When going to the junkyard is a pleasure

Yesterday, my father called me up and asked if I could go to the local pick and pull for him. My uncle knocked the drivers sideview mirror off his car. Sure, Ill grab one.

Stop at my buddy`s place to pick him up, another friend of ours is there so he tags along. Just so happens his 2002 Caverarri Z24 needs a new front turn signal lens as his was destroyed. The sideview mirror I need is also off an '02 non-z24. Perfect.

Go to the yard, wander the isles, in one minute we've located a perfectly fine 2002 4 door. Signal takes 1 minute to remove, the sideview mirror is already partially disassembled. Score!

Spend the next half hour wandering the import section looking at old volvo's, turbo dodges (shelby daytona z COMPLETE!), and whatever else catches our fancy.

Leave, paying a total of $20 for the two bits. Most painless/fun time I've had in a junkyard in a WHILE

It is nice when it goes that way.

Went to the pick'n'pull in Calgary during the Chumpcar race, after the aluminum aftermarket shifter that was in the car broke. $6.78 for a Civic shifter, and gone.

Only ran about 2-3 seconds slow with the car stuck in 4th gear.

Spent some time at the local Pull-A-Part today. Lots of Jaguars in there that weren't in real bad shape. Got in, found what I wanted, and got out in a reasonable amount of time.

My friends know I hit the pick-n-Pull every couple of weeks so they give me a shopping list. Guy looks at me a bit odd when I show up with parts for a Honda, Probe, Mountaineer, Ranger, Cavalier, school bus and 1965 Ford Truck, but he is used to it.

Meet the buds for parts delivery and Mexican food (their treat!). Make it home with a full belly, a few bucks and an afternoons fun putting a fender and rubber bits on my Mountaineer.

Off to the friends house to fix his A-frame on the Cavalier while the fems hang inside and run us a beer every so often during commercials in some cooking cage match show. They wonder why it takes 4 guys 2 hours to install a part that took 30 minutes to remove....but they know not to say anything since the Cupcake Wars episode.

Bruce

My local yard usually asks what I'm looking for. I tell them that I'm looking for stuff to make x fit y, and they look at me a little odd. I've never had a truly bad day at any yard, other than getting baked in the sun without anything to drink.

I did have a bad experience on Friday. Went to find a stock air intake for my Dakota. The pick and pull place said that they had one in stock already taken off. The guy said that he wanted $75 for it. I thought it was kinda steep, but I have negotiated with these guys before. I saw the part and it was only the air-box. It was missing the tubing and the air-hat that sits on the TB. I guess me saying that I would only pay for 1/3 the price because it was 1/3 of an intake pissed the guys off. I got a ton of attitude with that and I left without the part. It sucks, but I dont have to have the part (I can keep the custom one on) so I am not paying that price for a junkyard part.

Went to the junkyard the other day and wrastled with some e30 trailing arms for about five hours. Finally managed to drop an entire rear disc conversion (minus the ebrake cables). The car also had rear bilsteins on it, so I snagged those as well. Also grabbed the front calipers of a 325e, someone said you can fit vented rotors underneath them? And finally got a 13 button OBC and some random relays.

She charged me $100 which I thought was a lot, but maybe that's cheap all things considered. What do you all think?

Cheap compared to the yards here. They have raised the price way up from what it used ot be, and they scrap alot more good parts (including almost all aluminum wheels before the cars even make it to the yard).

Last time I went to the yard was just after the cash for clunkers program. The lot was overflowing with nice, shiny vans, suvs and trucks with seized engines. It felt like stumbling across a death camp.

Was at the yard two weekends ago looking for random stuff for the mx6, and whatever else I found. Happened to find a complete NOT busted lower grill assembly for an FB rx7, a set of rear seatbelts for a GC8 STi a friend of mine needed to make it legal as a 4 seater, and... the most odd, a complete set of mudflaps off of a 1g Eclipse. Apparently DSM guys like those things. Found squat for any of MY cars, but whatevs.

Went with my buddy Saturday, he makes his living buying parts from the yards that the yoJDM crowd uses for swaps and upgrades. Been hitting the yards every couple weeks or so with him. Always a 12+ hour day, left at 645am home after 8pm. Got most the stuff I needed to finish my dad's LS400, got some things off a Rav4 for my mom's, sun visors and mirror off a 65 Mustang for my buddy, pos battery cable for a 93 DeVille for an acquaintance, buddy bought a chit ton of stuff including scoring a Greddy exhaust for <$20 off a wrecked xB. I've developed quite an odd farmers tan/tan lines from the last few months of trawling the yards.

pinchvalve wrote: Last time I went to the yard was just after the cash for clunkers program. The lot was overflowing with nice, shiny vans, suvs and trucks with seized engines. It felt like stumbling across a death camp.

yep. that was a creepy time! i didnt see any more of them at the yard the last time i went.

I love it when junkyard trips go well. They rarely go wrong, as it's always easier to get parts off of a junked car you don't care about. Can't get that wiring harness out of the way? Cut it! Forgot a Torx screwdriver and can't get that superficial piece of trim off? Hand me the pry bar, I'll snap it in half!

I've only ever had junkyard trips go wrong a couple times, usually because I forget tools and can't get the parts I need...once I lost a 15mm socket, disappeared into oblivion.

But one time it went badly, it was because of weather. Drove 2.5 hours to Harry's U-Pull-It in Hazleton, it was mid-March, the weather was sunny and a little chilly when we left. It was 25 and blizzard when we got there. Didn't stop me and Dad from getting (mint-condition) leather front seats and a complete set of aftermarket Pioneer speakers for my SC2, though! We had problems finding the exit because visibility was so bad hahaha.

Oh, I learned a cool trick at the junkyard. It goes like this:

Q: How do you remove rear E30 springs?

A:

speaking of e30... there was a box flared e30 coupe with m3 steering wheel and m3 emblems in the parking lot.

wish there was pick and pulls in my area...

BARNCA wrote: wish there was pick and pulls in my area...

Me too - there isn't one anywhere near me.

pinchvalve wrote: Last time I went to the yard was just after the cash for clunkers program. The lot was overflowing with nice, shiny vans, suvs and trucks with seized engines. It felt like stumbling across a death camp.

Like waking up with a bad hangover after the excesses of the late 90's early 2000's. Holy e36m3 what just happened?

SupraWes wrote:

pinchvalve wrote: Last time I went to the yard was just after the cash for clunkers program. The lot was overflowing with nice, shiny vans, suvs and trucks with seized engines. It felt like stumbling across a death camp.

Like waking up with a bad hangover after the excesses of the late 90's early 2000's. Holy e36m3 what just happened?

the sad part is those gas guzzlers they killed had better engines and fuel management than the pre 90's (and 80's) cars that were left with their motors still available. so instead of having access to a newer and more efficient v8 to swap into their 70's "musclecar" what do you think the people in search of a new motor got...?

dumb policies

our buddy's father owned a junkyard in Lemont, Illinois. He has a lot of stories of guys arguing with the counter guy only to have the counter guy get mad and toss a hammer into a piece of door glass.