A Visit to Genuine Classic Parts

By Allan Miller

Last February my boss told me I had to go to Europe again. I decided to take a little extra time and go to the Scandinavian countries that I last visited in 1964, and since I enjoy visiting people in a business setting, I decided on exploring Genuine Classic Parts. A car parts supplier is only slightly different than a chemical distributor -- my usual fare. I got the contact information from a GCP brochure that I picked up a couple of years ago, and it contained a standing invitation for customers to visit. I sent an Email and got an immediate response, welcoming my visit.

GCP is located in Jönköping a city of about 50,000 on Vättern Lake in central Sweden. I arrived by train on May 14, and was picked up the next morning at my hotel by Simon Leetsaar, the marketing manager. I was given a first class tour of the facility by Hans Hartmann the managing director.

The GCP facility has about 45,000 square feet of interior space. A good part taken up with "classic parts" stacked in neat racks. I saw old crates that Mr. Hartmann told me contained special racing motors, old tooling from Volvo, and machinery designed to reclaim used parts from newer cars.

There was a box full of new PV grill surrounds that were manufactured at Volvo. Hartmann told me that when he asked Volvo to make them he was told that there were no skilled people around to make them anymore. A little later, Hartmann got a call from Volvo saying that they had solved the problem. They got some retired guys to come back to do the job.

The second part of the business at this location is a high tech wrecking yard that dismantles late model Volvos. Some of these cars are damaged from accidents, and others are Volvo experimental cars that cannot be sold. The dismantling operation was very different than U.S. junkyards because the cars are dismantled inside clean facilities and most parts are stored inside. Great care is taken to remove fluids that are environmental hazards. 

Hartmann told me they welcome orders from private parties and showed me how their Internet site works. After I returned home I looked up their site www.gcp.se and purchased a few parts for my car. The site has part books incorporated for all the classic cars, which is necessary to look up part numbers. However, I found it a little easier using my own parts book. The part numbers in my 1961 444 parts book are still valid. The parts came in less than a week with minimum transportation costs.

I was always amazed by the availability of new parts from Volvo for my 544. I think Volvo's contribution to setting up GCP is a significant commitment to their product. Personally, I have not had the same support for either the Fords or Hondas that I've owned.