History of Big A autoparts?

[Cooper00]

Not sure if this is the right place to post this but I'm curious on the history of Big A autoparts. I think they went bankrupt in 1998? When did they start? Were they popular at all? I've been trying to research their history but haven't been finding much.
I'm curious because I pulled one of their filters out of my 1949 Plymouth.
Thanks!

 

[NormanBuntz]

Try looking up the bankruptcy filing in 1998 in the District of Delaware by APS Holding Corp. or A.P.S. Holding Corp. It looks like to company HQ was in Houston but it filed in Delaware. In my state of NC, if the previous Big A stores were not taken over by Carquest, some now operate under the name Auto Plus, like one in Liberty NC.

 

[Timmastertech]

Big A was big here in the northeast. When they closed, the corporate locations became Carquest stores, the independents mostly went Napa.

 

[paulo57509]

Don't know much of their history but I worked at a mom & pop Big-A in downtown Mountain View.

The parts were in Big-A boxes but were manufactured by TRW, Standard Ignition, etc. This was before the dark times of Made in China.

 

[Chris142]

We had a big A here. Didn't last very long. Had a whole slew of good looking wimmens working in the place.

 

[OLEJOE]

Our Big A’s changed over to Bumper to Bumper. They still use the same local warehouse. That’s in La.

 

[Cooper00]

Big A was big here in the northeast. When they closed, the corporate locations became Carquest stores, the independents mostly went Napa.

Thanks for the info. Do you happen to know when the started? I'm trying to date this filter that I have but I only have the part number. 92080. Not sure if there is a way to date it. Just curious.

 

[bullwinkle]

Thanks for the info. Do you happen to know when the started? I'm trying to date this filter that I have but I only have the part number. 92080. Not sure if there is a way to date it. Just curious.

Carbon dating?

 

[Kira]

Bumper to Bumper

Haven't seen a "B to B" in ages.

 

[paulo57509]

Off topic for this thread, but I found this in a tote box this morning. It's fits a Rochester 2GC for a Pontiac Tri-Power (among others).

The numbers on the box are current Walker part numbers. I'm sure Walker bought some company's carb parts business; couldn't find any clue who that was.

 

[Cooper00]

Off topic for this thread, but I found this in a tote box this morning. It's fits a Rochester 2GC for a Pontiac Tri-Power (among others).

View attachment 184245

The numbers on the box are current Walker part numbers. I'm sure Walker bought some company's carb parts business; couldn't find any clue who that was.

That's cool. See a date anywhere?

 

[paulo57509]

That's cool. See a date anywhere?

No date. I got this in the early 1980's.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Big A, Chief, Kragen.... the good old days when we had options.

 

[Cooper00]

No date. I got this in the early 1980's.

Oh ok. I have a filter from my 49 Plymouth that might be 80s or 90s? Not too sure. I wonder if there was a certain point that they started putting their A logo next to the "Big" and not below?

 

[paulo57509]

Big A, Chief, Kragen.... the good old days when we had options.

Good quality (real or perceived) options.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

Good quality (real or perceived) options.

I don't remember having parts fail so often back then. I could be wrong but it seems like they used to advertise their quality and it was somewhat true. I remember when Autozone first came to town and the bad alternators straight out of the box seemed odd. Probably some nostalgia mixed in there.

 

[XJRiver]

Haven't seen a "B to B" in ages.

Bumper to Bumper merged with Auto Value around year 2000.
Plenty of them in Canada where they are owned by Uni-Select.

Our Auto Parts stores - Directory | Bumper to Bumper

Find the best auto parts at Bumper to Bumper. We offer a wide selection of top-quality products and a responsive customer service.

local.bumpertobumper.ca

 

[MSCH]

I remember Big A... how about Carquest?
they have disappeared where I live.. used to be a few stores.

 

[2strokeNorthstar]

I remember Big A... how about Carquest?
they have disappeared where I live.. used to be a few stores.

Turned in to Advance Autoparts in my area

 

[Cooper00]

Does anyone have any guesses to how old this filter might be? I don't know Big A too well so I don't know if they made in styling changes in their logo. Maybe 1980s?