I thought I'd post this as a heads up. The cash for clunker program has started in PA. When someone trades a " clunker " in the dealer is required to destroy the engine. To do this they drain the oil and refill the pan with a water based mixture they call liquid glass. The engine is then restarted and run until it siezes. Usually takes a couple minutes until it's scrap. The vehicles are sold to certain salvage yards who have 6 months to resell what they can then rest must be crushed. They can not under any circumstances be retitled or rebuilt. The yard where I moonlight just the okay and this morning hauled the first dozen of over 200 vehicles to be picked up. It's a blessing to the yards but very bad news for those of us who like to drive older stuff. In the first dozen there is a nice mid 90's Bronco, 2 Jeep Wranglers and a Jeep CJ that are far too nice to crush.

Things are getting scarey.

 

Clay, I definately understand your frustration. The local news channel was reporting this yesterday and the mechanic was saying that the vehicle must totally be destroyed without removing any parts. Regardless of which way its going to be, its going to drive the prices of the used parts market up and screw us, the ones trying to keep our rides on the road with a budget. We will be forced to buy from over priced dealers, parts stores, or wind up scraping what we got.

 

Scott, the salvage yards are allowed to sell parts but they can only keep the vehicle 6 months. I suspect the yards that have storage will be pulling a lot of usable parts before the time comes to crush. What will hurt some yards is they rely on outside contractors for crushing service. This means the vehicles will have less time in the yard due to contractor schedules.

 

so, the program runs out of money in 4 days so the government decides to allocate $2 billion more. i wonder how many people who depend on the used car market are going to lose money over this

 

This whole program is suspicious, at first glance it's a great deal. Then you think about it. A sneaky way to give bailout money to the auto manufacturers, except, many foriegn car company's will benefit. And, whose money is it? Taxpayers. I remember something awhile back when the tree huggers made a noise about getting older vehicles off the road, including collectables. Looks like some one is getting an agenda through with a bit of subterfuge.

If I ran a yard Clay, I'd strip everything I could including engine parts. Heads, blocks, whatever I thought I could slip by with until they stopped me. Can the blocks be re-bored after the liquid glass is in it?

 

i did some reading up on this program its not bad if you can trade in on a new car, and get the money

but in it has may good and bad things ..the local news showed the cars in are area down at the ford dealer most of them look like they got them from the junk yard. but yet some of them are still really nice

but think of it like this if all theis vehicle are going to salvage yards it might make for a great time to get some good used parts cheaper and even if they can sell all the parts srcap steal isn't paying to bad for most yards

but anyways it come down to us tax payers, to bend over and take it with a smile Because we pick theis guys to run the country and get rich off tax payes money

 

Some of the stuff that's coming in are vehicles that are pretty much worn out anyway. Other stuff proves that some people have more money than brains. There is a 98 Eddie Bauer Explorer that needed nothing. Very nice inside and out. No rust, every toy Ford could install and a bunch of aftermarket goodies. Also a couple of mid 90's Chebby pickups that should be in somebody's driveway. I know they are brand X but I've driven enough junk to think it's sad.

The boneyards should do okay though. One of those brand X trucks came off of the tiltbed at 6:30 this morning and the bed was sold before noon. The 92 F150 that was on the wheel lift behind it lost it's tail gate and rad before closing time.

They haven't even been moved out of the holding area yet.

Joe, I don't know about the engines. All the external stuff and the heads should be salvagable. A fellow Ford nut who works in the yard has the same idea I do. Wait for the first CFC vehicle to get the big pink X painted on it and grab the engine to tear down. The pink X tells the loader operaters to move it to the crush pile when they get time.

 

Sounds like a plan to me Clay. I think I'll get me a can of pink spray paint and visit the yard.

It's a great time for parts hunters, my cash is so low right now, I'm like a dog running in circles biting himself.

I need complete brackets and A/C compressor for my 83 150. We put a 400 in it and figure the stuff from a 351M will do, I also need a new pass through rear window for it, a radio bezel and all kinds of little odds and ends, but first the brackets so I can get it on the road. If you come across any let me know and how much.

I also need a bunch of stuff for the Bronco, Ed (quaddriver) said he has the headlamp switch I need so I'll grab that off him in Carlisle. Last year he had a door I needed for a friend of my sons truck, the kid was supposed to give me the drivers side vent window assembly but never came through. So, I need that also. What I really need is some extra cash, some tools and a yard to spend the weekend at

 

Joe I'll watch for the a/c brackets. The 400 stuff is a bolt on. Along with the pick and pull the owners have 2 scrap metal yards that also buy vehicles. If a buggy comes into one of them and it's deemed worth keeping for parts it's sent to the pick and pull.

I suspect you'd have fun there. Although the inventory changes almost daily there are about 3000 vehicles on the ground at any given time.

BTW, in case you aren't aware of it the F series rear windows interchange 73 - 96.

 

CFC vehicles on the ground and awaiting processing before being moved into the yard.



They'll eventually end up here.



Although the front of a crusher is visible in the right side of the 2nd pic the vehicles are stored here until moved to the home base yard a couple miles away. This is due to the proximity of a creek behind the pile. The crusher in the pic is a spare.