Finding date-coded parts for a concours Camaro build is 40% knowledge, 40% network, and 20% patience.

The knowledge part: understand what date codes mean and how to read them on every component. The alternator, the carburetor, the distributor, the hoses — each has a date stamp format. The component must predate the car's build date but not by more than a few months.

The network part: the clubs and registries know where the parts are. A phone call to the right person in the Camaro Research Group is worth more than a year of searching classified ads.

The patience part: the correct part exists somewhere. The question is whether you find it before someone else does.