Dallas Junkyard Runs

In Singapore, whenever a car is deemed not good for the roads or too old, it is exported off to third world countries, and never piled up. So obviously, I won't know what really happens with the rest of the world :p

Thanks for the heads up! :mrgreen:
 
Went back to the yard today to pick up my XJ40 seats and enquire about the Roller's seats:

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Anyone need some AMG wheels?
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Here's the Silver Spur again.
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I was mistaken about what was left of the seats, here's pics.
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They want $350 a seat; the front ones are still in okay shape, the headrests on the rear need recovering.
 
^ $350 a seat doesn't sound that bad. I was talking to the owner of a Bentley Mulsanne who said he paid a few grand just to get the rear seats re-upholstered.
 
Yeah, I'm not interested in paying that just to have replicas of Top Gear's seats, though. :D Especially since I am soon to have some office chairs that started out life in an X308 that are IMHO much more comfortable. :D

For those that are wondering: I put some X308 (XJ8) seats in my XJ6. I decided that I don't like them in the car as they are a bit too large to really fit well in the passenger compartment so I have obtained some XJ40 seats and will be swapping them in. The X308 seats will be converted into office chairs with all power functions and the seatback trays intact (I figure my cat will use the trays as a seating area or something.)
 
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25-30 November 09

25-30 November 09

I took advantage of the long Thanksgiving holiday to go to the yards again.

Spotted these Cash For Clunkers victims:

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Nissan Xterra SE.


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A formerly good W124 300E.

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A formerly good W124 300CE coupe.

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This Cressida was a shame - but the engine was tagged all the same.

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Another Xterra.

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Mountains of worthless C4C cars waiting for some foundry to get room - which won't happen any time soon.


Other sightings:

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Shocking numbers of dead New Beetles, and that just in one yard. Supposedly more in others.

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Good news everyone! There is now one less Suzuki X90 in the world.

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Good riddance.

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No loss here, either.

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So many cars that they're stacking them in aisles, not just one but two wide in some cases. Also, notice all the discarded Isuzu Rodeos.

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Sigh.

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Fuck you, Barack Obama. Fuck you oh so very much.


Behold my candidates for donating their rear axles to my Pathfinder - the red one's a 95, the blue one is a 90. They're both limited slip differentials, disc brake rear axles of the correct ratio. Both were cash for clunkers cars, but this yard is run by Mexican illegals who have no fear of the US Government and therefore are willing to sell parts in possible violation of Federal law (on their part - it's not illegal for me to buy).
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Now, before someone says that I'm benefiting from the C4C program, not so much. There were two others that weren't C4C cars, but these two are on concrete and thus easier to get parts from. All were the same price and similar condition; I would have gotten one even without C4C.
 
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Your junkyards are NICE.

I only know one scrap handling facility that has a concrete pad - and it's the one with the shredder. And they're a one-way operation.

All our junkyards have the cars sitting on the ground, if not sunk into the mud, and they'll only flip a car up if ALL the glass is gone. It's almost useless.
 
Your junkyards are NICE.

I only know one scrap handling facility that has a concrete pad - and it's the one with the shredder. And they're a one-way operation.

All our junkyards have the cars sitting on the ground, if not sunk into the mud, and they'll only flip a car up if ALL the glass is gone. It's almost useless.

We have those here, too. Most of the ones we have here elevate the cars via one or more methods and they're on a concrete pad, or at least a well-gravelled surface for drainage.

Still not pleasant to work on when it rains (which is why I don't have the axle yet), but at least you don't have to lie in mud after the water is gone.

But won't those spontaneously burst into flames?

No, these are some of the few good parts out of an XJ40. :D
 
01 Dec 2009

01 Dec 2009

Went back to the salvage yard and decided to get the axle from the blue '90 model. Now that I've gotten what I wanted, I can say that this one is 'Awesome Auto Salvage' in Grand Prairie, Texas - in the large junkyard sector there.

Since it was raining... and cold (40F)... and I was tired of having to delay delay delay getting the axle, I paid some of the Mexicans to pull it out of the truck for me using their air tools and torches; this yard is self-service with optional full service available.

Looking down the center aisle as you walk in (at this yard there's eight of them, all this long). Note dead New Beetle.
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Don't see too many of these old Corollas around any more. The dead Beetle in foreground is the same from the prior pic.
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Perfectly good offroader killed by Obama's Cash For Clunkers program:
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Pretty sure this was no loss:
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The stands the cars sit on are made by welding two steel wheels together like so. It turns out to be surprisingly stable and durable:
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Another dead Bug:
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A perfectly good but very uncommon Camry wagon, killed by Cash For Clunkers:
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Some of the congestion in the aisles:
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Another great little offroading truck, an Infiniti QX4 (R50 Pathfinder in a party smock, but with additional features), killed by C4C:
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No loss here:
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Looking back at the entrance from about midway down the aisle:
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Oh, no.
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No... no.....
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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
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Is the XJ40 being humped?
 
Is the XJ40 being humped?

You know, it looks like they're breeding something very anti-Spectre right there: the bastard offspring of a Mitsu and an XJ40. I don't know what it'll look like, but I'm sure it'll be constantly on fire.
 
You know, it looks like they're breeding something very anti-Spectre right there: the bastard offspring of a Mitsu and an XJ40. I don't know what it'll look like, but I'm sure it'll be constantly on fire.

We already know what that looks like.

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Beetles crumple zones means unless they are brand new they count as totaled in most accidents. Hitting mine at 40 mph did about 15K of damage, it was at about 6k miles at the time and still worth most of it's original 21K$. Pretty much any pre 05 or so model in an accident is going to be totaled.
 
Wow, your junkyards in Dallas are pretty clean - the cars I see in my local pick-a-part are all rusty as hell and covered in dirt, and half of them have been smashed in or set on fire at some point in their lives.

Also, your junkyards have concrete pavement! :woot:




Edit: a TE21 Corolla? Now you guys are just taking the piss.
 
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Wow, your junkyards in Dallas are pretty clean - the cars I see in my local pick-a-part are all rusty as hell and covered in dirt, and half of them have been smashed in or set on fire at some point in their lives.

Also, your junkyards have concrete pavement! :woot:

Junkyards are big business in Texas. There is such demand for used parts either as direct replacments, upgrades or just plain hotrodding purposes that the yards have huge turnover and make lots of money. In Texas, if you're not making money from a salvage yard you are doing it radically wrong.

Edit: a TE21 Corolla? Now you guys are just taking the piss.

Nope - down here where there is no rust to kill them, they reach terminal mileage naturally. You still see them wandering around from time to time.
 
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