Left over parts

[RobS]

<font color="blue"> Are you among those, like me, who are old enough to remember when new cars delivered to the dealer had to go to their "make ready" folks before going on the showroom floor or out for potential buyers to see? </font>

Not quite there with you Bird, this was the mid '70s where the cars were still big but the engines were getting anemic. We worked on mostly domestic brands and the work ethic at the assembly plants was pretty low. No focus on quality, just get product out the door.

It didn't take long to get used to the various parts. In spite of what we all hear/say, there is a lot of commonality in fasteners etc. Pretty quickly learned to recognize a door hinge bolt from a fender bolt. Hood bolts were the same but not painted (depending on make). Only a couple types of trim screws used throughout /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[edski]

I'm with EddieW all the way...
Not that I'm a bad weekend mechanic, but it's just that I rarely do the same job twice on the same vehicle. It seams that I'm always on the steep part of the learning curve.
I take pix, label like all get out, and containerize in various fashions.
One thing I'd like to add is what to do with the "extra" parts when the job is done. I 've no idea where they should go but always stash/store them somewhere in the vehicle. My theory is one of mass balance, at least it weighs the same as when I started.

 

[midlf]

When I take apart something with different length bolts I take a piece of cardboard, draw an outline of the part, and poke the bolts through the cardboard. That way I know where the different length bolts go when it's time to reassemble.

I also learned early not to use the dishwasher for parts, if the spouse could catch me at it.