Compatible Parts

[theaddictedchef]

Now, I realize this might be completely idiotic but..........

I am looking for compatible years for parts.  Not necessarily '73-'87 Chevy trucks, but compatible GM parts.  Craigslist has some decent deals on parts here in Phoenix but I'm not sure about compatible years.  There is an AC switch for a '70 Impala for example, I started thinking about which car/truck parts could be used in my truck even though they didn't come out of another K10.

Is there a website that cross references parts and compatible years?  Am I limited to only '73-'87 Chevy truck parts?  I found on the forum that a '94 blower motor will work in my truck.  That's the kind of thing I am trying to find out. 

Thanks!

[pholliday1]

This is a very legit question with alot of merit to it. There are alot of smart people on this site, the question is how to organize this info so others can benefit from it.

[bake74]

Now, I realize this might be completely idiotic but..........

     No such thing, we are all here to learn and share what we have learned.  I agree with pholliday 1, over the years, parts like the blower motor have been introduced as working for our trucks, that did not come from our trucks, as stated if only there was a way to compile them all into 1 place.

[frotosride]

That would make for a great sticky....Post and edit from common knowledge. I'm sure there's enough of that here to get a good list started with out even breaking a sweat.

[79gmc15]

Someone needs to get a hold of some old books from a junkyard.

[Stewart G Griffin]

i think Hollander interchange manual can help.

[theaddictedchef]

I'm looking into that Hollander thing right now. 

Thanks for the info.

[Jason S]

Hollander is a good place to start, however; SO many of the different parts interchange over SO many years that it really does take the Hollander manuals, GM parts books, AC/Delco parts books, aftermarket (Moog, Borg/Warner/TRW), etc to get to the bottom. 

theaddictedchef, you inquired about an a/c control; as I said in my posting, the switch on your control is the same as used on some 70's Nova, Omega, etc. I don't have an AC/Delco interchange book available, but thats what would be needed. That would require an AC/Delco book to give you more detailed information... If you have the AC/Delco number for the switch, then you can get the GM number (different part numbers in many cases) and then you can at least have additional part numbers to search.   

The other consideration is that a number of the parts for the trucks will directly interchange to Ford Motor Company and Chrysler Corporation part numbers (especially 1960's and 1970's 4x4 parts).  Dana/Spicer and New Process supplied components to Ford, GM and Chrysler, as well as AMC/Jeep and IH. GM supplied many components to Chrysler, AMC and Jeep.

In college, I worked for an auto supply store in Texas that dealt specifically with obsolete/NOS parts.  I got very proficient in cross referencing part numbers. As mentioned above, a number of the "hard parts" (especially bearings) that I looked up in the GM books for my '73 GMC  crossed over to FoMoCo part numbers... Switches would generally only cross from the GM number to AC/Delco.  However, some switches may have different GM and AC/Delco numbers, but be exactly the same switch with a slightly different mounting bracket. So you could modify the switch bracket or gut the NOS switch and "rebuild" the old switch with new components...

And while I'm typing on the subject: there may be a number moulded or stamped into the part, for GM part numbers this number may be close to the original part number but it is oftentimes a casting number and not the original part number.  SO, you may search for a part number online that was imprinted on the part (door panel, switch, etc) and never find it. If you were to go to the Chevy/GMC dealer and get a GM or AC/Delco number for the part you may find hundreds available. 

As one of my many, many, many hobbies; I try to read up on  Mopar cars and one magazine specifically usually has detailed explanations of how to repair or modify different parts of 60's and 70's Mopars using factory parts.  Prime examples of such modifications are brake upgrades and dash cluster upgrades.

Overall, I don't know if this helps any but I think that if anything it should positive reinforcement for people to post photos/information for anything they do that is out of the ordinary for a fix/rebuild/refurbishment.

[rhino]

From being a old parts guy for a lot of years I can tell you that there is alot of stuff that will interchange with our trucks. problem is there is so much and some many different categories. not to mention how ingenuitive you are.  you can make alot of that stuff work that wasn't  necessarly made for our trucks.   best thing to do is just ask I guess.