What exactly is "NOS"?

[Spartan]

I see guys on here listing stuff for sale as NOS but in my mind it's not really.
If its got a barcode it had to be made after 1970 and possibly later. Also most of the NOS stuff I have found has the yellow and gold GM sticker not the blue. From information on the interweb it could be "goodmark" or dynacorn which are just licensed repops for all intent and purpose.

In my mind putting NOS on something should be significant but I'm finding that this "trickery" is paying off for some who are either misinformed or don't care.

Please educate me. Or what is your idea of NOS?
My Chevelle and Camero buddies say "just because there is a GM sticker, doesnt mean it NOS!"
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[Evaded]

New Old Stock product. Brand new... just old.

[leftybass209]

Exactly what was said. To further that it typically relates to genuine GM replacement parts that have never been installed on a vehicle. An NOS item usually brings more money than an aftermarket piece because the fit and finish is exceedingly better than an overseas part.
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[Spartan]

Originally Posted by leftybass209

Exactly what was said. To further that it typically relates to genuine GM replacement parts that have never been installed on a vehicle. An NOS item usually brings more money than an aftermarket piece because the fit and finish is exceedingly better than an overseas part.
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So an NOS part isn't period specific but was made in the USA?
Is there a place (website or literature) that states a standard?
I know Nos literally means New Old Stock. I'm thinking the old part is the key but the definitions above are vague. I know people will have differing ideas about this. I'm just trying to get a consensus. However by the definitions above a part made by GM in the 90's could be called NOS?
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[cdowns]

to me an NOS part is a part that was made between 67-72 and has sat on the shelf since then

many people trying to get momoney for thier repo replacement parts on fleabay and chat rooms have been systematicly trying to corrupt the meaning of NOS to include anything made over 2weeks ago and that is freash of the boat from chinaland

[Andy4639]

NOS = New part that is OLd That was a stock item back in the day at the dealership these trucks cars were produced. Yes if it has a Bar code I doubt it's a NOS part.

This is like anything else in this big world. Some one see a way to make a dollar off someone who isn't up to date then they will!

[leftybass209]

As cdowns said, it IS period specific. I was just stating that its a GM part and not a NAPA part, if that makes sense. NAPA might have made a replacement air filter for a 67-72 truck, during 1969. People would and do try and pass that off as NOS. While that is an NOS NAPA part, its not a genuine GM replacement part. Does that help clarify?
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[1970 CST Short Wide]

Originally Posted by cdowns

to me an NOS part is a part that was made between 67-72 and has sat on the shelf since then

many people trying to get momoney for thier repo replacement parts on fleabay and chat rooms have been systematicly trying to corrupt the meaning of NOS to include anything made over 2weeks ago and that is freash of the boat from chinaland

AMen

[Spartan]

The plot thickens...
Cdowns - that was my understanding. Which means no bar code.
While parts made after 72 can be referred to as nos, technically they are, some don't consider them nos by virtue of actual date of manufacture...i.e. 1980's
I don't think it matters unless a person is doing a correct restoration but it significantly raises the numerical value of coin to be shelled out and so by fudging the meaning... You get the point
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[yote1234]

i recently bought a "nos" "GM" bright light switch "made in china".
now thats all wrong..

[mcbassin]

GM made parts for these trucks long after 72; therefore you could have New Old Stock parts that are from the 1970s-1980s. They are still NOS even though they weren't manufactured prior to 1972. As far as the bar code thing??
This is still the same now days you can buy new GM parts for a 1999 chevy. They are still GM parts right?

[rattle69]

I've always thought of it as any now discontinued part that was sold at the dealer.

[Spartan]

Lefty- yep I get ya man... It has to be genuine GM. And like many agree date of manufacture concurrent. So it kinda comes down to opinion and standards. Those with higher moral standards won't try to pass an item off as NOS if they aren't.
Fleabay is a prime example. I have seen the NAPA example many times.

Really I'm just trying to get enough answers in agreement or disagreement of when a part no longer can be considered NOS.

So... A part that was new at the same time our truck were new and a stock replacement. Also genuine Gm and made in USA. However some people consider the 1980's old so for our purpose here made after 72 is not nos? Or 73,74,75?
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[cdowns]

an excellent example is // in the 90's GM came out with a line of restoration offshore parts, not made by GM but packaged by GM looked like the originals but lower offshore quality stuff like door handles latches hinges etc// they went by the wayside and were discontinued but the unsold stock was scooped up and named by the fleabay dealers as NOS because they were in GM parts bags and alot of blind sheep bought into that deal

[Spartan]

Crowns- good example. If it isn't period I consider it OEM but not NOS. some of the Camero guys are very specific with all of this and that was what made me curious to what guys here thought.
Thanks to everybody who posted. I think a picture is being painted here and hopefully others will consider bar code parts as lem not nos. each person will have to interprete nos for themselves but it would be nice to have a consensus from which we can base and apply a standard. If not then at least education from which members can be protected from misnomer usage of "NOS"
Cheers!
Nim
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[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by mcbassin

GM made parts for these trucks long after 72; therefore you could have New Old Stock parts that are from the 1970s-1980s. They are still NOS even though they weren't manufactured prior to 1972. As far as the bar code thing??
This is still the same now days you can buy new GM parts for a 1999 chevy. They are still GM parts right?

This is the way I look at it.
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[JointTech]

Originally Posted by rattle69

I've always thought of it as any now discontinued part that was sold at the dealer.

i like this one.

[truckster]

As long as the parts were manufactured by the original equipment manufacturer as original equipment replacement parts and were never installed on any vehicle, I would consider it NOS. There are some guys that will sell parts as NOS that were installed on a vehicle but pulled off by the dealer or owner while still in like-new condition. I don't consider that NOS.

[volksworld]

when i replaced my left rocker 20 yrs ago,i bought aftermarket which of course didnt fit at all...a buddy informed me that i could still buy a new one from the dealer...i was amazed they still had them...it fit perfectly...now i believe they only discontinued them recently,so they could be a ten year old nos part for a 40 year old truck

[jocko]

What mcbassin and ledzepp said.

NOS=manufactured by OEM, stocked as a replacement part, but has not yet been installed. And, yes, many of these were manufactured AFTER the 67-72 time frame.

The classic part that causes this argument the most often in my mind is the 69-70 outer grille. There a GM bagged parts that look slightly different (the way the black horizontal lines just outside the turn signal lamps are arranged (on originally produced and installed on 69-70 trucks) vs the (later GM produced replacement part outer grille) with black vertical lines are just outside the turn signal lamps are arranged). People will argue about it all day long. But this is the one part that defies the "made by the OEM" mantra for true NOS status - because even though made by GM, it looks slightly different than the originally installed ones at the factory. Still, it is NOS (keep in mind, I'm talkin MADE BY GM, not overseas stuff sold by vendors).

In my book: Made by GM, stocked at GM (or bought from GM and stocked by a vendor), and never installed = NOS. If it has a legitimate GM part number and was never installed, it's NOS. Bar coding does not define NOS vs. not NOS - nor does year of manufacture.

[special-K]

As far as box colors goes,at some point (I want to say 68-69) the boxes went from the black and yellow used for years before to the dark turquoise and white. AC/Delco were red,white,and blue. Bar codes are a computer thing. I remember when the parts departments went to computers and it was in the early-90s. The Dept. of Defense started using bar codes on all products purchased in '81 and this predated public industrial use on retail products.

Originally Posted by mcbassin

GM made parts for these trucks long after 72; therefore you could have New Old Stock parts that are from the 1970s-1980s. They are still NOS even though they weren't manufactured prior to 1972. As far as the bar code thing??
This is still the same now days you can buy new GM parts for a 1999 chevy. They are still GM parts right?

Not really. GM can have a new run of parts made whenever they want and it isn't necessarily the same.Often the specs on the part are even changed. It's a crap shoot. As far as 67-72 parts goes,if it has a bar code it's not true N.O.S. It may be a couple to even twenty years old,but not what came on the truck. As mentioned,once GM gave licensing for parts to be reproduced they hopped in the band wagon and started the Restoration Parts program selling these same parts in their boxes,which only they have the right to do...that,and use the original part#. Harley did the same thing with their Eagle Iron line of parts. Up to that point these mfgrs could care less if you could no longer get a part for your old vehicle. Then they smelled the money and gained interest.

Originally Posted by rattle69

I've always thought of it as any now discontinued part that was sold at the dealer.

This is exactly what N.O.S. is...at least the old stock that is justifiably worth significantly more money AND the same quality part as the one you are replacing.

[LockDoc]

-
I think the term started out when some of the parts sellers were going around to all of the car dealers and buying up all of their old surplus parts. It was the "New" old stock from the car dealers...

To throw another angle into the mix a lot of the antique auto guys call any old, new parts, made by American companies in the same era as the original parts NORS (New Old Replacement Stock). These parts would have been sold by Western Auto, Sears, many independent parts dealers and service stations.

LockDoc

[ChevLoRay]

Here's a picture of an NOS GM part that is still in its original box. It's for a Camaro/Firebird. You can read the label on the box which has the AC logo and the part number. Seems weird that a plastic guage cluster is an AC component, but that's the way it is. This is just an example of what NOS really is meant to be...."New, Old Stock".

[Spartan]

It seems we still have differing opinions.
More would be great.

Finally, I'm going to offer up my opinion. I've been restoring, hot rodding, and collecting cars since 1984. Before that with dad and gramps. NOS for us (and the guy/gals we deal with, has always been a period part. A part made at the same time as the vehicle by the OEM. Period. Therefor a part with a barcode would not be NOS but OEM. If it wasn't on the shelf at a dealership when the auto was made then it's not NOS.

However, since there is no hard rule, buyer beware! Educate yourself and establish your own standards. The UPC (barcode) was NOT used by GM until after 1972. The code was perfected by IBM in 1970.
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[GRX]

So glad nobody said "NOS = Nitrous". That always cracks me up.