/2007 at 17:50 (6,319 days old) by 58limited (Port Arthur, Texas)
Checkrate/Likes In an analogy to my classic car hobby, the rarer the part, the more I keep on hand. I have 8 spare tail lights for my 1958 Buick Limited (rare part) and two extra rear gravel guard sets (extremely rare), I wont't get rid of them unless a close friend needs one. Common and cheap parts I let go or keep one spare, can always get more later. Old appliances are different because many parts are rare - who would have thought that people would collect them? I would keep spares only for the machines I own or plan to own, sell the rest if you have no space. "Expendable" parts (belts, hoses): I buy as I need. These parts often dry rot as they age, so they'll break anyway if used. Always seems to bite me in the butt, 'cause I'll get rid of a part for something I think I'll never own and then I'll run across the infamous "deal that can't be beat" and I'll then need the parts I just sold. Basically, if you have storage, keep'em all. You can always help out friends and AW.org members as the need arises.