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Lunch time at the scrap yard
Fred W B - 24/2/05 at 10:58 AM

I popped into a local scrapyard the other day to look for some bits. You can tell what kind of scrap yard it was by the fact that the guy behind the counter was eating his lunch out of a can,
.....................
using a 13mm open end spanner as a fork!

Cheers

Fred WB


britishtrident - 24/2/05 at 11:00 AM

quote:
Originally posted by Fred W B
I popped into a local scrapyard the other day to look for some bits. You can tell what kind of scrap yard it was by the fact that the guy behind the counter was eating his lunch out of a can,
.....................
using a 13mm open end spanner as a fork!

Cheers

Fred WB


Worryingly such scrapyards are about to disapear in the uk.


David Jenkins - 24/2/05 at 11:11 AM

One of my local scrappies (Gun Hill, just N. of Colchester) is making the effort to meet the regulations - it must be costing him a fortune!
He's getting rid of all the non-profitable wrecks (the old and rusty ones) and laying out concrete trays for the ones he's keeping.
In the future I reckon he'll be stripping cars as soon as they arrive, and only storing the bits he is likely to sell (bumpers, doors, etc.).
It shows how things have changed though - apparently he has no problems shifting the old wrecks to the metal recovery companies, as long as he strips out the bits they don't want.

David


DarrenW - 24/2/05 at 11:11 AM

I think it is a disgrace that these are going to disappear. Not just as they are a good place for old cars to be recycled (better than being dumped) but also as its kind of addictive and stress relieving to wander around these places for an hour being let loose with your imagination. Normally wheni go there i dont really know exactly what i want, only a brief idea - eg fuel pump - but no idea of what model it will come from only where it is going to be put.
Sure these places arent exactly the safest to be - perhaps an age limit would be useful but everyone knows to be careful. I wonder what the injury stats are compared to other forms of hobby??

Rant over - wheres that petition???


David Jenkins - 24/2/05 at 11:29 AM

That's the down-side of the scrappie I mentioned - you can't stroll around. You go to the hut, say what you want and you get taken to the car. Whoever takes you does the dismantling... obviously you end up paying more for this 'service'.
It also makes it very hard for people like us who may want to just stroll around on the off-chance that you'll see 'something that fits'. When I went looking for a header tank I had to have a clear idea of what I wanted, or risk being sent away with a flea in my ear - I would have preferred to have wandered around looking for a suitable tank from any old car.
There are other scrappies around Ipswich, but they're less organised and, to be frank, very dangerous - badly stacked cars, heavy machinery moving up and down the aisles. Also, anything not likely to return a quick profit just gets smashed by the crane's big wrecking ball.


Ben_Copeland - 24/2/05 at 12:28 PM

Its all to do with new health and safety laws.

My local scrapyard now wont let you in without a "guide". They take the bits off for you. No climbing on cars stacked 3 high anymore and waving about in the wind

They are all on metal stands now too, so each car can be safely got to from underneath, or forklifted off.

VERY BORING !!!!!!!!!


DaveFJ - 24/2/05 at 12:30 PM

I know exactly what you mean dave - was up at gun hill the other week to get a Fiat uno brake valve, the girl that was 'helping' me took me to the car and removed the part as you say - then i asked about a 'steel tube' type master cylinder for a sierra and she showed me several which were all cast, I tried to explain but gave up in the end.

I long for the good old days when you could wander round the scrappy and look for the part that might just fit....

Oh yes - and they are bloody expensive these days too! - paid £9 for that valve - could get a new one for not much more....


NS Dev - 24/2/05 at 02:28 PM

quote:
Originally posted by DarrenW
I think it is a disgrace that these are going to disappear. Not just as they are a good place for old cars to be recycled (better than being dumped) but also as its kind of addictive and stress relieving to wander around these places for an hour being let loose with your imagination. Normally wheni go there i dont really know exactly what i want, only a brief idea - eg fuel pump - but no idea of what model it will come from only where it is going to be put.
Sure these places arent exactly the safest to be - perhaps an age limit would be useful but everyone knows to be careful. I wonder what the injury stats are compared to other forms of hobby??

Rant over - wheres that petition???


You've hit the nail on the head here, my thoughts exactly! I used to love the therapy of a good scrappy browse, and it's amazing how many good ideas come to you whilst looking around, and how the hours fly by!!

Best answer is to find a yard that you can get friendly with, to the point where they trust you won't sue them if you get hurt, and then they'll let you poke about and pretend to be staff if anybody asks!


I love speed :-P - 24/2/05 at 02:57 PM

well so far there is nothing like this at two main scrappies i usebut i dont no for how much longer


DarrenW - 24/2/05 at 03:08 PM

My two locals are also free to wander around. The owners are not fussed about government tripe - theyd rather take yer knee caps off for trying to nick a couple of fuses!! for some reason they dont get much bother from 'shoplifters'.

I went there a while back, arrived at 08.40, not open! Said 08.30 on the board but figured they must have had a rough Friday night. They turned up at 08.50 but had to gat the dogs in first, waited for 10 mins then they opened the gates. In i wandered, was about 20 yards passed the gates when one of the lads shouted "where is Tyson"!!!! That woke me up - quick retreat and 5 mins later Tyson was put away. Right nasty piece of work as well. That was a close call. Im always on my guard now in case one of the dogs is playing hide and seek! They are more of a risk than the cars piled high. A couple of years back they had a big fire. i went in a couple of days later and it just looked like a load of old wrecks and tires had mysteriously self-ignited in the middle of the yard. Very strange. Maybe ive just answered the question why H&S are tightening up on them.

Even tho' they are self-disassembly they are not cheap - £7 for a handbrake lever! And to top it all only two Sierra's in the whole place. Bloody locosters have a lot to answer for


Benzine - 24/2/05 at 03:34 PM

I went to my local scrappy a month or so ago and asked if he had any pinto engined sierras in. "You'll be lucky!" he said. So i stroll around and find about 15 sierras and 4 of them are pintos


David Jenkins - 24/2/05 at 03:43 PM

The scrappy I mentioned has a large, muscular Rottweiller bitch that tends to wander around examining customers... no threats, quite friendly, but most people are very wary...

David


mangogrooveworkshop - 24/2/05 at 05:45 PM

quote:
Originally posted by Fred W B
I popped into a local scrapyard the other day to look for some bits. You can tell what kind of scrap yard it was by the fact that the guy behind the counter was eating his lunch out of a can,
.....................
using a 13mm open end spanner as a fork!

Cheers

Fred WB



But Fred you are in Africa and thats normal there! Wasnt eating Horse for lunch by any chance. One guy I worked with ate it cause it was cheaper than goat!


Fred W B - 24/2/05 at 06:01 PM

Actually, the guy was the owner/manager, and lunch was a tin of smoked mussels!

Cheers

Fred WB


drmike54 - 25/2/05 at 04:15 PM

One of the local auto scrappers just installed a new 3000 HP car shredder. The entire car goes into the grinder and gets shredded into bits. The metal and fluff get seperated by giant magnets. the car then sells for about $0.06 per pound if I remember the newspaper article correctly. No chance of getting any parts after that is there.