salvage yards

[WETOWM]

just up un till a year or 2 ago I would visit the 4 salvage yards in my area once a week and always find a few 67-72 trucks in there most where very complete trucks but as time goes on don't see any man I sure miss that but I guess they all dried up

[too much stuff]

It is getting more sparse by the day. That is why i post alot of "finds" threads hoping to get people out there to save some of this stuff. I sure can't save them all by myself, but i do try...
Here are a few pics from 1 yard last year.

[72gmguy]

Originally Posted by too much stuff

It is getting more sparse by the day. That is why i post alot of "finds" threads hoping to get people out there to save some of this stuff. I sure can't save them all by myself, but i do try...
Here are a few pics from 1 yard last year.

Your finding buddy buckets in salvage yards? That’s crazy! I would have thought that in this day and age of car auctions on tv showing what these classics are worth everyone would at least look on the internet to see what things could sell for before scrapping them.

There has not been a good salvage yard near me in forever. They don’t even let you walk the yard anymore. All searches are on a website and mostly newer stuff.

[WETOWM]

I had a friend that worked at one yard and he always call me to look at cars & trucks before they put any thing old out in the yard not to many phone calls lately !!

[truckin 79]

I try and go almost every week but the wife wants me do some of her projects on the weekend as well. I have also noticed less squares in the yard and when I do come across one they are almost completely stripped. Any 70s-80's vehicles are becoming harder to find. The only good news is the junkyard I go to most often just bought out their competitor. So they will be opening up another yrad close to me soon, not soon enough.

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by truckin 79

I try and go almost every week but the wife wants me do some of her projects on the weekend as well. I have also noticed less squares in the yard and when I do come across one they are almost completely stripped. Any 70s-80's vehicles are becoming harder to find. The only good news is the junkyard I go to most often just bought out their competitor. So they will be opening up another yrad close to me soon, not soon enough.

Come a few hours south. There are still a lot of sqaures in the 2 big yards I go to here.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

Come a few hours south. There are still a lot of sqaures in the 2 big yards I go to here.

Giving up your secrets?

One thing I liked about this area I moved to was it is far enough from Baltimore to be rural enough, yet close enough, that we had many junk yards. I also liked that we had saw mills and unpaved roads. Those were my kind of vitals in my home search. It's hilly, too. So almost heaven. I can count five offhand. Now there is one, a big one, and it's owned by LKQ. It's pull your own, but LKQ takes what they want before setting them out. At least they don't damage them up like the old school yards would. That job is now taken by the patrons who butcher their way into the part they need. I hate seeing that!

But so far, on up the road and over the hills a piece is Elwood's. That's where you will find trucks that have sat there for ages. Although, last time up it looked like they were clearing up the trees and brush and organizing like vehicles in rows. This is the truck yard across the road from the shop and main late-model yard.

Then even farther up the road and across the great valley against the foot of the Appalachians there is Winfield's. Last I knew he had over 8,500 vehicles and he doesn't crush anything. When the mobile crusher guys talk to him he tells them, "Go crush everybody elses' stuff. Then I'll be the only one with the old stuff". Quite a visionary for an old hillbilly . Then, right across the road is another junk yard like his. It used to be Hatfield and McCoy feuding up there, over something that happened. If one saw you come over from across the road they'd send you packing . Last I talked to Winfield they had patched it up. Man, now I'm itchin' to run up there. Winter time is junk yard season for me!

[dave6672]

There is only one yard near me, that I know of, that has anything old and winter is the only time to go because the weeds are so high in the summer you can't see some of the vehicles. I went there a few years ago and took pics of the trucks. Here's that thread......

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=785414

[blue 72 gmc 4x4]

Just saved this one from U-Pick it. 71' 5 lug, 3 on the tree, Title and it runs! Smells like cats and there's dog food all over it!

[best view]

A lot of nice parts on that truck good score

[CG]

Im pretty sure I havent been to a wrecking yard since Ive been in to these truck, at least 20 years.

I went to them all of the time back in the 70's and very early 80's when I was in to tri fives.

[FleetsidePaul]

I used to go to Pick A Part all the time. But there's nothing even remotely close to me now. But even when I did the pickings were getting pretty slim. Anything good was usually picked clean. It began to seem like a waste of time. Back in the old days I could score some nice stuff but it just got to be less and less. I did better at swap meets.

I miss the days of finding something cool at a cheap price.

[Notapadawan]

Here in Tulsa we have a quite a few yards around but you cannot find anything old any more

[Steeveedee]

I used to go to Pick-Your-Part a lot. The one in Sun Valley, CA took the '74 and older vehicles and put them in a yard next door, called "Memory Lane". I wrecked my '68 Skylark and managed to find parts for it there. That was in '04. That yard has been gone for awhile, now, and the main yard is owned by LKQ.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

I used to go to Pick-Your-Part a lot. The one in Sun Valley, CA took the '74 and older vehicles and put them in a yard next door, called "Memory Lane". I wrecked my '68 Skylark and managed to find parts for it there. That was in '04. That yard has been gone for awhile, now, and the main yard is owned by LKQ.

I remember Memory Lane. I might have gone there. I can't remember.

[cwcarpenter98]

I like going to Cagle's U-Pull-It in Cartersville, GA when I need something from the 90s or early 2000s, but the oldest trucks they have are a couple of squarebodys that have been picked clean.

I've gotten several good parts from a local yard that has a ton of stuff all older than the 80s. I need to get back up there again soon

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by FleetsidePaul

I remember Memory Lane. I might have gone there. I can't remember.

[Axle]

Your thread title has it right, they are 'salvage yards' anymore, not used car parts resellers. I liked it better when they where commonly reffered to as Junk Yards, these days its all about turn over and getting rid of a vehicle in a short a turn over as possible to get it the scrap metal yard.

That along with the general automotive landscape has changed, people keeping older cars longer, people restoring cars that 30 years ago would have become one of the parts sources we used to love finding in the yards.When I spot an old vehicle these days is stripped out rusty hulk--I did the same with my '83 when I scrapped it. Anybody with an old car now recognizes the parts they have will come in handy, so they are stripped before the hulk even gets to the yard. All you can hope for is that somebody elses reject part is in better condition than the one you have.
And back to salvage yards, they have figured out how to make the most bang for their scrap dollar, can't blame them for that, but I sure do miss Junk Yards.

[jamie72]

Originally Posted by dave6672

There is only one yard near me, that I know of, that has anything old and winter is the only time to go because the weeds are so high in the summer you can't see some of the vehicles. I went there a few years ago and took pics of the trucks. Here's that thread......

https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...d.php?t=785414

know that place well..