Junk Yard Trips

[RumPunch]

Does anyone else LOVE junk yards? I know I do. Luckily I travel a lot for work and occasionally can schedule in a few free hours, as soon as I know of a trip I always search for junkyards to stop at. Generally there is some cool stuff. Don't always get parts but enjoy walking them. Hope others agree and post some visits. I'll update as I go!

First post, along 58 in Suffolk VA there is a while strong. I only got a chance to walk one. Here's what caught my eye.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

I absolutly love junkyards.

Theres a guy about 10 min from me that has a MASSIVE collection in his woods....unfourtantly its not an official yard and the guys a grumpy old prick...but i would give a left nut and right arm to go browseing through there. He has had it since the mid 70's.

 

[RumPunch]

Forgot this greatly graphiced bullnose I would love to have the body off of.

 

[Jim Oaks]

I love junk yards and the interesting things you see and find. The cars I wish I could adopt and take home and restore. Finding parts to upgrade and customize my projects.

 

[RumPunch]

A lottery winning dream is a crew cab roll back and all my friends and a roll of cash buying junk trucks and putting them in a warehouse....

 

[racsan]

There was a program several years ago called “junkyard wars”. 2 teams are gave their own stocked yards and a timed project to build.
I always wanted to do something similar, “build” a car/truck from what I could find. I see photos of some of your guys ‘yards and I wish my local yard was that nice, clean & organized. At least mine has vehicles in manufacturers sections (ford section, gm section, ect) but its weedy, muddy when its wet and there’s always the worry of snakes or wasps. (nothing like popping a hood to find a snake looking back at you) Wd-40 does work on getting flying wasps to land. I hate when I find what appears to be a driveable rig just thrown away. I could spend all day easy scavenging. Wheels are hard to come by though, I think they take those off right away & cash in the alloy ones.

 

[RumPunch]

I'm with you on "yard quality" although the tall grass muddy yards tend to hide the best trucks. Just my opinion. Your fancy 57 rock yard keeps stuff for a month or two and moves on. Good stuff is seldom and often a jungle of PT Cruisers and burnt out Caddy's. I'll hunt through the grass and mud for factory 70's-90's graphics and straight trucks!

 

[racsan]

I noticed the last time I was out there that there wasnt much older stuff past 1994, back 20 years ago there was another private yard (now closed) that had a lot of mid-70’s & up stuff, even hard to find amc’s.

 

[RumPunch]

There was a program several years ago called “junkyard wars”. 2 teams are gave their own stocked yards and a timed project to build.
I always wanted to do something similar, “build” a car/truck from what I could find. I see photos of some of your guys ‘yards and I wish my local yard was that nice, clean & organized. At least mine has vehicles in manufacturers sections (ford section, gm section, ect) but its weedy, muddy when its wet and there’s always the worry of snakes or wasps. (nothing like popping a hood to find a snake looking back at you) Wd-40 does work on getting flying wasps to land. I hate when I find what appears to be a driveable rig just thrown away. I could spend all day easy scavenging. Wheels are hard to come by though, I think they take those off right away & cash in the alloy ones.

That show was awesome although I think or at least the one I was thinking about hasn’t been on for at least 10 years maybe 15 lol

 

[ekrampitzjr]

RumPunch, where on 58 is that yard in Suffolk? There were some at the Chesapeake–Suffolk line on US 13–58–460 (West Military Highway), but LKQ bought them all and closed them to the public. One of those yards had specialized in Ford parts, and it got me out of a few jams with past Fords I owned. Not any more.

The salvage yard at Johnson's Mustang & Truck Parts in Chesapeake has a few Rangers, but most of them are 1990s models in really bad shape or rusty. Barely worth looking at.

 

[RumPunch]

This one is in front of Bryant Motorsports I’ll google earth it when I get in the office on Monday and hit a pin point. If you get directions to Bryant when you turn off of 13-58-460 cross the tracks it’s the first entrance on the left, full of 50’s and up stuff. What are you looking for I may can tell you if they had it. Made a 20 minute scout around it(all the time I had)

 

[Eddo Rogue]

I live near the junk yard mecca (Sun Valley,CA), there's a big industrial area, lots of various junk yards. Besides pick a part, there's import/domestic and even manufacturer specific ones. I actually sorta know the guy who owns the "toyota world" scrap yard. He does well.

I would love to either start a tow truck company and/or junk yard. Seems like it would be fun and profitable.

One thing that baffles me about junkyards is how they bust up the car moving it around. They stick the forks right through the glass or grab it from bottom and tweaks driveshafts.
You would think glass and driveshafts would be commonly wanted parts and good bread and butter. These idiots bust up the good stuff to stack stuff only randomly useful.

 

[RumPunch]

I could only imagine the patina and quality stuff out there! Definitely need to share your next visit!

 

[superj]

I love junkyards. My dad used to take me and my brother to look for stuff and would show us cool old cars. I took my kids for years and they still go. My oldest son and i go just to see if anything odd has been dropped lately.

 

[97RangerXLT]

Yep, i love junkyard therapy. We have 2 in the indianapolis area. Need to go again soon while its still nice

AJ