[Special Coupe Frank]

Slightly OT, and more about the kids behind the counter.... a number of years ago, I was helping a friend who had bought a vintage truck from me. We needed new spark plugs. so we went to the nearby Advance Auto, and I asked the clerk ( kid behind the counter, complete with many tattoos and grommets in his ear lobes ) for six Auto-lite spark plugs and gave him the plug number (believe they were 307 - a common 14mm plug).

The kid behind the computer insisted he needed to know the year, make and model of the vehicle. I replied that I knew the part number, and had given it to him, could he just please go back to the shelves and grab six of them.

We went round & round on this point for about five minutes, neither side budging.

Finally, I said, "Okay, you asked for it. Year, make and model ? 1961 Willys 6-226 Utility Truck ! "

He just stood there blinking for a few moments, then asked me to repeat the information... I repeated it, and wrote it down for him. He tried entering the info in his computer terminal... and found nothing.

We went through Willys, Jeep, AMC, and didn't find a listing. Finally, a manager who had begun to hover jumped-in and asked if he could help.

I went back to the original request for six Auto-lite 307 spark plugs, and the manager checked stock by part number, and told me they didn't stock them, but we were able to cross to a small engine plug they did have in stock.

After about a half-hour, my buddy and I had six spark plugs, and got on with our day and got his truck running.

Seems like many trips to the auto store turn into "teachable moments" for me...