Just wondering.

Where I live there are a lot of junkyards by Northeast standards, but my buddy who lives in UT says the yards by him are infinitely superior for people who have old vehicles.

By me, it's more like "salvage yards", where cars are actively disassembled then crushed 2 weeks later. So, they can't afford to have old cars- ironically, used parts are easier to get for a 2005 Benz than a 1987 Ford. Sometimes cheaper, too. In UT, it's more like "boneyards", where old cars just sit in perpetuity, waiting for folks to buy parts. And they have mostly older vehicles. Out of 10 or so yards within an hour of me, there is a combined total of 5 older Ford trucks. And the owners know they can charge near-new prices for the parts from them.

Here are some examples of stuff I picked up recently:

98 AWD Explorer T-case $250
4.9 EFI SD engine assembly $300
87 F-series auto non-cruise non-tilt steer column $75
4.9 radiator $40
08 Chrysler 300 power mirror $107
60A Ford alternator $40
89 F-series radio w/ broken ***** $20
03 van back door latch w/ cables $40
95 Ford tailgate cable (one side) $15
9006 lightbulb $10

(I know some of this stuff is cheaper new, but my boss insisted on JY parts, lol)

How much does stuff go for where the rest of you live? Do your junkyards have more than 1 old Ford truck each in them?

 

Junk yards here in Michigan suck! Nobody has a job good enough to buy anything new and there for suck up every semi running pos and spare part in the state. Used cars are way over priced almost making new cars look reasonable.

 

Most of the yards around here have adopted a policy of crushing everything that is 10-years old or older...

It is very tough to find parts for older vehicles around here anymore - there is 1 yard I know of that still has the older stuff, but I wonder for how long...

 

Cross's, Charlie's and Marler in IF are pretty decent on 80s stuff. I just went through Cross's a couple weeks back and they had tons of older Fords and Subarus, but that's all I really keep my eye out for. I managed to find a bunch of oddball factory parts to use on my diesel conversion, and got out of there for about $20.

 

new car parts sell, old car parts take up space.
Aberdeen auto on Texas road in Aberdeen still has a lot of 80's stuff way out in the back of the yard.
i don't know how lot they will be there though, as John is now semi-retired , and his son has taken over day to day operation of the yard.

 

How are they on 70's stuff, though?... I don't get to IF that much anymore but, the last time I did, I got disgusted by how someone had taken over all the major yards on that row and crushed everything. I think the Clevo heads I put on my '77 came from either Cross's or Charlie's - I can't remember exactly - but that sounds familiar...

Bailey's in Pocatello has been pretty good for keeping the older stuff around - they seem to understand that there is a lot of older vehicles on the road and they want to keep their customers happy - the counter people aren't always the greatest to deal with, but it's a big yard and, the last time I was there, they had plenty of stuff to pick through...

 

Instead of crushing the real old stuff that nobody wants to see happen, I bet the junkyards could sell tix to see the crusher eat a Priius. It could be like the old drive-ins. They could sell popcorn and sodas while you sit in your lawn chair and watch the show.

 

Put me down for a ticket to THAT show!

 

Charlie's has 60s and 70s stuff, but it's a small yard and he's quite old now so that stuff probably won't be there for long.
Cross's seems to be after mostly 80s cars and trucks, but they do have a few 70s pieces. I haven't seen any 60s stuff in there.

 

I know of a few select yards here in the co/ne/wyo tri state area that still have older vehicles, including one that I can walk onto and get parts for my falcon! however, it is usually only yards that are out in the country that still have the older stuff.

 

TJC, funny you mentioned that. I used to work at Aberdeen Auto. Even with the employee discount, I was not able to find much in the way of older Ford trucks, although John had a lot of old GM and pentagram cars. My Facebook profile pic is of the 51 Ford F-2 he had in the front for so long. When they did come in, I would always take as much as possible from them, but it wasn't very often it happened.

Yes, I am acutely aware of the fact that John is semi-retired. He made it no secret, I love that old ******* entertaining women in his office all day. The guy really took care of me while I was there. "Good people".

It's David, the skinny Jewish guy with glasses, that ran the place when I left. He changed it quite a bit from John's setup during the short time I worked there.

Baron's, the place across form John, is where I get most of my older parts nowadays. He just made me a great deal on a lot of parts for my DD 91 F-150. I can hit up there for my stuff then hit H&H down the street for all my customers' parts for newer stuff. Larry is always willing to make a deal and he usually has what I need for very little $.

 

ok, i thought that was johns son that was screwing things up.
i used to deal with barons a lot too.

if you worked for John, then you know some good friends of mine, Joe and Pete Koopman

 

There are a few out here in the WA area. Everything on the west side of the cascades is slightly rusty and mildew-y. Don't know how it is on the east side...

Everything in the jy closest to me is import cars. Maybe 3 dents, 5 bumps, and some from the '80's. I hear one another hour past the closest one has a bunch of old chevy and ford cars/trucks. Still haven't been out there...

 

Pete, the guy with the mirror sunglasses and SD Ford truck? Yea, I know him. I almost did a double take when I got to my new job (bread truck mechanic in Farmingdale)... my boss has a building that's bigger than he needs, so he has several tenants. I was walking around and went into Boulder Petroleum's suite, and there was Pete from the JY! Small world.

I buy a lot of used parts for my bread trucks and for side work. I mostly get them from a counter guy John and Dave had, who now works at Ace in East Brunswick. He can get you anything and he knows everyone in the business, goes by "Junior".

TJC, I've probably seen you in real life some time. I'm trying to think now...

 

We have 2. Only carry Toyotas and Hondas and old POS cars.