I read auto parts catalogs like a kid reads the Sears Christmas Wish Book. I spend happy hours flipping the pages of the latest Summit or YearOne catalog, reading descriptions and specs, checking to see how much parts cost. Before the next issue arrives the pages have folded corners and sometimes the cover is missing.

Imagine the shock I felt when I asked a vendor at a car show for a catalog and he handed me a CD. A CD? I love my laptop but really… I do not want to surf the web in the garage where we usually are when we need to check the price of a part or to see if it’s even available. Grease, chemicals and such don’t mix well with a standard, non-industrial type laptop. That’s why we searched until we found a print copy of the service manual for our car instead of buying the CDs/DVDs that are available. Who wants to run to the computer in the house to look up something in the service manual?

This got me thinking about where I go for information to research, purchase, repair and enjoy classics and muscle cars.

Truthfully I do a lot of car research on the web. There are great people on sites like Motortopia. On sites sub-groups form; Corvette owners or Ford truck owners or people from a particular state begin to communicate. They share ideas, experiences and information that you can’t get at your local speed shop or auto parts store any more. (Warning: some tech forums aren’t heavily used and your car can become an antique while you wait for a reply to a technical question.)

I compare prices on the web, too. After I’ve reviewed the catalogs, found the part number and price, then I go to the PC to see if I can find it cheaper. I also check out the going prices of muscle cars to see how much I’ll have to save for the next project. The same as with parts, different vendors can have very different prices on muscle cars for sale! Car enthusiast magazines are an awesome resource, too. But yes, I want to read them in my hand and not on the computer screen as some now offer.

While print and online sources give immediate answers, there are many times talking to a person live can’t be replaced. Casual conversations at car shows and cruises have given us some true gems of information that we didn’t even know we needed…not to mention referrals to body shops or car parts places that specialize in just the one missing piece we’d been looking for. I’ve even had the good fortune to meet up with people at car shows that I’d only known before online. That’s the best of both worlds coming together.

So where do you get your information? What is the best source for you? What magazine, catalog or site (besides Motortopia) couldn’t you do without?

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