Hard

GOSPORT — Larry Laczkowski got a call this month from an Evansville man seeking a water pump for a 1949 Ford. He'd been looking for a long time, inquiring everywhere. No luck.

Someone suggested he try Gosport Auto Supply, where Laczkowski keeps in stock an eclectic and dusty inventory of hard-to-find parts for old cars. Need a carburetor pump diaphragm for an 8-cylinder Ford made between 1957 and 1974? He has a few, $2.15 each according to the hand-written price. There's no UPC code; it's Stock No. 2643C.

When he got the call about the water pump, Laczkowski stepped into one of the storage rooms adjacent to his store's retail section. Boxes, old boxes, are stacked orderly and high. There's no computer inventory system for the thousands of items. Some have been there decades waiting for a buyer.

After 35 years, Laczkowski has a pretty good idea of what's in stock and where it's located. "I had the water pump, and when I told him, he said, 'Don't sell it,' and hung up the phone. Two hours later he was here.

"I charged him $35. He said he would've paid a hundred or two. He said he'd looked everywhere."

Laczkowski acknowledges the unique nature of Gosport Auto Supply, 21 E. Main St., which still has some of the same items in stock that were there when he bought the business in 1987. "Everything has dust on it," he said. It's part of the history, like the 70-year-old patina on a car with original paint.

Laczkowski has a car like that in the 2,500-square-foot mechanic's garage in the back, beyond the storage rooms. He added on the garage soon after buying the business.

"I realized no one knew how to do the work on their own cars." His car-mechanic father had taught him how to replace brakes and fix engines. He decided to put those skills to work.

It wasn't hard to combine the retail and repair businesses. Just 850 people live in Gosport, so foot traffic at the store is pretty low. Laczkowski spends most of his time in the back working on cars, and heads up to the front counter when a door chime signals a customer has arrived.

Most of Laczkowski's sales are to out of towners looking for hard-to-find car parts. "People call here from all over," he said. "I'm not sure how they find out about me."

His collection of classic cars includes a 1931 Ford Model A, and he works on a wide range of cars from the past century. When I went to visit, there was a shiny black 1950 Ford getting its engine rebuilt, a 1935 Dodge truck that needed new drum brakes and a 1953 Kaiser Henry J with several mechanical issues.

I also saw Pat Conder's 1939 Oldsmobile, which needs brakes and work on the ignition system.

He told me he bought the Olds three years ago from a friend who had owned it 16 years. "We were talking about something else, and he said he was going to sell his car. We kept on talking, and struck a pretty good deal."

His wife was watching TV when he started telling her the story about his friend deciding to part with the car. "She sat straight up and said, 'We're not buying it.' But I already had," Conder said.

Parked amid the classic Ford, Dodge, Kaiser and Olds in Laczkowski's work garage was a 2016 Cadillac getting new struts and a nondescript minivan that looks as if it's been there awhile. He works on all kinds of cars, not just old ones.

"Is this one unfixable ?" I asked, pointing to the van.

"Nope," Laczkowski said, pausing. "I can't track down the parts."

Have a story to tell about a car or truck? Contact My Favorite Ride reporter Laura Lane at [email protected] or 812-318-5967.