List of open Free-range scrapyards
Discussion
peterperkins said:
Years ago Hainford Hall Car spares in Norfolk was the place. We lived 500yds away.
They has what seemed like hundreds of cars stacked up all over the place.
It was alway busy with people swarming over them like scavengers on a posh refuse tip.
As kid I always came out with pockets full of halogen bulbs and others bits.
My dad kept a fleet of old British rusty crap going for years thanks to them.
All cleared now though.They has what seemed like hundreds of cars stacked up all over the place.
It was alway busy with people swarming over them like scavengers on a posh refuse tip.
As kid I always came out with pockets full of halogen bulbs and others bits.
My dad kept a fleet of old British rusty crap going for years thanks to them.
Medlars was good too.
Gary C said:
Argh, just found out that WJ Furbers near Whitchurch has gone !!
6 hectares of fun !
Years of stripping down engines and gearboxes in the mud, just to get a part.
Sad days.
Glad there are still some about.
Furbers went a few years ago. I didn't go there often while it was still open, not least because I was nearer Car Transplants. But I had never realised how much main dealer stuff they had. When the business closed, a company was engaged to clear out the stock, which they did by clearing the large sheds of vehicles (disposed of by auction) and then bringing out pile after pile of spares, laying them out, and letting people sift through it. You make a pile of stuff you're interested in, a chap comes along and gives you a (very fair) price, and off you go. I must have been there several times over a period of 6-7 weeks, and they ended it by holding a 3-day sale, advertised at local classic car events, where the rest was sold off. 6 hectares of fun !
Years of stripping down engines and gearboxes in the mud, just to get a part.
Sad days.
Glad there are still some about.
I came away with a lot of stuff I could identify for my Vauxhalls, and a lot of other general GM stuff that I couldn't, but looked unusual enough that it might be worth saving. It was all bargain-price as well. I saw autojumblers in there filling wheelbarrows with stuff, which I'm still seeing in dribs and drabs on stalls now.
The best thing about it was - they could so easily have weighed the lot in for scrap value, but someone had the sense to let it be picked over first. I'm sure some of it went for scrap - there was lots still there late on the last Sunday afternoon of the organised sale - but a lot of people got some very useful stuff. Contrast that with when my local Vauxhall dealer closed down in the 80s - a (by then ex) employee of theirs offered to buy all the panels in stock as he knew what gems were in there, for decent prices, but the receivers insisted they all had to go for scrap.
buggalugs said:
I think car transplants near Nantwich is still there though. It’s been a fair while since I went in though!
Car Transplants are indeed still there, but wandering around the yard looking for stuff isn't an option any more, unfortunately. AdeTuono said:
JonRS said:
Langfords and Charles Trent (Poole) no longer allow you to enter the yards. I guess this is spreading to almost all scrapyards nowadays.
Trent's do. They even have a price list for parts you remove yourself...https://www.trents.co.uk/media/wysiwyg/trents_diy_...
In other news, Silverlake https://www.silverlake.co.uk/breakers/ near Shedfield in Hampshire does DIY, they rotate stock regulalry & the website isn't always up to date so check first.
peterperkins said:
Years ago Hainford Hall Car spares in Norfolk was the place. We lived 500yds away.
They has what seemed like hundreds of cars stacked up all over the place.
It was alway busy with people swarming over them like scavengers on a posh refuse tip.
As kid I always came out with pockets full of halogen bulbs and others bits.
My dad kept a fleet of old British rusty crap going for years thanks to them.
Meddlers nearby was better still. Nothing stacked but in a big field. Some with trees growing through then. Lots of classics, 30s stuff up the drive and we even found wooden artillery wheels in there. They has what seemed like hundreds of cars stacked up all over the place.
It was alway busy with people swarming over them like scavengers on a posh refuse tip.
As kid I always came out with pockets full of halogen bulbs and others bits.
My dad kept a fleet of old British rusty crap going for years thanks to them.
droopsnoot said:
buggalugs said:
I think car transplants near Nantwich is still there though. It’s been a fair while since I went in though!
Car Transplants are indeed still there, but wandering around the yard looking for stuff isn't an option any more, unfortunately. It must be a bit of a nightmare getting insurance to let randomers wander unsupervised around piles of half stripped cars to be fair.
I suspect that's what killed it off. I do wonder how much they lose in sales, though - I forget the number of times I went to look for something I needed, couldn't find it, but then found something on an entirely different car that would do the job, or was interesting enough to buy anyway. The same argument with autojumbles vs. buying on eBay - I've bought loads of stuff at autojumbles that I had no idea I wanted until I saw it on the stall, I certainly wouldn't have thought to search the internet for it.
It's also when you're trying to sort out something as a modification, or you know the car has been parts-binned from other models. You know pretty much what you want, but you just need to have a poke about and see where you might find something suitable.
For example, you can find a radiator for pretty much anything online. But it's a lot harder to find a radiator when you don't care what it's from, but you do know it needs to be X wide, Y tall, and Z thick.
For example, you can find a radiator for pretty much anything online. But it's a lot harder to find a radiator when you don't care what it's from, but you do know it needs to be X wide, Y tall, and Z thick.
bobski1 said:
Has anybody got any around oxfordshire?
yes LC Hughes in Bicester which is 25 min away from oxford city and Smiths of Bloxham near Banbury which is about 40 min away from oxford. Check out Smiths of Bloxham when you around as you will be amazed by the range of cars they got for breaking
Rayners at Wooton Basset is still open I think but i haven been in a while. I once bought most of a Cortina 1600E from them one piece at a time to transplant into a mk1 classic rally car. They used to have a proper scrapyard dog on a 20ft chain that went for you every time you went in the gate.
I still regularly wander around Haines of Challow.
I still regularly wander around Haines of Challow.
Gary C said:
Argh, just found out that WJ Furbers near Whitchurch has gone !!
6 hectares of fun !
Years of stripping down engines and gearboxes in the mud, just to get a part.
Sad days.
Glad there are still some about.
One of my old hunting grounds in 70/80s; interesting place to find on whixall moss6 hectares of fun !
Years of stripping down engines and gearboxes in the mud, just to get a part.
Sad days.
Glad there are still some about.
CDP said:
peterperkins said:
Years ago Hainford Hall Car spares in Norfolk was the place. We lived 500yds away.
They has what seemed like hundreds of cars stacked up all over the place.
It was alway busy with people swarming over them like scavengers on a posh refuse tip.
As kid I always came out with pockets full of halogen bulbs and others bits.
My dad kept a fleet of old British rusty crap going for years thanks to them.
Meddlers nearby was better still. Nothing stacked but in a big field. Some with trees growing through then. Lots of classics, 30s stuff up the drive and we even found wooden artillery wheels in there. They has what seemed like hundreds of cars stacked up all over the place.
It was alway busy with people swarming over them like scavengers on a posh refuse tip.
As kid I always came out with pockets full of halogen bulbs and others bits.
My dad kept a fleet of old British rusty crap going for years thanks to them.
Now deserted ….
Medlers just up the road from Hainford before closure ….
Edited by MuscleSedan on Tuesday 27th August 21:28
jerrin91 said:
Meddlers looks like absolute paradise.. an auto Disneyland
It was. There are some cars I have only seen in there - a rear engine NSU sports and the 70's Audi Coupe for example. Loads from the 30's to the mid 80's when I went. If you were keen on older cars it was amazing.I wonder what will happen to Hainford Hall? Can't use the land for agriculture and I suspect housing would be pushing it too.
Industrial or possibly forestry?
When I used to go in the late 80's early 90's the hall had a big crack down the front; I'm surprised it's still standing. Very unlikely to have any architectural merit and way too far gone to restore.
Somebody had a load of old pictures of Meddlers in the 80's (I think).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7430965@N05/sets/721...
And Hainford Hall looks to be in better condition than I remembered:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7430965@N05/sets/721...
And Hainford Hall looks to be in better condition than I remembered:
https://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/prop...
CDP said:
Somebody had a load of old pictures of Meddlers in the 80's (I think).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/7430965@N05/sets/721...
That brought back some memories! I was half-expecting to see some of my old cars in the photos. Seems to be a disproportionate number of 70's/80's Jap metal in there. https://www.flickr.com/photos/7430965@N05/sets/721...
I last went to Medlers around 1979. I remember a whole load of 30's/40's cars in a ditch along the drive to the main yard. No different to seeing cars from the 70's/80's now, I suppose. That's sobering! If only I knew then etc etc...
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