Anyone miss scrapyard foraging?

[mwstewart]

RS Grant said:

It's still possible at a few places near me and it's still enjoyable when you're 'shopping' for a part or upgrade part you've decided you need but don't mind if you don't find in the first visit... but it's still horrible when something has broken on your car and ridiculous part prices have forced you out in the rain at -4c to try and liberate the required part from a car sitting one or two levels up.


Cheers,
Grant

Haha. I remember removing an engine and loom from a Fiesta in the pouring rain and mud. Fond memories.

[GarageQueen]

the interesting bit was also taking said part back to the grubby office and the guy rubbing his greasy chin, guessing a price and saying "25 mate"

[droopsnoot]

littlebasher said:

A mate of mine set up a breakers year, he stopped people wondering around his yard when it dawned on him the sheer volume of parts that were being pinched. People were literally filling toolboxes with parts, or being more inventive and (for example) buying a car door but filling the insides with stuff.

Yes, my local one had a policy of "no toolboxes", or if you were removing something that would need a lot of tools they'd want to check the box on the way out.

I've had a few good bits - a pair of fire-damaged Dellortos from a Jensen-Healey that I could use for parts for mine, a pair of front wings for an ur-quattro as I always intended to buy one, a Webasto roof from an MGBGT just for the wind-deflector. I once spent hours trying to get the ZF box out of a CF van, until I read the ratio plate and discovered it was a four-speed. Good job, really, as they won't go in a Firenza anyway.

I must be the only person who hasn't come away with full pockets from one of these places - I always found that if you just showed them a handful of bolts or fuses or whatever, they'd just charge a quid and have done with it. In fact when I was trying to remove a tinted rear screen from an Audi coupe (with the 'quattro' double-wire heated rear screen element) and broke it, I even went to the office and offered to pay for it. "Don't worry", the guy said, "there's probably only you wanted it anyway."

[CS Garth]

People can't be too surprised there aren't many left when it sounds like everyone nicked all sorts from them.

Or story another way: I run a scrapyard and I'm constantly finding dishonest feckers nicking my stock.

[Captain Answer]

Remember going up Looms in Derby and other various smaller places with Dad (or Grandad for that matter) but a lot of them are gone now from quite a young age. Was always honest though about anything taken out, remember getting a bunch of switches out of a mk1 Polo as mine had gone on my Scirocco and they use the same parts, guy just let me have them.

Looms is still going, still see folks wondering about in the yard so assume its still the same where you can undo anything you want. Not had cause to go there myself for a good few years tho.

[Faust66]

Told this story before on PH, but what the hell…

When I was young and foolish, my first car was 1.6 Laser Capri in white (with rust highlights) which I'd paid the princely sum of £175 for. The driver's seat back collapsed one day when I was cruising around - don't know if you ever tried to drive a car with no back support, but it is damn near impossible.

Being an ingenious type, I though "ha ha" and used the spare wheel to prop the seat back up. This bodge worked very well. So well in fact I couldn't be bothered to nip down to the local scrappies and pick up a replacement seat. The fact that the seat back went all the way down had not escaped my eagle eye. More than one young lady 'benefitted' from that seat modification.

Few weeks later I was pulled over by a copper for a spot check (I used to live near Mansfield and the police regularly had clamp-downs on boy racers). He was most unimpressed with my temporary repair, gave me a proper bking and told me to get it sorted sharpish or I'd end up in the st.

So, off the local scrappy I went. They had a Capri in… but the seat was the wrong colour - horrible light grey and blue tartan pattern. What was worse was the massive bloodstain on it. The car had hit a lamppost or similar and there was a massive dent in the front. There was blood all over the place: the dash, remains of the windscreen, the steering wheel… everywhere. Still, it was only a fiver… so I took it home, cleaned the worst of the blood off, and IIRC, found 6 quid in loose change whilst swapping the seats over. Result!

My mates and I used to nick the odd bulb, fuse or gear knob etc., but most of the yards we went to had 'No Toolboxes' policies that were strictly enforced. As long as you didn't take the piss you were OK, but woe on you if you got caught trying to rip them off.

Once had my way blocked by two massive blokes holding breaker bars who demanded my mate and I unroll an old army blanket I used to have to lay on when working on cars (better than getting your Levis covered in mud and oil). As soon as we demonstrated we were not nicking stuff, they were sound with us and we all had a smoke and a chat. But I really, really would not want to have been caught trying to steal from them.

If I recall, that was the time I was picking up a front bumper for my Capri - mate had some RAF surplus overalls he'd 'borrowed' from his brother, so he volunteered to remove the bumper. What he failed to notice was the foot long dog turd he was lying next to. I told him to be careful about the gargantuan crap (obviously I waited until he'd unbolted the bumper for me).

I can still see him turn his head, be confronted with the monster st which lay mere inches from his face and leap to his feet with a grace and élan that is probably still mentioned 20 years later by the good folk who ran Bumper-to-Bumper in Langwith. The string on inventive curses he showered me with have also stuck in my mind!

Werewolves? Pah! Not scared of 'em. I've been confronted by scrapyard dogs. They always seemed to be either Alsatians or Rottweilers… with a bit of Shark mixed in somewhere for good measure. Fat lad (remember them?) at one yard I used to go to would throw leather car seats in to the dog pen for them to eat. Didn't feed 'em much dog food as they preferred to eat seats!

Those were the days!

[J4CKO]

Scrapyard Dogs are a separate species, always significantly bigger and usually more intelligent than some of the humans that worked there and very, very oily.

[MrBig]

Genuinely one of the aspects of my younger years that I really miss. I used to live in High Wycombe and would often take my girlfriend (now wife) up to High Heavens for a wonder round on a sunday afternoon. Always made sure any pile of cars was 'safe' by rocking it before I climbed up :hehe

We were only talking about that place last night as we were fitting a towbar to my current shed! Of course these days I have a modern daily which I don't touch the oily bits on, but the aquisition of Golf IV 1.8T that costs the same as a good night out have really rekindled my love of getting my hands dirty (on my terms of course!)

[LoudV8]

Spent many Saturday mornings in Emmins on Erith marshes getting bits for my Stag. Pretended the bits were for a Triumph 2000 or prices doubled.

The problem was that the biggest cars were always at the bottom, ie T2000/2500s. I once had to excavate under the front crossmember of a T2500 that had no wheels and 3 other cars on top to extricate the steering rack.

Diffs were also popular but hard to get to.

Also recovered a very good condition Kenlow fan and controls from a Rover P6 that has now been on my Stag for 20 years.

Headrests from Dolomites fit perfectly into Stag seats.

Happy times.

Edited by LoudV8 on Friday 6th May 13:55

[rossub]

I vaguely remember my dad struggling to get a driveshaft off one of the early 80s Granadas while I removed every metal lettered name badge off the back of the cars round about it.

Mud and oily puddles .... heaven.

[rambo19]

There used to be a huge scrapyard in shenfield, nr brentwood.

I remember removing a 2.0 pinto engine from a cortina that was 3rd up in the stack- very very scary now, but at the time great fun!

[Lester H]

Jasandjules said:

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.

They were. No doubt the yard owners with brains factored in the theft but, more to the point it was all fun and you could have a good look round. Health and safety has resulted in these characters becoming more like downmarket motor factors.

[Lester H]

rossub said:

I vaguely remember my dad struggling to get a driveshaft off one of the early 80s Granadas while I removed every metal lettered name badge off the back of the cars round about it.

Mud and oily puddles .... heaven.

Don!t forget those friendly Alsatians; I think I had forgotten the utter filth and oil, adding to the ambience.

[Steve_W]

Cross Keys at Lydford on Fosse in Somerset was my place to go for parts. They still have some piles of cars in long rows. I remember getting external hinge doors for my mini and having trouble getting the hinges undone - I got passed a huge hammer and bolster chisel and being told "just hack the A panels off son"

Years later I stripped all sorts of switches and blanking plates out of a scrapper to fill the gaps in my Golf GTI dashboard and being told there was no charge as I'd been mug enough to ask "how much" instead of trousering them!

[GC8]

littlebasher said:

GC8 said:

Details appreciated?

The old Wilf Jays site (now motorhog) in Treeton and http://www.kandsmotorspares.co.uk/ in Adwick, Doncaster

Thanks. Pretty slim pickings.

[M3333]

Hugo a Gogo said:

M3333 said:

Bells in Bishop Auckland. Spent many a Sunday in there clambering around wreck after wreck. Some say it seems madness looking back I just remember common sense and being careful. Nobody I remember got hurt or killed.

I think a lot of the smaller bits of trim etc and brackets just get crushed now.


How times have changed. I miss those days and I'm only 35.

what was that fella called at Bishop, 'Pick Arab' or something? Gypsy fella with a belt of gold sovs

I do not know the names but they were certainly of the gypsie variety. I remember walking up the stairs to the top porta cabin office for prices feeling a tad intimidated. Lots of dodgy characters and dogs about. Always seemed to have a pocket of cash to the tune of 5-10k I would say rolled up. I miss it!!!

[M3333]

Gary29 said:

Used to love it, pockets full of huge bulky items, and end up only paying for a radiator cap or something.

Dodgy looking scrap man at the gate, looking you up and down, knowing full well you'd got a pocket full of bits....

'£10 mate'

'£10? For a radiator cap?!'

'£10'

'I can get a new one for less than that'

'£10.....(angry Alsation's ear prick up at this point from the slight change of tone in the man's voice)

Crisp brown note handed swiftly over and off out the gate as quick as you could, great times!

I did not want to admit it but YES!!