Looking for parts cross refference

Awhile back me and a buddy of mine went to the auction of a local engine machine shop that was going out of business after more than 50 years. I think part of their downfall was they didn"t seem to ever get rid of anything. It made me sick to see all of the blocks, cranks, rods, etc, many of them bagged and ready to sell to someone, all go to scrap. Not to mention the brand new valve train parts that all got dumped unceremoniously into carts and also taken to scrap. Anyway, I wound up with a fair amount of gasket kits out of the deal. Now my problem, I"m trying to figure out what some of them are for since they have nothing on the box but a part number. I"ve got hundreds of old catalogs, but have yet to find the part numbers in any of them I"ve come across yet. Bad thing is that there was a chart on the end of a storage cabinet with the numbers and what they were for, but it someone disappeared, and probably got knocked off and swept up as things were being moved around. Anyway, what I"ve got are McCord sets with part numbers like EK4000, EK4005, etc.

If anyone has a reference book that gives these numbers and what they are for, or can point me to somewhere I can get the info I would greatly appreciate it.

NCWAYNE:

There are several McCord catalogs on Ebay for sale. What you really are looking for is what is called a reverse index catalog.

If you search for "McCord gaskets car truck" on Ebay you will find some catalogs listed for 200 to 300 dollars.

Wayne,

EK numbers are in-frame gasket kits. I

had and probably have the catalogs you need

but can't lay my hands on them . I found a

list of some in the EK 3500 range, but none

in the 4000 range.

george

I"ve got a stack of McCord catalogs that I"ve been through so far but haven"t even found any EK numbers at all. I"ve found a few catalogs dating back to the early 60"s, but as far as the McCord"s go I"m stuck and have only seen as far back as the mid 80"s. That said, I know from looking through the ones I"ve got that they went through a change in the part numbers at least once. I"m figuring these numbers are earlier than the one"s I"ve got references. Do any of your catalogs, even the 3500 range ones, have dates on them to give me an better idea what year range to begin looking for? I"ve got probably two dozen boxes left to go through, over an above the two file cabinets I emptied tonight, so I"m sure I"ve got something somewhere. Having at least an approximate date would help me sort through the remainder of the manuals a lot faster, at least as far as finding these numbers is concerned. Thanks again for the help thus far, and anything else you can offer.

My problem is I've found McCord catalogs, thus far, back to the mid 80's. Problem is they changed the part numbers at some point and none of these numbers appear in any of the catalogs I've seen so far. I still see some with the same type prefix, ie-two letters and then the numbers, but none at all starting with EK. I know there are catalogs from various mfgs dating back to at least '61, when Joe started the business, but I haven't seen any from McCord past the mid 80's. I've still got dozens of boxes to go through so hopefully I'll find something in one of them as I get the time to get them all down and sorted. 'Til then I wish I could find someone with the info because I'm in the process now of getting all the gasket sets shelved and organized, and it would be nice to have them all labeled as I put them away.

Yea, I've seen them too. Personally I know the info in the old catalogs can often be invaluable to someone doing a restoration, etc.. Still, as much as he's asking for an old catalog, it really makes me think he's been smoking something other than the pages of a book....and anyone that would pay that much for one is probably picked the herb in their smoke from the same plant....LOL

As to why they went out of business its a throw away world. My machinist says dealers don't rebuild under warranty anymore factory sends new head/block whatever so they are stuggleing to keep the doors open working for people like us that collect old stuff and doing more restoration work(complete vehicles).

Wayne, Have you checked with your local NAPA Auto Parts store ?

They have a good cross reference system. Maybe they could cross your McCord # to their NAPA and then you could see what it fits.

Cumbersome, but would be a start at least.

Good Luck, Bill

If you have a couple hundred gaskets and the only way to find out what they fit is a $300 catalog it'd be a money maker in the long run.You sound like some of the fellows at an auction I went to years ago they said I was crazy for paying $100 each each for two complete sets of I&T manuals.Sold the Deere books and a couple more out of the two sets for more than the $200 before I left the sale.

i had to chuckle about gasket kits i got a bunch of them on shelves from engine i have done they all come with a lot extra gasket a we all know i have the same problem when i need a gasket i know i have it but dam if i can find it some time think i should just throw them out. but i just keep stacking them guess they well end up on the auction wagon lol. now the guy that does my machine work also has a lot stuff bag ready to go seem most some one bough in to have done then just didn't have the money to pay for it i keep telling him he need to charge cash up front but he just keep doing it and he does ok and sometime some one comes in and he sale the stuff but he have a auction wagon full good stuff also.

I found this at the following address: "1937-1960 McCord Gasket Catalog" in PDF format for $12.95.

http://vintagemoparts.com/product.php?id_product=340

The following site says they are still distributors for McCord Gaskets:

http://www.rpmrons.com/EngineKits.html

Several other things show up if you Google "McCord EK4005 gasket".

HTH John

Too bad you couldn't have got a couple of the catalogs when you were there. If they hadn't cleaned in 50 years there were probably a few laying around somewhere. Unfortunately they probably went in a dumpster.

Rick

I'll bet if you got in touch with these folks they could tell you. They buy,sell and reproduce old gaskets of every kind.
Olson Gaskets

I got ALL of the manuals, catalogs, and books in general. Heck, I"ve even got Northern Hydraulic Catalogs from nearly 30 years ago. Amazing at the prices then -vs- now......Anyway, that"s what"s to me stumped as I have found nothing, in any of them, giving the part numbers for these kits.

Nah, I understand exactly what your saying, and I agree with you completely. In fact for me it usually works out to things like I've got quite a few boxes of #5 Spline drive sockets that I bought from a scrap yard I did a lot of work for at one time. I bought the whole lot because there was also a bunch of 1" drive stuff in with them that I needed. I'm now using some of the 1" stuff, sold a set of the spline drive stuff, and just put together a full set of spline drive sockets from 7/8" to 4" to use with the cylinder bench I made. Might sound crazy to buy all of those sockets, but the value of the 1" stuff was more than I gave for all of it. I then sold one set of spline drive sockets for more than I gave for all of it. Too I've still got a full set for myself to use now with my cylinder bench. In the end I, just so far, either got back in cash, or usage, more than three times the amount invested just to start. Better yet, am now set to make even more money with the spline stuff using it with the cylinder bench, and still have several more boxes of spline drive and 1" drive sockets, that aren't costing me anything, to sell when I get the time.

That said, my thinking on this whole deal is this. I've only got maybe a dozen of the sets with that numbering system on them. So, unless they are some rare item I wouldn't get that much out of selling them if wanted to. Two, given that I am a mechanic by trade, I could probably open one of each part number and know just from looking what they are, but I really don't want to open an unopened set if I don't have to. Further, the other catalogs on Ebay, be they older or newer, were all going in the neighborhood of $30. This tells me that all you've got to do is do a bit of looking, but you can probably find what you need for way less than this guy is asking. Not to mention, the guy I saw with the two super expensive manuals had a blurb in his ad basically saying if you didn't like his price to make him an offer. This tells me he, one, knows his prices are outrageous, or two, doesn't have a clue what they are worth, but still wants to make money off of the. That being the case, what he's like posting an item for sale, and asking $300 for it, when you'd be happy to have $30. By doing this there is always the chance some idiot will offer you $60, or more, for your $30 item. You drop the price and make them think they are getting a deal, and you make out like a bandit.

Thanks, I"ll look into them.