What is NOS what is RNOS lets get it right

hop up

hop up

Senior Member
Ok guys I seen a great guy selling some great stuff and folks just being incorrect. I myself would love to see what I have collected and treasured go to a fellow collector and not some ebay money junkie *****
I would love to know whats NOS or Rnos because we all seem to have a different view of this. I have to say we have some of the KINGS of our Hobby / sickness:D on the Fordbarn.
This is my way of thinking on this:\
NOS :::: New when the factory made it back it the day, give a take a few years. With out DNA you can't dispute when it was made, am I correct??? lets check the packing shipping info source or judgment of seller. Lets check our resources: our elders, old books, Green Bilble and worst source of all the WW web.
RNOS new replacement oem part can be made from the factory or aftermarket thats OLD (not china crap made last week). I feel is old back in the day the part represents and it a few years older then origiinal but it OLD not new.
 
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in my Model A mind, NOS means parts made by Ford to be sold by Ford agencies, and therefore identical to what was installed when the car was first built.

RNOS is a term I have never heard before tonight.

I hope the things I have collected and treasured will be enjoyed by my grandchildren.

HOWEVER, if they have different interests after I'm gone, they have my blessing to become "eBay money junkie whores" and get fair market prices for it.
 
To my knowledge NOS means just what it says, New Old Stock. Its something that is old that has never been used. Nothing less, nothing more.

If someone were selling a NOS A engine I would expect it to be an engine made by ford, that was never used. However i've never heard NOS meaning any specific manufacture. You can have NOS aftermarket parts and NOS reproduction parts as well.


Never heard of RNOS the 17 years i've been on the net.
 
MrTube said:
To my knowledge NOS means just what it says, New Old Stock. Its something that is old that has never been used. Nothing less, nothing more.

If someone were selling a NOS A engine I would expect it to be an engine made by ford, that was never used. However i've never heard NOS meaning any specific manufacture. You can have NOS aftermarket parts and NOS reproduction parts as well.


Never heard of RNOS the 17 years i've been on the net.
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That's the way I've always thought it to be.

ya, whutup with RNOS?
 
Personally I prefer "Parts *****", and RNOS is something that is new to me too after 50 years in the hobby. NORS is what I call aftermarket parts made in the day or 10 years after the vehicle was produced. New Old REPLACEMENT Stock, the NOS stuff was made by the Factory that built the vehicle. Not all NOS stuff is gloss black, some was poorly stored and may have rust on it. Still NOS in my opinion but the condition should be noted.
 
Wouldn't OEM (original equipment manufacturer) mean built by the factory that built the vehicle?

And NOS is an adjective describing the OEM part as new, never installed?
 
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Ok. After looking at some definitions, apparently there are TWO accepted meanings for NOS

To some, NOS stands for "New OLD Stock". Or anything old that is still in new condition. Old hats, old coke signs, anything that is old, but in "just manufactured unused condition.

There is a SECOND understanding that NOS stands for "New ORIGINAL Stock" or extra stock made by the manufacturer, intended to be extra replacement parts but were never purchased at retail for use.

So, depending on what you think the letters NOS stand for, we are both correct.

Technology! Gotta love it!

Definitions: OEM: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Original_equipment_manufacturer?wasRedirected=true

Definitions: NOS: http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_old_stock?wasRedirected=true
 
My thoughts--

NOS, made by Ford, never bolted in

NORS -new old replacement stock-I think that is what you mean by "RNOS"-made by some other company in the era that the A was everyday transportation, some of it is very good, some are parts Ford warned us about in the service bulletins as "gyp" parts.

I have seen many parts that were claimed as "NOS" that have bolt and lock washer marks, or are "nors", some are still a good value if the price is right.

Some of the parts that are NOS, and nors are parts that didn't quite fit, or work, but were saved because they just needed a little work, or were put back on the shelf hoping for the right sucker.
 
hop up said:
NOS :::: New when the factory made it back it the day, give a take a few years. With out DNA you can't dispute when it was made, am I correct???

RNOS new replacement oem part can be made from the factory or aftermarket thats OLD (not china crap made last week). I feel is old back in the day the part represents and it a few years older then origiinal but it OLD not new.
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You almost got it! It's NORS not RNOS.

In my opinion; If the part is made by Ford as a replacement part for the Model A and it was never used then it a NOS part (New Old Stock). Remember 99% of the parts stocked by dealers were for replacment. If the part was mode by someone other then an OEM manufacturer (a reproduction part) but it is for a Model A and never used it is a NORS (New Old Reproduction Stock). I am also of the opinion that you are better off with brand new reproduction then old reproduction. Most parts made now look better and fit better then they did 30+ years ago.
 
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Yes, NORS is the correct term and it applies to parts made by Ford or by reputable manufactuirers of the era which most likely supplied parts to Ford or were manufacturers of accessories and replacement parts of good quality. Not "gyp" parts as Henry called them.

Richard
Anaheim CA
 
If you restored a Model A in 1970 with four NOS fenders, are they still NOS, could you remove them and sell them today as NOS?
 
Roadster62 said:
If you restored a Model A in 1970 with four NOS fenders, are they still NOS, could you remove them and sell them today as NOS?
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No, because they have now been used, and become used parts. No different to the new car from the factory and eighty years later taking parts off it, they are used parts with no time frame for use.
 
Richard in Anaheim CA said:
Yes, NORS is the correct term and it applies to parts made by Ford or by reputable manufactuirers of the era which most likely supplied parts to Ford or were manufacturers of accessories and replacement parts of good quality. Not "gyp" parts as Henry called them.

Richard
Anaheim CA
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I respectfully disagree. If I were to use your definition, how can there be NOS parts?
 
Replacement New Old Stock.
Kingpins,new in the box from the 40's sold by pep boys,western auto,sears I collect these parts and use them if there the best I can get.
Wick
 
I take NOS "new old stock" to mean parts that were never used and supplied by the manufacturer ONLY either during production or later as service parts. NORS "new old replacement stock" to me means parts that were never used and made and sold by aftermarket companies like Bulldog etc. They may be made to OEM spec and they may not. They may have also made the parts for the manuafacturer but their NORS parts would be sold though aftermarket dealers. Reproduction means made after it was no longer feasibly for anyone to manufacturer replacement parts for obsolete vehicles. Old never used reproduction parts are just old unused reproduction parts.
 
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I'm more familiar seeing "NORS", along with NOS.

NORS would be (quality) aftermarket parts ( as opposed to "reproduction" ),usually of older manutacture, eg:

Standard Ignition / Blue-Streak electrical stuff
Raybestos, Thermoid, EIS Brake products
Filko, KEM, Hy-Grade fuel system parts

NOS usually means original manufacturer's parts.
 
As a side note to all the NOS comments. Back when I was in high school and got my first Model A I met the person who was the service manager at the Ford dealer when the transition was made from Model T to Model A. He laughed at everyone running around buying up the NOS stock from Ford dealerships. He said that when they were working on a customer's car and took a part from the parts department if it didn't fit they put it back and tried another until they found one that fit. So all the stuff stiffing on the shelf years later was stuff that usually didn't work the first time it was used!
 
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