EARLY last year, Norm and Dean Oakey announced that on 28 May 2022, Sydney’s iconic American Auto Parts (AAP) store would be closing its doors after 51 years in business. AAP’s primary supplier, Rare Spares, had made the decision to move away from a franchise model towards company-owned stores.
As you can imagine, after five decades servicing Sydney’s gearheads through one of Australia’s biggest and best-known speed shops, father-and-son team Norm and Dean have quite the story to tell.
How did American Auto Parts start?
Norm Oakey: Through drag racing. As a teenager, I loved drag racing. I was building an FX for myself and was going out to Castlereagh as often as I could. My dad Bill, on the other hand, was into circuit racing. However, I talked him into coming to the drags one
