Anyone miss scrapyard foraging?
Discussion
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.
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.
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
Seen some weird and wonderful cars there amongst the standard fare of Fiestas etc.
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
Seen some weird and wonderful cars there amongst the standard fare of Fiestas etc.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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 ETA scrap alley was cleared away some years ago 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
Edited by paintman on Thursday 5th May 19:20
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
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
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.
Yep, it was wonderful
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
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.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff