The Junkyard Gold Thread

I've always wanted to own a junkyard...I'm jealous.

Dana 60 front axle, chevy or ford.

dean1484 wrote: Anything Porsche 944 if it is decent shape is worth pulling. If you have any questions just ask and I would be glad to help with info.

Is there anything in particular you need from an early one? They are kinda getting to the end of most of them being scrapped here, and no one really pulls many parts from them anymore. The later ones still get stripped fast though.

In terms of what can be removed easily with minimal work, I'd say any 9" ford rear axle, and any 12-bolt GM rear axle.

Oh, and I think the 10 bolt in the 80's model Cutlass 442 and Monte Carlo SS was the same beefier one that was in the Buick GN, wasn't it? On the rare occasions I see these cars in the junkyard, the rear axle is already gone.

Travis_K wrote:

dean1484 wrote: Anything Porsche 944 if it is decent shape is worth pulling. If you have any questions just ask and I would be glad to help with info.

Is there anything in particular you need from an early one? They are kinda getting to the end of most of them being scrapped here, and no one really pulls many parts from them anymore. The later ones still get stripped fast though.

Manual steering racks are very desired by the hardcore racers.

If the dash is uncracked, that is worth its weight in Gold (all of the 924 and early 944 dashes crack eventually)

Travis_K wrote:

dean1484 wrote: Anything Porsche 944 if it is decent shape is worth pulling. If you have any questions just ask and I would be glad to help with info.

Is there anything in particular you need from an early one? They are kinda getting to the end of most of them being scrapped here, and no one really pulls many parts from them anymore. The later ones still get stripped fast though.

I don't have any real needs at the moment. I could use a wiper motor (has to be off a pre 85.5 944 or a 87 924s)

Probably been punched but the gas tanks if they are rust free are getting hard to come by. If you have a trans from the early cars they have a different gear ratio that is quicker with the ones frm the 87 924s'd being the most desirable

Any 1983 motor is a keeper as it has a completely forged lower end.

Cooling Fan motors (expensive new) wiper motors, starters, alternators, speed and refrence sensors, heads, exhaust manifolds, exhaust system in general, alternators, Power steering pumps are gold if you can get one with out a broken housing whre it bolts to the block. The back taunto cover things are getting hard to come by. Decent seats (I could use a set of black ones) Steering wheels (I could use one if it is really nice) Gages, (all VDO) The speedometer is a good one to keep especially if ahs a working odometer.

Any GM with a quadrasteer rear end, the whole system has iffy parts availability, so used parts are sometimes the only potential repair.

Rad_Capz wrote: Sure, we all have our own list of hard to find (at a price we'd pay) parts. However you are going to have to think like a business person not an enthusiast to be considered successful by your boss at your new position. Having an employee pull a cool old widget off a car that takes an hour to remove with a small profit when that time could be spent removing a more mundane part that would reap a lot more gross profit is not a good use of time. Trying to help enthusiasts a bit occasionally with cool old widgets might bring in new customers but don't forget the goal, profit.

Compare what new parts cost for the most popular makes (Toyota, Honda, the Koreans, etc) and save the useable parts for independant and diy mechanics. Light assemblies seem ridiculously priced for what you get. Personally I've replaced side mirrors on 2 different cars and did a lot of looking around to avoid OEM prices. Try to save the cool stuff but also consider what is coming into the yard.

Hungary Bill wrote:

mrwillie wrote: Junkyards are like automotive museums. I have gone to the local ones during lunch and walked around just to clear my head on more than one occasion.

and I thought I was weird for doing this... and it only costs $2!

Whenever I get sent someplace for work or when I'm visiting relatives for more than a few days, I'll hunt down the local U-Pull-It lot to go poke around in them. Never regret the $2 to get in, and usually find lots of interesting cars to look at and occasionally parts I can use.

As for my thoughts on parts to keep an eye out for- all of the previous RX-7 stuff is good. If you can find intact Flash-To-Pass lenses (clear lenses between the marker lights and pop-up lights) on FCs, those are hard to find without the posts broken off.

Definitely agree on the wheels- most places around here sell them for WAY too much IMO, so if you can pull decent ones and sell them for a good bit more than you'd get for scrapping them, all the better. Especially things like BBS wheels.

If you ever happen to get a DeLorean in- call me!

MKIV Volkswagen : Glove boxes Trunk levers Center Armrests In dash and rear cupholders Radio knobs

Maybe not gold but highly sought after.

I have learned a lot already. I will probably be annoying everyone asking questions over the next few months.
In this area, the bulk of what we will get will be Luminas, Tauruses (Tauri?) and similar front wheel drive domestics. We are buying the bulk of our cars at scrap value currently, but we still get interesting stuff all the time.
I'm working with the owners to help them realize that certain parts are desired and we can sell them quickly at reasonable prices vs. sitting on a huge inventory of common stuff. I can find buyers for 3rd gen Celica hatches, but not doors. Lincoln MKVIII cooling fans are awesome, but a perfect interior would be hard to find a home for. Regardless of what we get, i'm going to have a good time. Heck, I even get to let my lap dogs hang out in my office!

The Miata manual rack is the one that kills me, I sold a complete (somewhat running) Miata with a manual rack several years ago for $750. Fortunately it went to a fellow GRMer, so he appreciated the deal!