Small flask of medicinal whiskey in case of snake bite and I also usually cary a small snake in another pocket.
There used to be a yard in Fayetteville, NC that would have a once-a-month sale. They charged $35/person through the gate, and everything you could push, pull, drag, or carry through the gate for that $35 trip. I remember this one BIG country boy who went through in 3 trips and carried - yes carried - out a complete 472 caddy motor, transmission, and accessories. He'd flipped an old hood upside down and used it as a sled. Something also to think about with the 9v batteries and their not being big enough powerwise. They come in pairs, and if you connect the POS (+) of one to the NEG (-) of the other, and then connect your test leads to the end + and - posts, you'll have an 18v battery circuit. Then again, if you're really die hard, you could always pick up a cheap lawnmower battery from Wally-world and stick it into a lunchbox to carry around. I think the last time I looked at one they were something like $15-20 for one.
Lots of good idea's here. I also carry a handgun loaded with snake loads just in case, a rattler can ruin your whole day. Thank god I live in Pa. where you can be trusted to protect yourself.
the basic hand tools as well as: electric impact 3ton floorjack, plywood and blocks gas powered chopsaw... and a fire extinguisher
I'd bring the whole cordless drill if they'll let you in with it. I've found a lot of times that one of those, with a good sharp/fresh screwdriver bit and even a weak battery, has more torque to get out stubborn screws, without stripping them, than I can manage by hand - it's hard to press like hell on it and turn it at the same time. I usually go with a Radio Flyer wagon (one with rubber tires is better for getting over wet or rough ground), the toolbox out of my truck, and where I can use it I bring a 1200 watt generator and the sawzall and grinder. The 1200 watt is around 50 lbs and not bad to carry or tow around, and will run those tools for several hours. I've completely destroyed cars with those tools - Sometimes you can get a smaller metric on a rounded standard fastener - a 12MM on a 1/2" for instance. And if you should be pulling parts from say a 77-81 GM donor, you need metric for body bolts and standard for engine/trans bolts, anyhow. You-pull-it yards usually won't let you bring power tools of any kind in. If you buy a motor, you get it ready to pull and they'll carry it out for you with a loader. That kid who got the Caddy 472 reminds me of how I sold a 455 Pontiac that was in the car, in February... I snowblowed a trail back to the car, and we set the motor down on a doubled up pair of kid's plastic sleds and slid it like 150 feet to the guy's truck. To this day I keep one of those sleds with a rope on it for winter junkyard trips.
to have while you watch the stupid people pull 9 serpetine belts off of junk cars instead of buying new one. trust me it happens all the time here. for your......um......hands. yes, for your hands your expecting a dumb answer, but have you ever tried to seperate a spindle and control are that have been sitting in the weather for months. Side cutters, welding wire to tie stuff back with. a long pry bar. cheap socket set, bring a breaker bar, duct tape just incase you cut yourself, vise grips, the battery thing also works thast pretty handy. penetrating oil,
In addition to the usual tools, I bring a can of bug spray that can knock down wasps etc, a can of tick repellant for health reasons, and one of those two-wheeled hand-trucks with an electric radiator fan zip tied or duct taped to it. (or you can hold the fan with a couple 2x4's I suppose) I clip the fan power leads to the car battery, or put a battery on the hand truck if you cant bring your vehicle close, and I am able to survive the summer heat while wrenching. Just remember while you are under the car, that dirt often drops a little sideways when the fan is blowing. (a fan behind you is safer for your eyes than a fan in front of you, trust me) Which also reminds me- I also bring a couple squares of plywood to use to keep any jack or jack stands from getting pushed down into the soft ground from the car weight. And... a few jugs of water if you plan to grind or torch any parts loose, to put out any small fires that may start in the grass. and.. a bit of cardboard to lay on if needed. and.... there's always something else you wish you would have brought. Put that on the list too.
one more thing- It is often a good idea to bring a way to mark the cars that you want to return to after you have decided which had the better wheels or whatever.... In a sea of car roofs, how do you find the two "other" cars you wanted to take parts off of? I usually find something unusual to put on the roof to make it easy to spot from across the yard. spare water jug on the roof or two spare tires on top.. If the yard owners don't like you doing that, you can always bring something like those flag-on-a-wire markers you can tape to an antenna or a very tall stick taped to a doorpost, so you can find the right cars again.
The Jalopy Journal
