Folks Of Interest Sneaking around junk yards

I work so there is no free government hand out. I pay for it all to protect everyone. Don't get me started.

 

No, Sally, this guy was up in Virginia. I know that lot you're thinking of, overgrown and behind a privacy fence, that place got cleaned out about ten years ago. From what I heard, everything was eaten up with rust from sitting in pine needles.

 

Heres the thing. A lot of us were or are mischevious rascals. Hot rodding definitely isn't a bunch of boy Scouts. But its a small world and a pretty tight knit community. Being a stand up, hand shake, look you in the eye person will get you far not only in this community but in life. Once people think you're a little shifty, your name is shit. Respect yourself and conduct yourself properly. Its all good but in the future enter by the front door.

 

Well said Adam. I wheel and deal all the time both local and national., I would rather lose a sale by being honest (which I have) then making a buck by lying and losing my reputation.
That has gotten me into some very good yards and parts collections, as well as some some very good deals as well.

 

Back in '68, a couple of buddies and I went out to a junk yard just after we got off work. One of us needed something for his '34 Plymouth and thought he might find it there. We didn't know that the yard was closed, so we went in and looked around, also calling out to see if anyone was still there. About 15 minutes in, a real short, stout guy in a pickup roars up, jumps out and points a chrome, snub-nose .38 in my face, asking us what the hell we were doing. We explained, politely and apologetically, that we needed a certain part. He didn't have it, but took down our friend's name and number and said he'd call if he could find the part for him. Didn't hear from him again - until 33 years later. I was by then employed by the state highway department doing community relations work specifically related to a major interchange about to be built right on the site of that old junk yard. He was there at the public meeting, and I approached him. "I bet you don't remember me," I said, and mentioned that I recognized him and recalled staring down the barrel of that .38. That triggered his memory. We had a good laugh. I told him that the guy needing the part ended up being a highly successful doctor specializing in fertility, now living in North Carolina. Me, I'm still hotrodding.

 

**This may not qualify for this thread - but, everyone needs to know that it is not all fun and games

 

It just took me until I was 16!!!!!! Ever ride a moped 15 miles with a fender hanging off your right arm? That would have been the rear brake handle arm...... Didn't steal, and paid. Dumb= yep

 

When I was 14 or so, we lived in New Smyrna, just a bit south of Daytona. My grandmother was the nurse to the at-that-time main doctor in town. There was a junkyard on the road from I-95 to town near Old Mission Road - Gersons. I talked my parents into dropping me off outside the place so I could look around while they went to the store. The fence was half down and everything was overgrown. I was just exploring, loved old cars, and saw a 37 Ford, A 40 Willys coupe on it's side and an old Indian still in the rack on the back of a late 40's Buick. Well, someone who knew Gerson saw me get dropped off and called the police. They came and picked me up and took me to the station where everyone knew my grandmother. Everything turned out OK as they knew I was just lookin' Years later I got to know Gerson and he'd let me into the yard, but it had been hit by many thieves and the cars were rusted away. It's now a K Mart and parking lot.

 

I also believe in private property rights and no trespassing but I feel bad for you right now. I did way worse when I was 14 years old. I think these guys are just trying to help you. So try not to feel bad. I only wish I had someone to straighten me out when I was young. Keep you chin up and try not to take personal.

 

Thing is, that today, instead of a dog sicced on you, or a gun pulled on you, folks are more likely to shoot first and not even ask questions. We enjoyed a less confrontational time "back then", when a good scare was enough to make the point. Not so much these days.

 

In 1990, I got the dubious honor of building the first phase of Richmond Parkway, from Castro Street to Parr Blvd, in those days a fairly rough neighborhood. Back then there were two major businesses out there, Color Spot grew their flowers and plants there, and a wrecking yard that catered to classic stuff, and owned by a fairly famous old Bay Area rodder (RIP) who liked flatheads and Bonneville and such, and the yard ran right along the road right of way. I'd stop in to see him every couple days doing the PR thing, look at the latest stuff and just BS. He had one of those racks along the fence to put interesting stuff up where it was visible, but also blocked the view down the fence from the office. Coming in at 6:30 AM, I noticed something new at the far end of the rack, a VERY stout ladder built from 4x4s and 2x4s up, over and down the fence. He was already there, so I went in and say hey Ed, you might want to look at something out here, looks like you've been hit. when he saw the ladder, he was double pi$$ed, as he had bought the lumber a few days before to build some shelves, and they had used his own lumber to rip him off. Always figured it was an inside job

 

my local yard just has junkyard cows instead of dogs

 

I will be there saturday.

 

right at this moment my cows are eating hay I just scattered out between the vehicles.

 

I never had to sneak in because I got along with them all for many years. Even at a swap meet or flea market they would greet and talk to me even if I didn't recognize them at first. They all knew me when I was a little tot. They all treated me decently and I treated them with respect too so I never got overcharged.

Problem now is over the years most of them closed down. I was in an area not long ago I don't get to much anymore and went to drive pass seawards to be nosey and found out they are totally gone too.

We have 1 good yard left in my general area Jacks auto ranch but he just died so who knows what will happen to that yard in the near future.

 

Many years ago one of the cars I had (1962 Vauxhall PA Cresta ) was quite a rare sight on the UK roads due to the fact they rotted so bad and many were scrapped within 10 years from new and not many in the junk yards
So when somebody told me of one sitting rotting in a field along with a lot of other old stuff I had to investigate, the field was a few miles from any property and quite a long walk to get to it from the road
I parked and trekked over fields to get to the site, sure enough there were the remains of a 60 PA along with other classic cars / trucks
I had no intention of stealing any parts just looking out of interest , the next thing I heard a shout when I looked up there was this old guy and his 2 sons brandishing shotguns they looked like they were out of the Deliverance bearing in mind we are in the UK not the back woods of Kentucky
They marched me off their property at gun point needless to say on that day I learned a lesson , to put a twist on the tale a few years later when I had my car finished and driving I found out where the old guy lived , then drove my Cresta to his house, parked outside then knocked on his door
When he opened the door and saw my car his face lit up and he proceeded to tell me all about the one he had in the field , he obviously didn't recognise me , I said I was told he might have one , he took me to the field and let me buy a few parts but would not sell the car as a job lot , obviously he wanted to make money on each part
Turned out to be a nice old guy,
I know how it feels now to have trespassers on your property as I am the one now with many things of interest lying around and get the thieves and door knockers
Whats the old saying WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

 

A local farm field filled with old cars (not a real junkyard open for business) near us used to have guard cows. They were actually sale lot rejects that the farmer would buy for cheap and set loose in the field. Really disconcerting to have a very strange looking cow sneak up on you when you are cutting a steering box from under an F-100 pickup.

 

Don’t worry about it. They aren’t getting to me haha. I learned my lesson. And I understand what I did was wrong. I have thick skin. Not much bothers me.


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The place I went to when I was young to buy used parts had an owner that would be more offended by having his place called a "junk" yard rather than a salvage yard. The first time I walked in there and asked if I could walk around his junkyard and maybe find some parts I could use he set me straight right there. "THIS IS NOT A JUNK YARD IT IS A SALVAGE YARD. IF YOU WANT TO BUY JUNK GO SOMEWHERE ELSE."
From that point on I've always referred to them as salvage yards. I bought a lot of good parts from there for the next 30 years or so.

 

Oh good I'm glad.

 

And Thus we began marching down the path to political correctness. My wife calls my collection of valuable classics a Messy Hoard of Junk. She is affectionate that way. One Time I went and adopted Two of those BLM wild Mustangs. When Debbie first seen them She asked me Which one is named Crowbait and Which is Dog Food.

 

I actually did sneak in a yard once.

This great place that was being scrapped out, a car hoarder mostly who had over 10,000 cars on the side of a mountain. Stuff that never should have been scrapped. No one was able to help us buy a car that day, I came with cash and all. But since we were four hours from home we went through anyways. Touched nothing, met no one, and left. A lot of really nice cars were in there.

I was relieved to see a lot of the really good ones had vanished clearly to buyers. Not one but two 1959 Pontiac convertibles which I opened the hood on to find the tri-power intact. Wild. I could have easily bought 100 cars out of there if I'd had the money at the time.

 

I once worked for a guy that owned a car crusher. My job was to flatten the cars. Also we had a compressor off a semi mounted on the 4-71 Detroit that ran the big hyd pump. I also jumped off and quickly with a air impact removed the lug nuts so the tires & wheels would fall off. one tome he bought several hundred vehicles. they where on top of a high hill. a narrow trail led to the topwhere the vehicles where. the hillside had been dug away for fill dirt. No way to safely get the huge articulating loader up to the vehicles. a local guy stated he would get them to the bottom for $200. So he was hired. We showed up with the car masher and they where all down on the flat where the fill had been removed. In a big pile. that guy took a little 2 cyl gas JD track loader and pushed them all off a 60 ft verticalcliff that had been made when the dirt was dug away. It was dangeious trying to pull them out because they shifted and fell. There was a nice 56 crown Vicky body I wanted but the track loader guy ruined it. I could have bought it for $35.

 

As a kid, yes. Once. But it wasn't really sneaking as such. Nobody cares if an 8 year old sits in a crashed car saying "wow it's beautiful" and fantasizes driving it. Also visited once or twice a month during opening hours 'helping' carry parts for the race car so if they found me they'd probably offer me lunch and ask how the car was going.

Now days? No. They'd wonder why i was in there. Besides, they have a fence & dogs now. Don't blame them in todays climate....

 

With all the regulations, lawsuits, and insurance companies running everything now, it's pretty unlikely anybody under 18 is going to be let walk through a yard unless it's a private, not open to the general public yard.

When I was 16, there was a guy who ran a radiator shop had a small yard out back. He'd buy cars until it got full, sell parts off them, then crush them and start over. I had to have a radiator fixed, so while he was doing it for me, I got his permission to roam the yard. After that, anytime I wanted, didn't matter if he was there or not, I could go in and nobody bothered me. I didn't steal anything and he trusted me to let him know if I got anything or if I saw anybody else in there. He was a old country preacher, so I guess he was a pretty good judge of a persons character. I got lots of good stuff from him for pennies on the dollar, a set of dark Torque Thrusts for $20, chrome valve covers for $5, etc. No way you could do that today, too many would take advantage of you. It's a totally different world now. Wish he was still around, but he died 30 years ago and somebody else has the property now, but no more yard.

 

Those things are dangerous
https://dangerousminds.net/comments/how_johnny_cash_was_nearly_killed_by_an_ostrich_in_1981

 

A yard here has horses. If they are around, I don't worry so much about snakes.

 

I can understand a young guy interested in hot rods sneaking into a junk yard to look around, the attraction to all that old stuff is overwhelming to a young man truly afflicted with the "disease".
Still doesn't give you the right to choose Wrong over Right.

I was very fortunate when I was a young man. My father and grandfather both had small junkyards and knew the owners of many of the larger junkyards nearby.
I always looked forward to going to them with my grandfather. Every time we would visit one he would call it "Treasure Island".

 

When we were kids there was a preacher /car sales man caller KILLER Hollingsworth that had a fine junk yard of older flavors and taste. Bought my first set of real nice rear fenders and a set of perfect doors and hinges for a 56 chevy truck from him. No rust anywhere for 25$ a set .This is where I learned that GMC and Chevys were still very different. I was 14( 1981 or so) and I thought some dummy had stuck a Pontiac engine in the truck. Years went buy and you find out that was factory .He told me a few years later that he would have sold me the whole truck for 200$ and it would still run and drive. I would have been smarter to have done so.
On the other note I was brought up different- you just didn't go or do anything without asking the owners permission and NO meant NO /plus people around this part of the world typically handle there own security issues themselves- then call the Coroner- Sheriff understands - he might even help you dig the hole.
There was once a wrecking yard in between Maben and Mathiston MS- He had a sign that said never mind the dog / watch for birds- He had two ostriches and they were bad to the bone. We were there once for some FE ford engines and he forgot they were still in that part of the yard - They put my brother and me in Ford truck cab and would let us out until he came and called em off. I wish someone had a video Looking back that was kinda funny.

 

A local yard has a couple of donkeys that run loose. They love to sneak up on you and bray. It is enough to make you jump!