When things go wrong at the scrap yard

Waiting till winter comes to pull the bumpers off a '41 Dodge at the local yard. Was sitting on the front bumper pulling the grilles when my girl casually pointed out the ground wasp nest my wallet chain was tickling. Had just mentioned about ten minutes before how I'd hate to step on one, especially out in this yard, which has no real organization to it, and it's even worse in the corner this particular car sits in. The place is also loaded with cows and their shit, but that's minor. If the bull sees ya, then ya have to find and climb up on a van till he gets bored.

 

When we were kids we would "visit" the junk shop down the road from our house. The place was amazing. Cars, buses, trailers, furniture, if you can think of it they had it. The owner knew we didn't buy anything but just played in the piles so he wouldn't let us in thru the front door. We thought we were smarter than him and would climb the fence. On our last trip we were playing in an old school bus and the owner seen us. He's screaming about what he's gonna do when he catches us and walking down the only isle way out. We ditched out the back of the bus and headed deeper into the yard. We knew there wasn't a fence on the backside and thought it would be an easy get away. Man, we were wrong. The place didn't have a back fence because they didn't need it. We spent the next 4 hours fighting briar patches, thorns, muck, and bugs trying to get to the next country road. I never did figure out how owner had a Lousiana swamp shipped up north to Indiana!

 

one of my first visits to a yard i open a car door lookin for interior parts and ooops its where they keep the yard shepard/ dobie bitch dog during the day .. as a yard worker yells for me to shut the door the dog lunges at me .. i grab it by its lower snappin jaw and turn the dog over and kneel on its neck all in one motion.. then let it go the dog sniffs me and then wants me pet it .........the yard owner thought for sure i was gonna be a snack .. the dog always remembered me from then on .. guess i showed her by freak accident that i was her friend..i know that dog bit quite a few others

seems that most of the valuable /rare parts(multi carb manifolds dualsnorkal air clnrs., bucket seats,mag wheels) i have found in yards were always no where near the car they should have been from .. you scammers trying to get stuff fom other off brands or piled up for a later visits or as you drive thru for a bigger piece then toss it in should be ashamed

i guess that lookin in odd fourdoors and imports now is routine when "lookin thru a new yard"

 

The Griffin Motors I worked at from 83 till 95 was set up so that if someone snuck in to find parts for their popular cars they wouldnt find them..Old Harry would have me stick 56 Ford or the like parts in the trunks of 49 Dodges or 52 Austins or old Dodge panel trucks, he was pretty smart he just picked the cars that didnt have alot of foot travel around them and stash stuff, this knowledge came in handy looking in other yards I have gone to since.

 

I was challenged by my 5'6" 120lb g.i. joe friend, to do a running long jump over a giant puddle. I'm normal sized 5'11" 220, I kinda completed the jump. The worst part was that the ground covering was nothing but slivers. the yard, prior to being junk yard, was a mill. So this was me, wet, itchy and bruised ego.

 

had my run in with mud wasp a few times the last time i didnt give up on wasting the trip for the rear bumper i wanted so i found a torque converter full of atm fluid and dumped that all over them.... that a teach em!!!! luckly to say i got my bumper and didnt get stung

 

No wasps, snakes or spiders, but during one junkyard outing, I happened across this '50's Ford wagon- it's hard to see from this photo, but it (the rear one) is full to halfway up the windows with concrete.



Not "poured" concrete, it looks more like somebody had once used the car to try and store cement powder for some reason, which eventually set up.

Doc.

 

In the early 60s I used to visit a junk yard just north of Poughkeepsie, NY, called Volce Bros Salvage as I remember. All sorts of neat stuff in there at the time, Graham Pages, you name it. Well I was in there getting something and nearby was a big old farm truck with large hay bale racks on the body, covered with vines. All of a sudden those racks started moving, rattling, shaking and down comes the biggest damn snake I ever saw. Now I don't mind snakes if I spot them ahead of time and can control the encounter. Surprise me with a reptile and I am a basket case. I hightailed it out of the yard, to the laughing Ed Volce trying to tell me it was only a big bull snake that ate rats in the yard. Didn't matter to me, I avoided the overgrown areas of that yard from then on.

 

It was 1976 and me and a buddy are picking parts at a local yard in Deer Park, of course back in the day we're never seen without a beer in our hands.

My buddy has to take a leak, and he's a big guy, 6'6" and a solid 260 lbs. He goes behind a row of cars and is in the process of watering the landscape. All of a sudden, this big German Shepherd comes out from under the car he's peeing next to.

I never saw him move so fast before or since, piss flying all over, he didn't even have time to stop and zip up. Luckily the dog was on a chain and had no appetite for cocktail franks.

Bob

 

pissed off ex wife? was Al Capone in there?

 

Looks like a brown recluse from where I'm sittin'......

 

Add another critter story to the pile...

Most of the 'yards around here that are left are pretty much u-pull-it yards,where everything is placed on stands in gravel lots,so there's no real encounters with any animals. Last year I was at one of them looking for something for my O/T daily driver. I see a car that looks like it fits the bill and pop the hood. Right on top of the engine is the biggest rat I've ever seen,I jumped back and the hood shut on the car,and I saw the thing scamper off down the row of cars. I guess I just wasn't expecting that...

 

I was wandering around a yard and hear "help, please help me"

Find the guy trapped under a car with the rocker panel sitting on his chest. He was using wheels and tires for jackstands. Failed to realize when he pulled the driveshaft, (without the emergency brake on) the car was gonna roll down the incline it was on and come off the "jackstands". I lifted on the bumper for all I was worth and he got out.

Dude had an imprint of the tailshaft housing on his forehead. I stayed with him to make sure he was OK. He wanted to sit there and have a smoke while he pondered life. Within 10 minutes he looked like a freakin' unicorn. After a couple more cigs, he jacked the car back up and went back under to finish pulling the trans.

real gearhead........

 

I don't have anything close to some of your stories, but one time I was helping a buddy clean up his land and I found this old hubcap laying in the ditch. I walked over and picked it up only to find a big ass black widow attached to it, I threw it down and stumbled back. I don't like any spiders...I'll empty a can of brake cleaner on those bastards if I see any in the shop.

 

Not an animal story, but a "duh" for sure. I cut a roof skin out that had a sunroof that I wanted and had a guy helping me. We had it off and were trimming some of it with a nibbler on an air hose, and the hose caught the side of the metal and split in two.

We fixed the air line and proceeded, and not a minute later the panel slipped and sliced through my hand for about four stitches worth between my thumb and pointer finger. Guy helping me says, "We probably should have thought about getting some gloves when it sliced through the hose."

 

i was dropping the tank on my wifes o/t car to replace the fuel pump well something came up and i had to leave so i dont get back to working on the car for a few days when i do i am jacking the tank up and it wont go so i lower it a little and try again now the other side wont go up so i drop the tank all the way down and there is a big a$$ possum staring at me growling i jumped up and ran and jumped into the bed of my truck just then my neighbor comes walking over i tell him about it he says ill get it out i told him just leave it hopefully it would leave on his own so he grabs a stick starts pocking at the thing for a few minutes just as he turns to walk away that damn possum comes after him now we both are in the bed of my truck the wife hears all the yelling and comes out the possum looked at her and took off i think i should keep her with me all the time to scare all of the unwanted critters off

 

Had that happen to me when I opened the hood of my Mustang. A small fuzzy rocket came flying out at me. Im 6'1" and 300 lbs. I jumped back tripped over my own feet and screamed like a little girl... It was a small jack rabbit.

 

Some times the danger doesnt have to be anything large and attacking.The owner of Griffin Motors had gotten a call from a man outside of Brantford Ontario and he wanted us to come give him a price on a few cars he had on his property and Harry was always intersted in pre 69 vehicles. When we got there we had to walk through long grass and weeds to look at the rides, there was a 59 Lincoln convert, 63 Buick Riv , a Cris Craft boat that had 2 seized flatheads in it{ it was rumoured to be an old bootleggers boat} and a few 54, 55 Fords, we talked money and left to go back to our yard and have lunch, when I was in the main garage he yelled for me to come into his house , he had his shirt off and there were 10 little tiny black spots on his back and I said " what you called me in to look at your pimps?} turns out they were Tics and they were trying to dig in to his skin I had to take him to the hospital to get them removed. When the guy called back to ask if we wanted the cars, Harry told him ya..But we were not coming for them till he cut all the grass!!!!! He never called us back..Guess he thought it would cost more than the cars were worth...lol..I know Harry wasnt happy with the doc's bill after...

 

Towed an old 49 Shoebox home and was cleaning it up with the Jenny Steam cleaner. Opened the trunk and boom, hornets everywhere. I backed up about a foot and began to hit them with the hot steam. I was waving that nozzle around everywhere.
Killed them all, not one sting. To this day, I am amazed they didn't get me....

 

Ticks? he went tot he doctor for ticks? Man you just pull them off with tweezers or needle nose pliers and kill them. Chiggeres burrow in and itch for a week or so. But a tick that,s nothing! OldWolf

 

Don't think I'd ever go to another junkyard as long as I live.


Worst thing we've got in Michigan is bees. Damned hornets built a nest in one of my ventiports since Monday. Nice thing was that it was easy to see and load up nicely with spray. Hehehehe

 

I have a few funny stories about locking myself inside derelict junkers to get away from the junkyard dog---jump inside in terror--slam the door--then realize that windows are all up and no interior door or window handles. Then either set in there like a fool and scream for somebody to let you out, or else kick out the windshield and have to pay for it. BUT---I did see a real horror show one time. I was in a wrecking yard up in Belleville where I was living at the time. I can't remember what I was looking for, but in come 3 good old boys carrying a 12 volt battery and a jerry can of gasoline. they were going to buy a 409, but wanted to fire it up first and "listen to it run". They hooked up some temporary wiring, poured a little gas in the carb, and ran some booster cables to the battery. It cranked over a few times, tried to start, coughed, belched, and died---wouldn't stay running. So---Good old boy #1 finds an empty soda bottle and fills it with gasoline, while leaning over fender----Good old boy #2 leans over other fender, watching----Third good old boy does his thing with the battery cables ---Engine is turning over--Good old boy #1 is pouring gasoline from the soda pottle down the carb. Suddenly WHUMP!!! Massive backfire though the carb--Good old boy #1 screams and swings soda bottle in an arc--flinging burning gasoline into face of good old boy#2. You guessed it---Human torch!!! Flaming guy is screaming, rolling around in the dirt---car is on fire---Two buddies are trying to put human torch out!!! Meanwhile I'm trying to put as much space as possible between me and three fools. Fire trucks---Ambulance---Total shitstorm!!! I heard later that the guy lost both eyes. Very nasty stuff.

 

Now here is a subject that brings back memories. About 25 years ago I use to frequent a place called Philbates Auto Wrecking in lexana, Virginia. At that time they had two yards, one covering cars going back to the 1920s while the second were more modern cars. Modern if you consider 1947 cadillac, 1955 Packard, 1960 Lincoln, etc... modern. It was fascinating to walk through but hilly and somewhat dangerous. Many of the cars have sat many decades and are full of who knows what hibernating inside. I "think" they are still around but got rid of many of the older cars? Does anyone know...

Today you will be hard pressed to find a salvage yard that has anything older than 5-years. I even recall in Yorktown (or Tabb), VA a Studebaker salvage yard!

Eric

To add... and thinking of things going wrong... I purchased a 1967 Grand Prix from a friend complete with a Black Widow Spider nest containing probably 100 spiders!

 

Some years ago, a couple of buddies and I went to the local junkyard, which was out in the country. The owner had an old Chevy II at the top of the hill and wanted somebody to drift it down to the bottom, but it had no brakes. He opened the hood, took the top off of the master cylinder and saw that there was no brake fluid visible. "Anybody need to take a leak, boys?" he asked. We didn't know what he was talking about. Getting no response, he unzipped, pulled out his unit (which was almost big enough to lay across the fender) and proceeded to pee in the master cylinder until it was full. Then he got one of my friends to get in the car and pump the brakes until he got some pedal. He popped the lid back on the master cylinder, and my buddy drifted the car down to the bottom of the hill - he later said he had pretty good brakes. I often wondered if anybody ever bought any wheel cylinders or the master cylinder off that Chevy - maybe they thought the stuff in the brake system was silicone brake fluid!

 

Not really when things go wrong story, but maybe a what if. I frequent a yard about 60 miles outside of Phoenix in a very rural area pretty often, and over the years have struck up a pretty good friendship with the owner. This gent is about 6'6" and is built like a freakin' bear! Always armed pretty heavily too. Kinda like shaking hands with a boxing glove with a grip... So this guy always shares the latest stories about scaring the local crackheads and such that wander through to pilfer stuff or cause damage,( State and I.R.S. agents too, about the same!) so I know he is, shall we say protective of his stuff, and very capable of defending his stuff and possibly more. So a friend and I head out one day to cut the top off an early sixties Cadillac, and as we leave the office he says to us - "You know my insurance policy if you hurt yourself out there right?" No, I sure don't. "If you hurt yourself bad enough to need to go to the hospital, I just shoot ya and dump your remains out in a secret place in the desert." Never worked so carefully in my life!

 

Well problem was when he called the Doc to ask how to remove them , he got scared by the Doc saying if he didnt get all of the tick body out it would result in a infection which would require more digging in his back and being 71 and lived alone he was worried that he wouldnt get them all out in one piece. My ex pulled them off of me and I didnt get a infection, he didnt want to take the chance I guess...

 

yea you can't take chances with the old folks, things that won't bother young people can get pretty serious for them. It's also possible if he didn't get them all out, he could get Lyme disease, which in someone that age is pretty serious, it takes 24 hours to transmit the Lyme, good call on going to the hospital. tick bites are pretty serious for anyone today with that shit going around. you have gone back for the cars with some good bug repellent

 

I was pulling an instrument cluster out of a '55 Chevy pickup at the local yard about 20 years ago. Got the cluster loosened and pulled out from the dash to cut the wires and remove the speedo cable, when I pissed off the wasp nest under the dash. It was about three inches from the rear of the cluster! I had my hand back there with my cutters when they swarmed. I had a can of wasp spray. Yeah, did me a bunch of good, the damn wasps just huffed it and kept coming! Now, I puff up like crazy if I get stung by a wasp, hornet, or bee, so I'm hauling ass up the path back to the yard office! I got one sting on my right wrist, which tripled in diameter because of it.

Yeah, bees, wasps, and hornets ARE a big deal with me, because if I get stung enough at once, I'll achieve room temperature pretty damn fast!

 

Workin in a local auto salvage yard pullin the driver's door off some junker. Laying across the front seat, put foot under dash, kicked something. Had an odd feeling, looked down, my lower right leg is black with a swarm of black widows. Musta had a nest or somethin in there. Dunno how I got my pants off over my boots but I walked back up to the office in my boxer shorts with my pants inside out and mushy. I walked in white as a sheet, the others laughin at me till I shook my pants and widow carcasses and a live one fell out. They stopped laughin, gave me the rest of the day off.

I have arachnaphobia now.