Newbie Question

The Geezer

The Geezer

Senior Member
I give up trying to figure this out myself…here goes…
What does NOS stand for?
Regards and apologies, The Geezer
 
The Geezer said:
I give up trying to figure this out myself…here goes…
What does NOS stand for?
Regards and apologies, The Geezer
Click to expand...


Yep, New Old Stock. Like a lot of old car terms, it's subject to interpretation but usually means new OEM (original equipment manufacturer) parts. You also may see NORS (new old reproduction stock) which usually means period aftermarket parts.
 
Back in the day, people would travel around to Ford dealers and buy up all the old stock they had on the shelves. The dealers were happy to get rid of it and it may have gone in the trash otherwise. Sometimes an old parts store that had been closed for years would be discovered and someone would buy up all the old stuff on the shelves.

My local Ford dealer has a 1915 Model T and a 1930 Model A on their showroom floor. But the mechanics have no idea how work on these old cars. They originally sold these cars but bought them back at some later date.
 
Last edited:
I've been going through old issues of MARC News and ran across a funny story. In the late '50s, these magazines also functioned as catalogs for all the Model A parts suppliers. So there would be full-page ads listing everything a supplier sold. The price was invariably listed as "FOB," e.g., "Brand NEW Model A Crankshafts, Genuine Ford $10.00 ea. FOB." "FOB" stands for "Free On Board," which has a technical meaning in the shipping business, but in those days meant what we now mean by "COD" – the price is paid by the buyer to the shipping company when the item is delivered.

Anyway, in the Dec 1959 issue, there is a short piece describing a conversation between a supplier and a buyer, where the buyer was confused to encounter the demand for payment at time of delivery. The supplier responded that all items were clearly labeled "FOB" in the ad. The buyer responded that he thought that had meant "Ford Original Brand."
 
Be cautious of people selling NOS parts. Many "sellers" especially ebay, have no idea what they are selling, and will list reproduction and/or used parts as NOS. They also have little knowledge of year of manufacture variations in parts. Lots of knowledgeable people here so ask if in doubt.
 
Some items I see for sale as nos, like a radiator cap came from Pep boys not Ford. If you look at a couple of parts catalogs from the 30s,40's you will be surprised at all the model a parts for sale.
Wiper motors,lights,horns,hub caps etc. Sears,western auto,monkey ward,j.c. Whitney sold all that stuff. You have to pay attention and always ask questions.
 
Probably just splitting hairs over a semantics issue and not to start an argument, but I had always thought "NORS" stood for "New Old Replacement Stock". This would mean such suppliers as Western Auto, Sears and Montgomery-Ward (among others), who provided non-Ford replacement parts for years after the Model A ceased production. The need to distinguish between genuine Ford parts and parts made by aftermarket suppliers concerned the quality. Not all replacement parts were of the same quality as genuine Ford parts, or even half as good quality sometimes. Ford literature to its dealers made great pains to show inferior aftermarket parts that had failed because the owner hadn't purchased genuine Ford parts. One sees this especially in the Model T days, but also many times in the Model A Service Bulletins, complete with a picture of the dramatically failed part and a stern warning against buying anything but genuine Ford replacement parts.
Marco Tahtaras once pointed out that just because a part was NOS did not necessarily mean it was usable. When one talks about millions and millions of parts being made by Ford, even new parts were sometimes defective and were simply thrown back in the parts bin. They have survived unused because they were unusable even when new. It's probably a moot point in 2022 because who would install a genuine NOS part that an owner was lucky enough to find, unless it was on a high points show car that wouldn't see much real road use? A part can only be NOS once. As soon as it's installed and put into service, it is no longer NOS.
So, whether NORS stands for "New Old Replacement Stock" or "New Old Reproduction Stock", the idea is similar = non-genuine parts made by aftermarket manufacturers, whether that be in 1937 or 2022.
Marshall
 
My understanding is that the R in NORS stands for replacement. The way I've heard the terms used is:
  • "NOS": Item is in original packaging and is thought to have come from the same production run/facility as the factory-installed part.
  • "NORS": Item is in original packaging and is thought to have been made by the OEM or a subcontractor, to the original specs for the part, but not as part of the original production run.
  • "Vintage aftermarket": May or may not be in original packaging; part is "era-correct," but may date from a time after the production run and may only be "compatible" rather than a duplicate of the factory part.
  • "Original": Item is not in packaging but is thought to be a factory-installed part or previously NOS. Claims of "unused" original are difficult to validate.
 
Last edited:
Like I said, whole lot of interpretation when it comes to old car terms.

Replacement vs reproduction seems like semantic nitpicking. Isn't a non-OEM replacement a reproduction and vice-versa, regardless how exact the part matches OEM or when it was made?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top