Anyone miss scrapyard foraging?
Discussion
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.
Yeah used to do it loads up in Fife scavenging parts for various Minis, Fiats, Alfas and Lancias.
Back then, apart from the car stacking thing, there used to be some pretty awful wrecks from RTA's, I remember some car (can't recall which now) which had been barrel rolled over and over and over again to the extent it looked almost cylindrical. Took us ages to figure out what it had originally been. Awful. There were also various motors with rooves collapsed down to steering wheel level. Gahh. But the worst of all was a Renault (16?) which had had a heavy frontal and was sitting freshly-delivered at the front of the yard with a few pints of claret over the driver's seat and sloshing around in the footwell. Disturbing....
Still, the bulbs in the rear lights were great!
(joke)
Back then, apart from the car stacking thing, there used to be some pretty awful wrecks from RTA's, I remember some car (can't recall which now) which had been barrel rolled over and over and over again to the extent it looked almost cylindrical. Took us ages to figure out what it had originally been. Awful. There were also various motors with rooves collapsed down to steering wheel level. Gahh. But the worst of all was a Renault (16?) which had had a heavy frontal and was sitting freshly-delivered at the front of the yard with a few pints of claret over the driver's seat and sloshing around in the footwell. Disturbing....
Still, the bulbs in the rear lights were great!
(joke)
spaximus said:
I used to go to the scrap yards around Barnsley, Milton Gough, springs to mind. Negotiating oil, mud and dog crap clambering up piles of cars for that elusive part.
I had a mate who I took who after a visit went to show the owner a handful of clips and small bits. When he was asked to pay he did. I explained that those bits were the sort they expected you to have for nothing, charging for the big bits.
Next time we went he was wearing wellies and it was hard not to notice he could hardly walk as we paid for the big bits. Once back at the car seeing him pull bits of his wellies that were huge it was hard not to laugh. He never really got the hang of the art of scrap yards, arguing over prices and the rarity put on every part by the owners of the yards.
I used to go to the one on Station Rd Bolton-upon-Dearne in the late nineties. Still miss the youthful adventure.I had a mate who I took who after a visit went to show the owner a handful of clips and small bits. When he was asked to pay he did. I explained that those bits were the sort they expected you to have for nothing, charging for the big bits.
Next time we went he was wearing wellies and it was hard not to notice he could hardly walk as we paid for the big bits. Once back at the car seeing him pull bits of his wellies that were huge it was hard not to laugh. He never really got the hang of the art of scrap yards, arguing over prices and the rarity put on every part by the owners of the yards.
I used to love trips to the breakers in years gone by, used to go to most of the yards in Pimhole Bury, one of my favourites was Evans in Cheetham Hill, we used to go in the yard take off what we needed and chuck it over the wall into the grounds of what was known as the Jewish Hospital next door then on the way out pay for a small value item.
It was if you were doing an unfamiliar job you could practice on the scrapper whilst removing the item so when you got to do the job on your car you had an idea what to do right.
It was if you were doing an unfamiliar job you could practice on the scrapper whilst removing the item so when you got to do the job on your car you had an idea what to do right.
Those were the days! Me and some mates heard that you could break windows with small chippings of the ceramic part of a spark plug. A micra donated this to us and yes, it does work!
You could find just about anything you wanted and more often than not, better parts from shinier models.
I miss it!
You could find just about anything you wanted and more often than not, better parts from shinier models.
I miss it!
I miss it.
As it happens, my Mum came down this weekend with a pile of old photos and stuff, there was a letter I'd written her from Uni in there - I was moaning that the only starter motor in the yard I'd been to that would fit my car had been taken off in pursuit of something else by an earlier punter and dropped in the puddle of med/water/oil/godknowswhat. Like my Mum cared....
As it happens, my Mum came down this weekend with a pile of old photos and stuff, there was a letter I'd written her from Uni in there - I was moaning that the only starter motor in the yard I'd been to that would fit my car had been taken off in pursuit of something else by an earlier punter and dropped in the puddle of med/water/oil/godknowswhat. Like my Mum cared....
Amusing tale.
Long time ago i was in a yard near West Wellow (probably not there any longer). It's pissing down with rain, so instead going with the easy option of walking further down the muddy yard for a 'ground floor car' (and ruining my shoes), i decide to climb a 3 story stack of cars to pull a steering wheel out of an Allegro.
Typically, the steering wheel didn't want to come out easily so there's me, tugging and pulling at it trying to wrestle it free. The next thing i know, i've been smacked hard in the side of the head - a real WTF moment which left me stunned. Soon there lots of shouting and someone pulls me out of the car, at this point i realise the car has fallen off the top of the pile with me still in it!
Funny thing was, that i still had hold of the steering wheel which had parted company from the steering column when it landed!
The owner sat me in his hut to check i was okay, then charged me for the steering wheel. On the plus side, i did spot he had a set of VW Pirelli P slots off a Golf GTI which he sold me for a good price.
As for foraging....
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.
Also, the last time i visited Silverlake near Southampton (albeit a long time ago), the bloke in there told me they reckoned they lost £1000 worth of parts per week due to theft.
Nowadays, there's only two places near me i can think of (in South Yorkshire) that let you wonder about - and one of them charges for entry!
Long time ago i was in a yard near West Wellow (probably not there any longer). It's pissing down with rain, so instead going with the easy option of walking further down the muddy yard for a 'ground floor car' (and ruining my shoes), i decide to climb a 3 story stack of cars to pull a steering wheel out of an Allegro.
Typically, the steering wheel didn't want to come out easily so there's me, tugging and pulling at it trying to wrestle it free. The next thing i know, i've been smacked hard in the side of the head - a real WTF moment which left me stunned. Soon there lots of shouting and someone pulls me out of the car, at this point i realise the car has fallen off the top of the pile with me still in it!
Funny thing was, that i still had hold of the steering wheel which had parted company from the steering column when it landed!
The owner sat me in his hut to check i was okay, then charged me for the steering wheel. On the plus side, i did spot he had a set of VW Pirelli P slots off a Golf GTI which he sold me for a good price.
As for foraging....
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.
Also, the last time i visited Silverlake near Southampton (albeit a long time ago), the bloke in there told me they reckoned they lost £1000 worth of parts per week due to theft.
Nowadays, there's only two places near me i can think of (in South Yorkshire) that let you wonder about - and one of them charges for entry!
My local scrapyard is still one of the few you can still walk around and take off parts yourself. I do go up there occasionally if I need something but the cars are often well stripped and stacked up. I find ebay more useful now days and recently purchased a peugeot 406 alternator for £10 posted, wouldnt of even warranted my time to take it off at a scrapyard and probably been charged more. But this place and my dad's garage were my education and there is a certain nostalgia surrounding them. Its been there since the 50's so if you go digging around its amazing what classics you find. But you would not want to steal off them. I once witnessed someone steal a wheel hub without paying they started driving off and one of the guys there launched a brake disk right through there back window covering them in glass.
Scrapyard foraging used to be such a multi disciplined skill. You had to have the athleticism to be an accomplished climber and a seasoned contortionist, the balance to stand one legged on an oily door frame and yet at the same time have the brawn to undo a hub nut with your right hand whilst your left hand is clinging onto a cracked wing mirror housing to avoid a 12 foot drop onto a gearbox casing and an angry German shepherd. Good times!
I remember one satisfying result where I needed some gearbox housing bolts from a Ford Escort. The only donor car I could find was sat belly down, wheels off on top of a Golf. I tried to prise the door open on the Golf but having failed at that climbed in through the dramatically misshapen window aperture, sat on the passenger seat in a puddle of oil, rain, dog piss and broken glass. Against all the odds, given the unusual shape that the golf roof was in, I was able to wind the sunroof open (remember sunroof winders?) and access the gearbox on the 'scort above.
I remember one satisfying result where I needed some gearbox housing bolts from a Ford Escort. The only donor car I could find was sat belly down, wheels off on top of a Golf. I tried to prise the door open on the Golf but having failed at that climbed in through the dramatically misshapen window aperture, sat on the passenger seat in a puddle of oil, rain, dog piss and broken glass. Against all the odds, given the unusual shape that the golf roof was in, I was able to wind the sunroof open (remember sunroof winders?) and access the gearbox on the 'scort above.
Edited by Gad-Westy on Friday 6th May 08:43
I used to go to the one near RAF Waddingham in Lincoln or the one in S
horpe. Both had a tiered pricing if you took it of your self it was half the price it would be if they did it. I miss being able to wander round wondering why some cars were there when they looked fine to me mechanically.
the filter is so strict it would seem Sc un thorpe is not allowed
horpe. Both had a tiered pricing if you took it of your self it was half the price it would be if they did it. I miss being able to wander round wondering why some cars were there when they looked fine to me mechanically.the filter is so strict it would seem Sc un thorpe is not allowed
Edited by V40Vinnie on Friday 6th May 11:12
There used to be a Jag breakers near us, rows of rotting XJ's, XJS's, MK 10s, S Types etc, was next to a large piece of waste ground that used to be an RAF camp in the war, part of RAF Wilmslow/Handforth, anyway it was ter called "The Gyppos" as it had ended up housing Travelling folk for a time but they, like the RAF were long gone, it was just home to gangs of kids, sometimes on old moto crossers, mopeds or whatever else, anyway, we tended to build dens and we fitted them out with Jaguar leather interiors, I think I still have a Daimler "V8" badge somewhere.
Ahh yes. Simpsons was one of the bigger ones near us. Middleton in Leeds
I remember paying a visit one day and we left with my best mate having developed a pronounced limp
Once we left site I discovered that he had found a high lift cam in a Mk3 escort and nicked it for his Orion. Had it hidden down his trouser leg
I remember paying a visit one day and we left with my best mate having developed a pronounced limp
Once we left site I discovered that he had found a high lift cam in a Mk3 escort and nicked it for his Orion. Had it hidden down his trouser leg
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!
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!
GC8 said:
Details appreciated?
The old Wilf Jays site (now motorhog) in Treeton and http://www.kandsmotorspares.co.uk/ in Adwick, DoncasterI used to love scrapyard foraging. Climbing up onto a car on the top of a stack of four to remove an alternator or a light unit, usually under the watchful eye of a filthy Alsatian, while the whole pile swayed and creaked with every movement. Brilliant times.
I always used to grab a pocketful of fuses and bulbs while I was there as well.
I always used to grab a pocketful of fuses and bulbs while I was there as well.
Anyone watch that Scrappers programme, I really enjoyed it, you get a flavour of scrapyard without having to go to one, easy enough to find online if you want to partake, the people come across as very likeable.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1MbBZjqbJ...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/1MbBZjqbJ...
When land was cheap, yards didn't have to be tarmacked and scrap prices low, cars would stay in a yard for years.
In the 90s we rescued 2 50s vehicles from a yard that had a hundred classics lying about in one half and more recent stuff in the other. The earliest thing we saw the remains of was a Humber with artillery wheels. I guess they were all crushed when the old man died and the sons who were running the modern half of the yard took over.
So at that time it was possible to get a classic that had been there for 20+ years. There's no chance that there'll be a load of MX5s in yards in 20 years, they only stay there for a short time these days.
In the 90s we rescued 2 50s vehicles from a yard that had a hundred classics lying about in one half and more recent stuff in the other. The earliest thing we saw the remains of was a Humber with artillery wheels. I guess they were all crushed when the old man died and the sons who were running the modern half of the yard took over.
So at that time it was possible to get a classic that had been there for 20+ years. There's no chance that there'll be a load of MX5s in yards in 20 years, they only stay there for a short time these days.
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