Hi all -
My Dad is finally retiring from his automotive business of 50 years, at the age of 82. He's a got a LOT of auto parts cabinets, many of which have been around as long as I can recall (I'm 50). I've found most of the others he has online here and there, but these, I can find nowhere.

Does anyone know how old, and what the value might be? They are dirty, but could clean up very well - it's a lot of soot. Some small surface rust but nothing terrible.

Many thanks!

Just curious if anyone knew anything. I've been doing some searching since posting here - I can find nothing even remotely similar. This leaves me wondering if I should do a restoration job on these by touching up the lettering where over time, tape pulled it off. A good cleaning is of course in order too.

But should I leave them alone or not? I value the opinions here. Thanks!

Here is a picture of a 1963 Filko catalog on eBay right now. Logo and script look very similar, so I'd say your cabinet is probably from 1960s or 1970s.

Auto parts supplier cabinets usually are valued less than a similar sign because they take up so much room for collectors. Many petroliana collectors are also car enthusiasts as well. They could use the cabinet to hold supplies and tools in their garage.

If the branding were Champion, Chevrolet, Goodyear or other sought-after brand, the cabinet would have more collector appeal. I like the logo, but it would have much more visual appeal with a car or parts graphic.

Clean them with detergent, carefully dry but don't touch them up. Leave the sticker for the next guy to deal with. I've bought several similar auto parts cabinets for less than $50 each and use them for storage in my garage. I have one cabinet with a nice graphic featuring a 1940s car and truck in mint condition for which I paid hundreds. It sits in my office. The brand, graphics and condition make all the difference, just like in signs.

Hi, Jeff. My thoughts (which are pretty much in agreement with Jim's): If you're going to keep these cabinets to use in your shop, leave them "as-is", OR play with restoring them all you want. IF, however, you plan to sell them, I would suggest leaving them as they are (other than cleaning them). I don't think most buyers would pay any more for them "touched up". Anything you're likely to do isn't going to restore them to their original glory, and bring lots more money. As we say, "that's my opinion". John