and coming back from china as patch panels for rusted out american vehicles so that their "history" can be preserved.
Trucks like that usually sell by auction; here in New York the municipalities sell the stuff via an online auctioneer most of the time, with the state and the Thruway Authority (why they have a seperate entity just for that is beyond me) doing live auctions that you can access the lists on, online. They normally only post pictures for one location, but if they get a vintage piece, like that firetruck, it would have photos posted. I've bought from a few of them and done well. A lot of the small towns will leave a title open for you so you can flip a vehicle. The state ones, the state wants the money so it gets filled out in your name before you even get a look at it. Prices vary, but I've bought a few that ran and drove for close to the scrap price. So that it's at the scrapyard means no one was paying attention when it was auctioned, perhaps the fire department or town even did a sealed bid thing or didn't bother to auction it. If it ticks you off that much, I'd look into it and if they didn't do it right, bust them on it. And the key to buying it is to offer them a price based on what it weighs, and offer to pay the processed (smashed and going off to the smelter) price.
That is such a waste - at least a couple of the self-service yards near me have holding areas with old cars that are given some chance to avoid being crushed; I rescued a totally straight and nearly rust-free '60 Hillman station wagon from the Pick-A-Part in Monrovia, CA a few years ago for my boss to add to his collection (not cheap; $1000 - but at least it didn't get crushed!) That yard has a huge stash of vintage savable or at least good parts cars, '50s and '60s era mostly.
Here is my "scrap it " story. Working as a contractor in the Annapolis, I often have to take demo crap to the county landfill. A couple of years ago I took a load there and was instructed to take the wood to one location and the metal to another...they recycle the metal, wood, plastic, etc. When I pull up the this mammoth sized dumpster to drop my scrap..what do I see sitting there...a circa 60`s front engine dragster, complete !! I ask the guy whats up with the "old car" ? He says they are waiting for the front-end loader to come and lift it into the dumpster..I shit a brick ! I told him that I`d love to have it and would gladly pay cash. Even though I was only driving a F-250 pickup, I said they could just set it on top of the bed and I`d rope it down. He told me that the county`s policy was that "once an item has been dropped off it can not be removed". When I left the landfill I went to the administration building and asked to speak to the person in charge. They led me to the office of the "Chief of Operations"...I told him what I had in mind and offered to give Anne Anrundel County a check for the "Old Car"..He said NO. I left feeling sick...Next, went to the bank and withdrew $3000, then drove back to the Administration Office. I approached Mr. X with the new offer Cash in Hand. He grabs his radio and calls Bob at the landfill..." Is that old car still sitting on the ground" ? " Yes, well it better be inside the container within the hour "...! That night I could not sleep..knowing that this was Total Bullshit. Early the next morning, I threw some metal in my truck and drove back to the landfill. It was early enough that the facility was not fully up to speed and when I pulled up to the metal location no one was there yet. I had to park my truck real close to the monster dumpster...climbed up on the cab roof to peek in... There it was: metallic purple paint ,Hallibrands, Chrysler hemi , GM blower, Enderle injection, Moon tank. The Real Deal Now Gone True Story Very Sad
I should add, too, that if the yard turns over VINs to the state to show them as scrapped it may not be possible to buy it complete. I tried hard to get a '32 Studebaker chassis over the summer and no dice. State's gotten fussy on it. I got the entire body off it, though - and they messed up entering the numbers on it, so they're still clear.
This is a business!! Probably one of the only Thriving businesses left in this country!Like they say "one mans treasure is another mans trash!" JimV
I saw 3 perfectly good fire trucks at a scrapyard going for the crush! Also, they just arrested 3 people here in Chitown towing away cars,stripping em and selling em to the scrapyard! I know, normal crime! But, they even went to a crash site,offered to tow the owners car! Only to never see it again! This scrapping thing needs to be policed I hate to say! These guys are stealing whatever they can find! Theyre swiping BBQ grills,bikes,and lawn furniture out of people's yards!
The only reason all your cars are worth anything is because there is not many left. If every 57 chevy made was still on the road it would be cool but the cars would not be worth much. I guess there is a bright side to everything.
I put a like new baby bed and some other stuff out by the street with a "FREE" sign on them one morning. Went to the store and when I returned 20 min later, ALL the metal pieces were gone leaving me with wood and plastic junk! Lesson learned.
Carmack is right on. The scrap dealer is in business to sell and buy scrap. But not to sell it to people who walk in off the street, but to their customers who buy by the ton. In Tulsa, the scrap yard won't sell anything once it rolls off the scale. No exceptions. I saw two idiots bring in a '69 Mach 1 Mustang one day, all straight, no rust. I said, " why are you scrapping this?", and the guys says, "I lost the title". That was it. Crushed because some idiot didn't have enough motivation to get a new title. You guys need to get over it, that's life.
Check for a freecyclle site in your area. You put unwanted items on a website and somebody claims them. They pick them up directly from you. It cuts down on the tweekers, at least. And you don't have to cope with the leftover wood and plastic junk.
Yep, it's great for passing things that you don't need or in the case of the baby bed something that someone short on bux may need. I usually have people pick stuff up from my truck in the parking lot at work rather than home though. I used to haul scrap to a scrap yard in Waco Tx in the 70's and they sold engines and pieces of metal by the pound. Sometimes I had to add a few dollars to what they had given me for my scrap to buy a few piece of tubing or angle from them for a project. I never tried to buy anything that was out in the yard where you dropped off the loads though.
I know a couple a guys who like to talk of shit they passed on or just scraped,just to get a rise out of the crowd. Plus they like to hear themselfs talk. Sounds like BS to me.
It's a damn shame.. Wisconsin bone yards can't sell whole vehicles if the title's been sent in to the dmv as scrap (last I heard...) If you can't buy it whole, PM me what yard it's in please, there's some stuff I'd like off that old girl before they flatten it. Bob
Yes "really" I don't know about you but i see alot of signs on telephone poles that say "Junk cars wanted"etc.And the local scrape yard around here( stateline scrap) Has a line of trucks waiting for the scales!I'm pretty sure there scraping alot of things of value that are not car related.Shit they scrape Navy vessels that people died for everyday. JimV
Friend of mine saw on a truck heading to the crusher scrap yard with a old (radical ) KUSTOM Studebaker pickup on it. He turned around and chased him down,bought it and rebuilt it,sold it and today it is running around Denver and Colorado Springs showing everyone what a real Kustom is. I am sure you Kustom guys know the truck,it is purple.
Seems nuts people can shrug their shoulders or even enjoy it when they push the button to crush these old cars that mean so much us. Accepting a dime a pound for original, irreplaceable, perfectly good stuff that represents the great automotive era of our American history just seems a bit disrespectful to me. Seems we should be trying to save all of it we possibly can...and that is what I will continue to do. Sure it is a business and the yard owner has the right to crush every bit of it. To most people it would be a royal pain in the ass to take the time to pick out certain cars or parts. It would likely involve insurance issues, gov't regulations, additional labor, finding buyers for the stuff, etc, etc, etc. I can see where most people would not bother with it. But the thing of it is, there is history here that we are loosing each time a usable original piece is destroyed. Some people care about this history and most people don't. Personally, I'm one that cares as are most of the people that frequent this site. I would much rather admire an old car in person than look at a picture of one that no longer exists.
The yards around here are all pretty cool. A few years ago a guy called me up and said to come down and have a look at a truck before it went to the crusher. It was a Federal Airforce recovery wrecker, 27,000 pounds with a 845 cid 6 pin. I bought it for what he was selling the steel for,he gave me a equipment in transit tag and I drove it home, no brakes, lights and 2 flat tires , and I live in central New Jersey! I later sold the truck at a small loss to a restorer in Ohio where it is now in a museaum. Had pix somewhere....
There is one yard here in ct that will put vintage tin out in the front yard in an attempt to find it a new home. They're Also pretty good on selling anything someone might want. The rest of the yards here won't even blink once it's on the scale. We have chased down trucks and trailers on the way to the scrapper. It's usually a failed attempt
Last Saturday I was driving past a local scrap metal yard when I saw the front end of a 77-78 trans am sitting in a line of cars. I thought surely that car hasn't been sent to the crusher. I whipped it in and asked one of the yard workers if I could look at the trans am. When I got closer I couldn't believe my eyes. It was a 78 trans am with the original paint which was faded with the bird on the hood. The car had no rust and was loaded out and has the 8 inch alum wheels (ws6). The engine was missing but it has the auto trans still in the car. I went to talk to the owner of the scrap yard to find out how the car got there. He said the original owner gave the car to his son and the son ruined the engine. The son pulled the engine and never did anything with it. Ten yrs later the mother wanted it gone so the son took it to the scrap yard. We agreed on a price of $900. As I was leaving with the car a guy came running out of the office with the original uncut shaker scoop in his hand saying don't forget this. I didn't need another project but there's no way I could let a rust free 78 trans am get crushed. The owner said few more days and the car would have been crushed. So now it's sitting in my basement waiting to be restored.
^ Nice save! I want to second the idea of joining freecycle also. A very nice couple gave me a 348 chevy engine once that fit very nicely in my old 55 Chevy. I had missed the MG roadster they gave away a few weeks before.
About 6 months ago I found a convertible 65 Chevelle, missing eng & trans but rust free. Damn thing still had the hub caps on. Dude was a complete ass when I showed interest. His only comment was "Once they come in, they never go out" Was crushed several days later.
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