How do y'all dress when going to the JY?

John Welsh said:

Back in my JY'ing hay-day, I used to visit a local place named King of the Road Auto Parts (KRAP.)  With a name like Krap it has to be good!  Evey part you bought was marked KRAP in crayon...ha.  

KRAP was one of these places where you pulled your own and then the guy at the counter gave you a price total at the end that he just totally made up.  I would dress to get dirty and possibly muddy.  I dressed down because if you looked to be "in need" the price would be accordingly.  Another thing about this place is they cared about big parts and metal generally pricing the big parts and gave away the small stuff.  This was about 2003 and I discovered that they had 7 Gen1 MR2s on site.  I approached the desk with a rear deck lid (for the rare, one year only LED brake light spoiler) but along with it I had plastics.  These plastics were radio surrounds, headlamp knobs, ash trays, side air vents, rear window visors, b-pillar trim, etc.  I think I paid $75 (or the price of the trunk lid) and all the other stuff was...free.  The real answer is the small stuff was worth more than the metal trunk lid!  

At places like this I remember they always asked, "what car did this come from?"  I would play it down and might answer, "a Toyota, back there with the Corollas."   I figured that MR2 might cause the part to cost more than a Corolla.  In general, play down the quality of the part.  I would often point out the flaw.  Like for the trunk lid, I would say something like, "its got some rust at the edge but I think I can improve it."  The reality being that I just wanted the plastic spoiler, but the mounting screws were notorious for snapping off and I wanted to treat them with penetrating oil before attempting and it was easier to just undo the 4 bolts at the hinge and get the whole lid.  

 

In the new era, with corporate places like Pull-a-Part, they have a price list for everything.  When leaving, the person at the counter really doesn't know that much about car parts.  They might ask you what the part is.  Spend some time with their website price list.  One item could have various names in their price list.  The name you give them could result in the part costing more or less, even as the same part.  

Here is an real example from the pull-a-part price list

RADIATOR COOLANT EXPANSION TANK  $15.38

RADIATOR OVERFLOW BOTTLE  $6.99

I have soooo many pictures I've taken at KRAP over the years

Krap would have cars stacked 3 high and then you were allowed to go out to the yard and pull parts from them by yourself!  If you wanted something from a top car you could sometimes get the Catipilar fork lift driver to move the cars down for ya.

In the current era, this seems like an insurance/liability nightmare. Also no entry fee like the current yards. 

Another great past find from there was a RX7 convertible (automatic) but it had all the factory BBS wheels. I snagged the 3 remaining wheel center caps and being plastic probably paid $5 each. I sold them on ebay for $60 each. 

Google say Krap is still in business and has customer photos.

Bag with a shoulder strap or back pack.  Keeps your hands free to carry more stuff. Also big bottle of gatorade if its hot out.

ProDarwin said:

I say make it a black tie formal affair.

Only if it's an evening event, and I'm not wearing a black tie if it's light hors d'oeuvres and wine.

On a more serious note, you'll encounter other DIYers.  You might find some pro mechanics getting something for their own car, and there are some folks who make a living with this kind of stuff.  They might pull a 350 with good compression, do a rattle can rebuild and try to turn a profit.  JY staff?  Completely random.  You might get an old curmudgeon or a woman named Dottie.

General rules of etiquette: 

Don't destroy.  If you want a radiator fan out of something with a crunched front end, it's sometimes OK to just take a sawzall to the core support.  If you want a transmission out of an otherwise good car, it's not OK to cut the driveshaft and crossmember.  You'll just ruin it for the next guy who really needed those parts, and you're destroying inventory that the JY could make money selling later.

Don't expose.  Don't leave the hood up or the doors open.  If you scavenge a (for instance) trunk latch and the lid won't stay down, find a tire or something to weigh it down.  If you take an intake manifold, stuff the head ports with rags or cover them with tape.  If there's no hood, ask the yard if they have a piece of plastic to keep rain out of the open holes, or find a fender or a something to cover it.

Don't pollute.  If you're taking an engine, don't just pull a radiator hose and drain it on the ground.  If you need an oil pan, don't drain the oil on the ground.  Take a bucket or ask the staff what they want you to do.  If it's a bigger U-pull yard, they'll have rules posted at the entrance and likely on their website as well.

And have fun!  It's been WAY too long since I was in a yard

As far as dress... Boots to prevent snake bites, crusty jeans, greasy t-shirt.

I usually take a bucket of common tools, and sometimes I'll take a 4' strip of carpet.  Nice to lay on that instead of weeds/ticks/ants/mud.  If I need something big like a transmission or an axle, I'll take a hand truck/dolly with the bucket on it.

I usually stop on the way home from work so I'll be in a company shirt and cargo pants. 

As for tools, I carry a 1/4 socket set that fits in a pocket, a 1/4 breaker bar, a multi screwdriver, a multi tool, channel locks or vice grips, and a hammer. That will pull 95% of the parts I'm looking for. 

If I need an engine or transmission, there is a guy in the yard that will pull them and deliver them to the counter for $75. That's money well spent to me. 

You wear your Road Atlanta boots to the pick-n-pull. 

Whatever I wear to work in the garage.  For tool storage I have a plastic litter box with a lid, easy to carry, can use a parts tray and if its raining keeps the tools dry.