Anyone miss scrapyard foraging?

Anyone miss scrapyard foraging?

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KungFuPanda

Original Poster:

4,324 posts

169 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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Yesterday, I took a drive from Manchester to Lincoln to a scrapyard. I had seen a set of seats for my car the day before, rang them up, agreed a price and drove over and collected them. The guys helpfully loaded the interior into my car, I paid my cash and drove without even getting my hands dirty.

When I was younger, I remember going to the scrapyard with my older friends or dad with toolkit in hand and removing any bits we needed from the cars. It was quite fun but I suppose revised health and safety legislation has put paid to the public scrambling around old cars.

Jasandjules

69,825 posts

228 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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Yeah I remember getting a door for my 3 Series and whilst I was removing it I whipped out the window switch too.. Those were the days.


shake n bake

2,221 posts

206 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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Yeah, I was talking about this recently. I loved going up to the local scrapyards on a Saturday morning, there were two close by. Climbing up on to the second car was fine, third was sketchy!

kambites

67,463 posts

220 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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Our local breaker's yard still allows it:

http://www.upickit.co.uk/how-it-works

swisstoni

16,855 posts

278 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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Used to like all that. You could find a car just like yours and get all the little bits of trim, or whatever you needed, that scrappers never bother to offer for sale by themselves.
Looking back it was nuts so be scrambling on cars stacked on top of each other.

mwstewart

7,554 posts

187 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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Absolutely love it. Still get to do it occasionally.

carmadgaz

3,201 posts

182 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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Our local scrappy used to be great for wandering around on your own, recognising cars that used to belong to friends and finding shiny bits off higher spec cars for your own as well as the part you needed.

These days they either have the part waiting for you, don't have a suitable car (low scrap prices and they don't seem to sit around there as long) or they escort you down to the suitable vehicle and get the job done (I still help where I can). All seems very "Clean" compared to how it used to be and I don't like it frown

Seen some weird and wonderful cars there amongst the standard fare of Fiestas etc.

DKS

1,670 posts

183 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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In south Hampshire there's only really two major yards but neither stack cars on top of each other. They both allow you to wander about freely with a hi-vis vest on.
I feel quite lucky now!

droopsnoot

11,817 posts

241 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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I used to enjoy that, as well. Our local scrapyard has now turned into a 'recycling centre', the closest I got to removing a part was being allowed to see the part on the car before they removed it.

The big thing I remember that can't happen now is wandering around a scrapyard looking for a specific part, not being able to find it, but being able to find something from a different car that would do the job. But you can only figure out will do the job by seeing it, and perhaps measuring it and/or taking it out to the car park to compare with the one on the car.

dudleybloke

19,718 posts

185 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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I can remember many happy days collecting car badges from Scrapyard's when I was about 10. They used to let me clamber all over the stacked up cars on my own. Can't see that happening these days.
It was probably safer than the playgrounds back in the day!

anonymous-user

53 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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Loved this! Especially clambering up...

One time, at my friends in Waltham Abbey, we collected all of the keys out of the cars for our school key chains (all the rage in the late 80's) - we were at school flashing our key bunches of 30-40 car keys. Then Albert's mum had to drive 30 miles to our house to collect them, as the cars had been sold... Oops.

paolow

3,208 posts

257 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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I used to enjoy this also - wandering around cars stacked three high with the other end of the car queue being taken away by some big heavy machine. I got a twin choke weber in good nick and a K&N for 25 quid - but they were hit and miss and I got put off in the end by pretty high prices for bits like £40 for a parcel shelf and £40 for a capri steering wheel.
Then I discovered cheap motor factors for oily bits and when classics were back on the agenda the internet was here so that was that!

KungFuPanda

Original Poster:

4,324 posts

169 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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I'm actually regretting the fact that I didn't pick up a steering wheel whilst I was there...

paintman

7,669 posts

189 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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shake n bake said:
Yeah, I was talking about this recently. I loved going up to the local scrapyards on a Saturday morning, there were two close by. Climbing up on to the second car was fine, third was sketchy!
Especially when the stack starts to sway ever so slightly when you're inside the third car........some interesting times at scrap alley in Leicester smile
ETA scrap alley was cleared away some years ago frown but there are a couple of small ones elsewhere in the Leicester area that still let you remove your own bits if they haven't already smile


Edited by paintman on Thursday 5th May 19:20

J4CKO

41,287 posts

199 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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Hmm, foot deep oily mud, cycloptic rigger boot wearing lunatics, German Shepherds 3 * the normal size encrusted with 20w50 and hate, shagged out cars piled four high.

Yep, it was wonderful biggrin

I still have a tape in the loft labelled "Sad Cafe" taken from a Capri 1.6 L stacked in Race Brothers in Northenden (Manchester) in about 1980, never listened to it, but a homebrew tape from a Manchester Band, from a Manchester scrapyard in a Capri, must be worth a fortune biggrin

Remember visiting one on Sunday when it was closed and having to stay 2 cars up to avoid being eaten, didnt get what we wanted but nicked a MK2 Escort Square headlight grille (Derek, wasnt that on your wall for a while), also going to another in Trafford park and ripping some speakers out of an XJS with a portion of the door card.

Was great for bulbs and fuses, go in, get a lifetimes worth of them into your pockets, based on the fact anything worth having wont fit in your coat.



Toaster Pilot

14,615 posts

157 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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My only local scrapyard left - Harry Bucklands in Cheltenham - is still self picking.

No stacked cars though which is probably how they get away with it still!

KungFuPanda

Original Poster:

4,324 posts

169 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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Hahaha Sad Cafe. "Every Day Hurts".

Hows the CLS going J4CKO?

Drive Blind

5,076 posts

176 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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I remember following my dad round them as a youngster.

That oil/mud/petrol/rain smell they all had as you tried to pick your way round the puddles as dad was trying to find an alternator for a mk2 escort.
And then the big scary dogs...

J4CKO

41,287 posts

199 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
quotequote all
KungFuPanda said:
Hahaha Sad Cafe. "Every Day Hurts".

Hows the CLS going J4CKO?
Not bankrupted me yet, behaving itself thus far and still enjoyable thanks.

Hows the S Class ?

KungFuPanda

Original Poster:

4,324 posts

169 months

Thursday 5th May 2016
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S Class went a couple of weeks ago. Got a 2011 A8 3.0 TFSI now. Love it. Same engine as the S4/S5. Was going to remap it but just got back from Lincoln having picked up a set of S8 quilted and perforated seats hence this thread!