Spent $3 admission and wandered around the junkyard today. I grabbed a few things, but it would have been fun even if I didn't. I'm half tempted to go and take a motor apart next time just because I can. I like taking things apart. Great cheap entertainment.
Local yard here has an annual membership so you could get in free and take apart that motor. I'm like you. I want to go row by row looking for gems. My teammates aren't so excited by it.
While I share you’re enthusiasm for the JY field trips (its like Disneyland and a museum all in one)
please don’t shred apart the engines that have some use! I can’t stand it when I finally find that part I need and some hack has taken it halfway apart and lost every bit and bolt I need. Or they fling aluminum heads onto the ground where they will now be bent, pitted, dinged, and eventually corroded.
So basically, only pull apart the real crap that’ll never be used for any form of racing. Lol.
One of my favorite things to do is walk around a junkyard with a measuring tape, a set of Harbor Freight calipers (the good ones are expensive!), and a vague idea of what part I'm trying to find an "improved" replacement for- this is how our 318ti ended up with front springs and struts from one car, rear springs from a different car, and bump stops from another different car. It's also how I know I really need four spare wheels from newer Fiestas to put studded tires on (15x4 alloys in the correct bolt pattern for the XR4Ti!)
I like the local yard that doesn't charge to get it and never check bags. It's only about 10 minutes from my house so sometimes I just go to walk around.
I fantasize about my own Roadkill show every time I walk through.
Glad to hear I am not the only "crazy" person that loves a good junkyard. I used to go walk through the rows of foreign cars back in the 80's looking for parts for my X1/9, 280Z, MGB, Spitfire, CRX, etc... and sit and goggle over the engines in Porsches, Jags, BMW's etc... Still love them now, but Ebay and Craiglist and limited time have reduced the number of times I go now.
In reply to EvanB :
Which one? Woody's or Edison? or another gem?
mazdeuce - Seth said:Spent $3 admission and wandered around the junkyard today. I grabbed a few things, but it would have been fun even if I didn't. I'm half tempted to go and take a motor apart next time just because I can. I like taking things apart. Great cheap entertainment.
when you're available you are more than welcome to spend a few days here taking things apart. i'll even let you help put them back together.
There's a junkyard that's literally a mile from my house and has free entry. One time one of their employees stopped to let me know that there was a matching Mariner Blue Miata with a ton of good parts on it. He also apologized for caving in the one fender with a forklift. I went down the next day and stripped it bare. Great guy.
There's also another one that's about a 15 minute drive away, with a $1 dollar entry. Went to walk around once and ended up scavenging an entire 1990 Subaru Loyale sedan with cherry sheetmetal to fix my 1993 Loyale Wagon and on the same trip stumbled across a 2000 Miata with engine intact that is now the basis of my full-force supercharger build for my Miata.
dculberson said:In reply to EvanB :
Which one? Woody's or Edison? or another gem?
Woody's. I haven't been to Edison, I'll have to check that out.
Last time at Woody's I found a mint VW Quantum sedan, fwd. It only had about 100k miles and looked like it was always garaged. Had a new fuel distributor on it and the old one in the trunk, I figured someone couldn't get it running after it sat a bit and gave up.
I guess I should put a lemonade stand and charge a buck to go down my driveway, emphasis on junk. Gary's U-Pull It is pretty nice, in Binghamton, NY.
Usually I enjoy junkyard crawling. My last trip (friday afternoon) i just didn't have fun. Should have called it a day then...
However: proper junkyarding with an eye of creativity and repurposing has allowed me to build really awesome E36 M3 for chump change.
Did you know that an s10 blazer 4x4 front sway bar is 33mm and almost exact in dimensions to an nb miata front sway bar? What about 4.3 blazer serpentine belt setup will retrofit to a 350 powered gm a body perfectly, complete with a properlyspaced clutch fan?
Or that poeer wagons had 15x9 steel wheels that fit a mopar a-body? Or....
That kind of stuff gets my rocks off.
Super frustrating that we're down to one junkyard in my town. And they are strictly against customers actually walking around or (heaven forbid) actually touching a car!
I should make another pilgrimage to the Miata/Mustang yard.....
I really like the u-pull-it yards and we have 2 locally, but my shed is full, my garage is full and the back yard isn't looking too good, so I've had to take a sabbatical (at least until the weather looks better...,)
In reply to EvanB :
Woody’s is pretty great. They sure have some interesting stuff sometimes huh? I’ve seen an Alfa 164 there and a 1964 thunderbird. I love that they let the stuff sit for longer than most yards; it really helps get the most usable parts off them before they’re crushed. Edison is less unusual stuff but more cars overall. It’s pretty muddy but the guys there are decent enough.
Have you been to Pick n pull? I love their computer tracked inventory it’s nice to get an alert when certain stuff shows up. Their inventory turns very fast. They do charge a dollar to get in and I’ve interrupted a couple pot smoking sessions there that seemed pretty sketchy but it’s a gold source sometimes.
I haven’t been to a junkyard in so so long. The kids have put a damper on that.
In reply to dculberson :
I go to pick n pull often, i have some alerts set up for certain cars. Cantley's is also fun to walk around for the forgotten cars in the weeds, it's a shame they pull the drivetrain out of every car though.
My dad was in town this weekend and we just walked through two pick and pull's looking at cars and parts. It was a great time! Did also find a truck that i'm about to go pick apart.
It has been far too long since I roamed around the junkyard. But my new beater DD Sentra needs a few things, so I think I need to plan a visit to Pick n Pull soon.
SethMazD where/which one did you go to??? off of Rankin???
Always love roaming a good JY but not in this weather, it was 21° today. And berkeley that boot sucking mud. Maybe around May. 
I'm hoping for good weather when the "all you can fit in a hood" sale comes around again. I don't really need anything, but I haven't wandered around in a yard for a long time. And now I have the kids wagon to carry stuff in too.
I’ve been to a few yards that won’t let you walk around. Instead they shuttle you around the yard in this old ass painters van with no back sliding door on it. I sat on an overturned 5 gallon bucket next to the gaping sliding door hole while Scooter drove the van. “A three hunnerd zeee ex huh? That a Japanese car?” He said, looking at me behind the driver’s seat, and not paying attention to the junkyard in front of him. “Yes’m.” I replied. We headed off to a remote corner of the yard, where, I assumed, he was going to rape me.
In reply to ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ :
What yards do you go to in PA? This is something I really should do more of, although like djislver below, it's not like I have room for more stuff in my house... 
In reply to Trackmouse :
LOL. You started my day off with a chuckle. Thank you.
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