Aftermarket parts are the flipside of stock parts. When you are restoring your Ford Mustang, you may choose to go with some aftermarket parts in the process. Aftermarket parts are not necessarily inferior to stock parts; they are simply not made by the original manufacturer. Different people have different opinions as to whether aftermarket parts are better than, worse than or equal to stock or original manufacturer parts.

Only you can decide which way you want to go with your resto project. However, OEM or NOS parts may not be readily available. This is particularly true with some vintage restoration projects. Therefore, if you choose to go with aftermarket parts stick with some of the best-known names in the business. They have a proven track record so you have a certain degree of trust.

Jegs

If you know muscle cars, you know Jegs. This is the first name in muscle car performance. Found at http://www.jegs.com, Jegs places customer care as their number one priority. Founded in 1960 by Jeg Coughlin Sr., Jegs has grown from a small speed shop into a 250,000 square foot powerhouse for performance vehicles. They have everything that you need for Mustang.

American Muscle

Formerly Mustang Tuning, American Muscle was founded in 2003 and is quickly becoming a very reliable aftermarket retailer for the Ford Mustang. You can visit their site at http://www.americanmuscle.com to check out their products and find some good deals on aftermarket Mustang parts. They are still a young company and not as established as some of the other aftermarket Mustang parts distributors out there, but they are quickly moving to the head of the class.

Steeda Autosports

Steeda Autosports specializes in Ford performance and has been in the business since 1988. It was founded by Dario Orlando who made the move from racing and repairing cars to helping Mustang enthusiasts’ amp up performance in their rides. You can check out Steeda at http://www.steeda.com and you can search their huge inventory of aftermarket Mustang parts. Steeda is also the only manufacturer of aftermarket parts to work directly in the Technology Transfer Program with Ford.

THR Mustang Performance

Texan Hot Rods, or THR, is a relatively new company, founded in 2002, but it is quickly growing by leaps and bounds within the Mustang aftermarket parts industry. You can check out their site at http://www.texashotrods.com but the also offer installation (if you can get to El Paso, Texas). They offer a pretty extensive customer service department with order tracking and other features.

Of course the Internet is chock full of companies that offer aftermarket Mustang parts. You should have a pretty solid idea of what you need before you go online to a company that is unfamiliar and you have no idea of their integrity or track record. It also helps to research the company first by checking out the company with the Better Business Bureau to see if any complaints have been filed against them. After all, you only want the best parts for your baby!

When you are beginning your stock project for your vintage Ford Mustang, it helps to have some direction and know how to identify stock parts. It is possible to get New Old Stock (NOS) parts for your Ford Mustang, but you do need to know how to spot them so that you are not swindled. NOS parts means that the part or accessory is original and has never been used. NOS parts usually come from old stockpiles of dealers and they can be rather pricey in certain forums. However, there are scam artists so it is important to understand not only the criteria that qualify parts as NOS and some helpful hints.

The name, NOS, or New Old Stock, in itself tells you what criteria must be met in order for the part to qualify as NOS.

New – This means that the part or accessory is new, thus, never used. Once it has been installed in a vehicle or put to use, the part is no longer NOS. When it is no longer NOS, it should be referred to in the past tense so as to avoid any misunderstanding as to the legitimacy of the part.

Old – This means that the part or accessory is the same age or equivalent vintage or the vehicle for which it is intended. Some parts for some vehicles are still in production and are readily available. Such parts and accessories do not qualify as being NOS.

Stock – This term is rather controversial. In its most literal sense, NOS means that the part is an Original Equipment Manufacture (OEM) part. Being an OEM part means that when the car was new the part would have been available. However, there are differing opinions on just what constitutes OEM parts.

So, how do you spot the genuine article? There are a few things that you can look for when picking up NOS parts:

• Get a good idea of what the parts that you need actually look like so that you can pick up on little cues that would indicate the part’s age.
• Get a good idea of what finishes the parts should have on them. It is a common practice among scam artists to repaint parts and pass them off as NOS.
• Most NOS parts will still be in their original packaging, box, or wrapper. This is not always the case, but more often than not, it is.
• Look for signs of use on the part. This differs from shelf wear that sometimes appears on NOS parts that have been handled and this is considered acceptable wear.
• Look for signs that the part has been spray-painted or bead blasted. No part would leave a factory with a bead blasted finished which is characterized by a roughened texture that is very fine and almost gritty.
• Some parts, such as those that contain rubber, do not necessarily age well and you may do better to restore an original part.

This should give you an idea of what to look for when you are interested in picking up some NOS parts. If you are doing resto work on your Stang and you want to go all stock, you would also do well to pick up copies of the different mail order catalogs because many NOS parts sold at auctions and swaps are purchased via mail order catalogs and the price is inflated. Save yourself the money.