Junk Yards
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 1,016
Likes: 1
From: Maine
Junk Yards
My 70 year old friend and i when to a junk yard today .I had to get some parts for a 95 Mercury(Long story) .It reminded me of when i was 10-12 years old . I use to go to the junk yard up the street and go threw the car until old Ted threw me out .I keep going back .Something about them junk yards i like Anybody else.
Racer
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 290
Likes: 1
From: Torrington Ct
My 70 year old friend and i when to a junk yard today .I had to get some parts for a 95 Mercury(Long story) .It reminded me of when i was 10-12 years old . I use to go to the junk yard up the street and go threw the car until old Ted threw me out .I keep going back .Something about them junk yards i like Anybody else.
Oh can I ever relate to that.......................! In 1967 remember seeing a 396 / 360 HP motor just waiting for me to buy it. Of course I had no money in high school.
Then there was the labor day weekend when we needed frame mounts for a 6 cyl to V8 swap. Someone said "There is a 65 Chevelle at the yard with no motor so the frame mounts should be right out in the open". Over the fence, correct size wrenches in hand, headed right to the car we knew was sitting w/o an engne. Liberated the frame mounts and back over the fence in a matter of minutes.
A simpler time to be sure. Think about it today......Everything is inside a building all cataloged and stored on racks...cameras are everywhere and even if there were any parts a hotrodder wanted they would be soooooo old as to be mostly useless. I agree though once ya get the car hobby into your blood the junk yard ends up having a special place in your memory.
Race Director
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 15,359
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From: Close to DC
C2 of the Year Finalist - Modified 2020
I know of 2 or 3 in the MD. and DE. area that look like they did in the sixties. Most of the others around the Wash. DC area are run like a military base, you need serious clearence to walk beyond the front gate, it's strictly business, nothing nostalgic. 
Dennis
Dennis
Thread Starter
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 1,016
Likes: 1
From: Maine
Oh can I ever relate to that.......................! In 1967 remember seeing a 396 / 360 HP motor just waiting for me to buy it. Of course I had no money in high school.
Then there was the labor day weekend when we needed frame mounts for a 6 cyl to V8 swap. Someone said "There is a 65 Chevelle at the yard with no motor so the frame mounts should be right out in the open". Over the fence, correct size wrenches in hand, headed right to the car we knew was sitting w/o an engne. Liberated the frame mounts and back over the fence in a matter of minutes.
A simpler time to be sure. Think about it today......Everything is inside a building all cataloged and stored on racks...cameras are everywhere and even if there were any parts a hotrodder wanted they would be soooooo old as to be mostly useless. I agree though once ya get the car hobby into your blood the junk yard ends up having a special place in your memory.
Then there was the labor day weekend when we needed frame mounts for a 6 cyl to V8 swap. Someone said "There is a 65 Chevelle at the yard with no motor so the frame mounts should be right out in the open". Over the fence, correct size wrenches in hand, headed right to the car we knew was sitting w/o an engne. Liberated the frame mounts and back over the fence in a matter of minutes.
A simpler time to be sure. Think about it today......Everything is inside a building all cataloged and stored on racks...cameras are everywhere and even if there were any parts a hotrodder wanted they would be soooooo old as to be mostly useless. I agree though once ya get the car hobby into your blood the junk yard ends up having a special place in your memory.
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 12,470
Likes: 1,548
From: Camp Verde AZ
C1 of Year Finalist (performance mods) 2019
2017 C1 of Year Finalist
Yup.
late 1960's.
Old style, cars strewn about, not much order that i could see except Fords in this area, chevs over there, Studes up the ravine, etc. Maple a Sycamore trees growing here and there in the yard. Old stuff back then, 1940's, 1950's mostly, some earlier,and a fair assortment of newer wrecked stuff.
the old stuff had just stopped running and was mostly intact except for parts pulls, the 1960's stuff was always in some sort of bad wreck.
No more, as mentioned above, all computer controlled parted out on racks in warehouses and hulks go to the shredder or compactor.
Doug
late 1960's.
Old style, cars strewn about, not much order that i could see except Fords in this area, chevs over there, Studes up the ravine, etc. Maple a Sycamore trees growing here and there in the yard. Old stuff back then, 1940's, 1950's mostly, some earlier,and a fair assortment of newer wrecked stuff.
the old stuff had just stopped running and was mostly intact except for parts pulls, the 1960's stuff was always in some sort of bad wreck.
No more, as mentioned above, all computer controlled parted out on racks in warehouses and hulks go to the shredder or compactor.
Doug
Melting Slicks
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 3,050
Likes: 2
From: Orange Ct
When I visited my son in Florida we went to a yard and could wonder around, find the parts we needed, and remove them. Not like here in Ct. I would guess that it has to do with the liability.
Safety Car
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 4,182
Likes: 94
From: going faster miles an hour...with the radio on in browns mills new jersey
I remember a junk yard owner telling me he didn't like Corvettes because there "wasn't nothing to them". This was when they would prepare the cars for scrapping by pouring a couple of gallons of gas on them and then lighting them up.
Manson's, Methvin's, and the one we used to call Deliverance are all gone now. There's still one good one nearby that I like to go wander around in from time to time. Tomorrow's supposed to be pretty nice....
Manson's, Methvin's, and the one we used to call Deliverance are all gone now. There's still one good one nearby that I like to go wander around in from time to time. Tomorrow's supposed to be pretty nice....
Team Owner
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 54,139
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From: Sitting in his Nowhere land Hanover Pa
2024 C2 of the Year Finalist - Unmodified
2015 C2 of Year Finalist
aww the junk yards. theres so much to look at and so little time to look at them all. I lvoe going to them when its nice out. but sadly al the ones around here are drying up of all the old cars. mostly due to all the local dirt tracks around here. Its very hard for me to find parts for my 81 Monte SS
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Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 7,708
Likes: 266
From: indy indiana
First time I went to one was outside Columbus georgia,across the river in Alabama. Needed a rear end for my 48 plymouth. Luckly I live in a place (indy) where you can still pull your own parts. I like going in them.
Instructor
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 215
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From: Hendersonville TN
My aunt and cousin ran a repair shop complete w/ towing service, junkyard and Sadie the German Shepherd junkyard dog. You didn't mess w/ Sadie. She was chained at the entrance to the yard and only authorized personnel could get past her and she decided who was authorized. I went in around the side to avoid her past the old school buses full of parts and old tools. I could play all day in that junkyard. When I got old enough, my aunt let me drive her old Comet like a wildman through the aisles. My cousin had an old Model A just rotting away in one of the out buildings. I rescued a couple of old motor scooters, got 'em running and had a big time riding them. They had the towing contract for the county police and whenever a wreck occurred or someone got pulled over and arrested, they towed the car in. They regularly had some hot rod parked in their lot. Man, what a great time I had just hanging out there.
CF Community Team
Joined: Oct 2004
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From: Cape Cod, Mass.
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Junk yards in Mass are becoming a thing of the past due to so many environmental regulations. They are turning old junk yards into Federal SuperFund sights, declaring them environmental hazards and causing some owners to declare bankruptcy due to cleanup costs. Too bad. I remember going through them as a teenager. Nice low-cost alternative for parts. One guy in Mass had a Corvette junkyard and used to meet people at an agreed location and blindfold them while taking them to the location until you gained his trust. He had everything you could imagine. Long gone now.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jul 2000
Posts: 2,097
Likes: 99
From: Boston MA
Go to Circle Auto Recycling on Midlothian Turnpike in Richmond, Virginia. It's a "U pull it" type place. They charge you $1.00 to get in. Must be over 16 and wear shoes. They'll check your tool box on the way out. They won't charge you for the fasteners, bulbs, gasket, etc. Mostly newer stuff. The cars are grouped by make.
Then go to Northern Tool a little up the road. Zip Corvette is about 5 miles away. Make a day of it.
Then go to Northern Tool a little up the road. Zip Corvette is about 5 miles away. Make a day of it.
Melting Slicks
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 2,397
Likes: 35
Around 25 years ago my Dad and I dropped off his Spirit if America Chevy Vega at the junk yard.
It had 33,000 miles on it and had rusted so bad that there were holes coming from the inside-out all over the place.
The aluminum motor needed a rebuild at 25,000 miles.
We got $25 for the car and they let us take the battery.
It had 33,000 miles on it and had rusted so bad that there were holes coming from the inside-out all over the place.
The aluminum motor needed a rebuild at 25,000 miles.
We got $25 for the car and they let us take the battery.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 789
Likes: 10
From: Las Vegas NV
When I was a young troop in the Air Force stationed at Nellis AFB (Las Vegas), I spent incredible amounts of my off duty time scavenging the yards around Las Vegas for parts to keep my 68 Camaro on the road. Back then, all the yards would let you walk around, grab what you need and bring it to the front where you would negotiate a price. The yards were clumped together so if one place didn't have what you needed, you didn't have to go far. I still have a couple of ammo cans full of misc. parts I pulled way back then. The yards back then were not only a great place to get parts but also a place to hang out, bench race, learn stuff and make lifelong friendships. Things have definitely changed now. Most of our yards are now consolidated by the big recycling corporations and you don't get past the front counter without an escort..... We still have a couple of pick your own part type yards where you still get to wander but the turnover is high and vehicles are quickly scrapped. I still have my Camaro in addition to a 65 step-side pickup so I occasionally still make the rounds but it's just not the same.......
Moderator
Joined: Jun 1999
Posts: 7,117
Likes: 51
From: Dove Mountain Arizona
We've got a junk yard here in Federal Way that back in the 60's had a complete 67 (I think) vette body up on a 50' pole. Lots of good ol' car parts in that yard in the day. They took it down a few years ago to repaint it with a stars n' stripes motif. It's still there today. No old parts though. Sniff....
Le Mans Master
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 6,545
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From: Temple Terrace Florida
Junk Yards
In 1970 I needed a gearbox for my 65 GTO. Went to Industrial Auto Salvage in Brooklyn, NY. The "manager" put me in a room with about three dozen M20's, M21's and M22's. All were with full linkage and shifters. Price was $100 each. Another time I was looking for a brake drum for the same car. The guy behind the counter, looked like he crawled out from under a rock, was reading the Futures page of the Wall Street Journal. Jerry
Le Mans Master
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 7,368
Likes: 874
From: Norcal CA
2018 C1 of Year Finalist
About three years ago I had to go to a junk yard to find two spare tires to put on the front end so I easily move the chassis around. It was a pick n pull junk yard.
I remember finding a full set of rally wheels on a rack. I grabbed them and ask how much. The person's response was not for sale.
I remember finding a full set of rally wheels on a rack. I grabbed them and ask how much. The person's response was not for sale.
Racer
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 445
Likes: 0
From: California
In the 70s we had a place here that was run by an old crazy guy. You had to be a little careful because you could never tell if he had a sidearm on him or not. 
He was open whenever he felt like it, so it was always a crapshoot whether it was a wasted trip or not. But if he was open, it was a treasure chest of 30s-60s American stuff. Wheels galore...enough American Torq-Thrusts to choke a horse. I used to go there a lot with my old man. I still vividly remember a 35 Plymouth coupe sitting there next to the riverbank. Good times...
He was open whenever he felt like it, so it was always a crapshoot whether it was a wasted trip or not. But if he was open, it was a treasure chest of 30s-60s American stuff. Wheels galore...enough American Torq-Thrusts to choke a horse. I used to go there a lot with my old man. I still vividly remember a 35 Plymouth coupe sitting there next to the riverbank. Good times...
