Parts Organization & Storage

[Panici]

For the parts hoarders out there, I'm interested to hear about your "system" of parts storage & organization.

Between all of my ongoing projects and past parts cars, I have accumulated a decent amount of items.
Just my E30 alone has had multiple iterations of drivetrain.

Thought I had a mental idea of everything until I discovered a driveshaft which I couldn't immediately ID, and then again later found a working E30 sunroof motor from a parts car (dismantled in 2016 to be fair) after I had purchased a used one here on the forum.

The majority of the parts are on shelving in the unfinished basement, but I also have some in the shed attic and garage attic.

I've started tagging larger items like driveshafts, transmissions, differentials.


Thinking it would be worthwhile to go through each area and make a excel spreadsheet of parts based on chassis, condition, origin, and intended usage.
I could label shelves as well to add some granularity.

I think the intended usage category would be especially useful in keeping track of brand new bits for future planned projects.
Having a better idea of "good" used spares would also be beneficial for my trackbike R6, in deciding what to bring with me on a track weekend.

Another example: I have a bodykit (purchased two years ago) and spoiler (purchased recently) for my E28, and I'm at minimum another two years out from mounting those parts onto the car. And add that to the majority of the E28 interior strewn across the basement until I make the sheetmetal repairs to the floor.

[82eye]

i'm space challenged in the garage and storage. i wound up with plastic bins full of parts in the garage and some things in attic type storage. plus way too much stuff in the car itself while i worked on it. i've had to purge things but i've still got 2 extra diffs, the original rack, an oe style exhaust and original manifolds, that i'm trying to hold on to but it's becoming a losing battle.

[MrBurgundy]

It's hard to organize a bunch of odd-shaped objects..

I used to try and keep a lot of things for spares, or the classic, might need it later.... I'd buy new shit for projects I'm not starting right away too..

I found the best way is to let shit go and finish projects LOL

[bangn]

I have large tubs maybe 60L with a lid, on the front each tub is either A1, A2, A3 ect

I have parts in each of these tubs segregated into weight and type.. ie I wouldn't put a starter motor in with plastic stuff.

I went onto real oem and got every genuine part number for the parts I have and assigned it to a tub number on a sheets document on google drive, ive recorded the quantity and the condition of the part.

Doing this took time but its been very helpful finding stuff.. Ie I wanted to know where an intermediate shaft was in my storage. Looked it up on my google drive and it said "A4" went to tub A4.. boom there it was.
No dicking about looking for shit you may or may not have.

[Panici]

I used to try and keep a lot of things for spares, or the classic, might need it later.... I'd buy new shit for projects I'm not starting right away too..

I found the best way is to let shit go and finish projects LOL

I used to sell (and even give away) parts I thought I wouldn't use.
But I've been burned a couple times needing those items and buying back at 3x the cost.
Have decided to keep everything now unless I run out of space or the part is scrap.

I have large tubs maybe 60L with a lid, on the front each tub is either A1, A2, A3 ect

I have parts in each of these tubs segregated into weight and type.. ie I wouldn't put a starter motor in with plastic stuff.

I went onto real oem and got every genuine part number for the parts I have and assigned it to a tub number on a sheets document on google drive, ive recorded the quantity and the condition of the part.

Doing this took time but its been very helpful finding stuff.. Ie I wanted to know where an intermediate shaft was in my storage. Looked it up on my google drive and it said "A4" went to tub A4.. boom there it was.
No dicking about looking for shit you may or may not have.

This sounds close to what I want to do. Not sure I'd have the commitment to be looking up part numbers, but I'll put them in the spreadsheet if it's a new in box item with the number on it.

Maybe I will start with logging what I have on-hand, and then get into sorting by part type or chassis like you've done.

Do you keep everything, or what is your criteria for getting rid of something?

[82eye]

I have large tubs maybe 60L with a lid, on the front each tub is either A1, A2, A3 ect

I have parts in each of these tubs segregated into weight and type.. ie I wouldn't put a starter motor in with plastic stuff.

I went onto real oem and got every genuine part number for the parts I have and assigned it to a tub number on a sheets document on google drive, ive recorded the quantity and the condition of the part.

Doing this took time but its been very helpful finding stuff.. Ie I wanted to know where an intermediate shaft was in my storage. Looked it up on my google drive and it said "A4" went to tub A4.. boom there it was.
No dicking about looking for shit you may or may not have.

that's a good system.

[DEV0 E30]

I've told myself I'd go digital and take pictures of the contents of my bins, then have them correspond to a Google sheet, but I haven't done that.
Right now, multiple 27(I think?) gallon bins from Costco/HomeDepot (Costco frequently has sales on them).

Painters tap across the front with what is inside. I try to group similar items.
It works, and when hopefully most of these are not needed then I can use them for other things, or stack them empty to save space.

All arranged on cheap HD storage rack on one wall of garage so that most of them are easily accessible
Space wise I stacked 2 of them on the bottom, probably also helps keep weight low. I try to keep heavy boxes on the bottom. Picture maybe later.

Some day, I'd love a larger garage with a better and more secure entire wall of racks. I like these bins, as they keep the contents clean, but if you go too heavy and too high, well - it can be a PITA. I'd like to have these plus a wall of cabinets, but wouldn't we all?

[moatilliatta]

The biggest importance of spare parts I think is finding them. If you haven't touched the spare in a year, it would be good to catalogue on excel and put into a labeled bin.

[roguetoaster]

Come on you guys, you know the right answer is in a giant pile where you can't find anything. Keep it for 20 odd years and then sell it all for $40 to the first person who will haul it away.

Not that I've taken my own advice, since I have a basement room for most stuff, which is organized with parts of high value or new stuff on the shelves with the rest in bins and bulky plastic or rubber parts in contractor bags. There's also one shed top floor for suspension/wheels/body parts at my place, with my Dad's climate controlled garage storage area doing a great job of storing all of the interior parts, which are easy to organize except the giant row of door cards, which must be stored in alternating pairs so they don't dent each other.

[bangn]

Do you keep everything, or what is your criteria for getting rid of something?

I dismantled a few e30s for my resto and kept everything I could store off them exception to suspension components and door shells as they take up too much space. I have a core support on the wall just Incase I need to save one of the cars. I had spare m20b25 with a cracked head so kept everything I could from that.

Im now at the point I've kept a few things for so long I'm questioning if i need to do a cull seeing my restoration is complete. Keep parts that wear out like window regs and any random shit to just toss.

My biggest storage problem is bolts. I have so many bolts screws clips ect.. all divided by m6 m8 m10 ect but those tubs are now overflowing. When I worked for bmw they chucked out stock over 12m old so naturally I got a box and filled it every time

[Northern]

Mostly mine is a massive clusterfuck at the moment, but I have some bins categorized randomly: M20 Harnesses/sensors, 24v harnesses/sensors, M20 accessories, coolant hoses, and a bunch that are just random junk. I also have something like 24' of the typical black plastic shelving that has general areas dedicated to different cars, an outdoor alley that is packed with exterior crap, a parts car packed with who knows what, and a workshop that has two sets of wheels/tires, seats, and whatever is piled on top of the two. Very organized.

[82eye]

there's a local who has 2 sea containers in his backyard for storage. he builds old trucks. both containers are on cement piles so they stay level. one is organized with racks and open bins for small parts and nuts and bolts, the other has a few racks for larger parts and some interior stuff.

his wife hated the containers, but he painted them to match the fence and house trim, so she's ok with it now and likes it more than parts in their house or garage. he has a separate workshop from the garage and house to work on projects too. the guy is pretty well set up. i dunno what he did to make the money.

the sea container idea is a good idea for storage or use as a shed if you have the room. some places have restrictions on them though.

[Panici]

Sitrep, I've started the spreadsheet.
Aiming to have about an hour into it each weeknight after dinner.
I would have wasted this time watching TV, so now I can be productive by going through parts instead.

I'm now at the point I've kept a few things for so long I'm questioning if I need to do a cull seeing my restoration is complete.

I've thought about this too, since the "big" jobs on my E30 are all finished.
But I keep coming back to the possibility of getting a second E30. (Maybe a late model with plastic bumpers?)
Those parts might come in handy and they don't cost me anything sitting there.

[McGyver]

I started organizing all my parts into various WorldPAC bins. At one point, I was renting a garage space in San Francisco that got "broken into"; meaning, the house owner who stored baby strollers in there didn't watch the door shut, it jammed, then fully opened. So someone walked off with my welding cart (Tig, cylinder, torches, accessories, etc.) and a ton of tools. That prompted me to go back through and make a full inventory of EVERYTHING.

I keep an excel spreadsheet of what is in each box:

• Tools (MFG # Number, Serial #, Qty, Manufacturer, Description, Type of Tool, Storage Location)
• Turbo Parts
• Electrical Parts (Expensive or fragile)
• Cheap electrical Parts (fuses, relays, switches)\
• Electro-Mechanical (AFM, Oil Level Sensor, Throttlebody)
• Heavy Dirty (Axles, window motors)
• Trim
• Dirty (heat shield, washer tank)
• Big stuff that wont fit in boxes
• Electrical Components

I also have at least one picture of every box and tool chest drawer.

It took forever to go through everything, but I'm set if I ever get robbed again and I know what I've got stashed away. Except for the shit I've bought over the last two years and just threw into storage. Fuck.

[McGyver]

Oh, and I have 2 Milwaukee organizers where I store EVERY nut and bolt from stripping the green car and organized all the random hardware from stripping my convertible.