I'm on my way to the junkyard as I type. My past experiences and finds got me thinking. What are some of the best finds any of you have found while digging through the mounds and rows of vehicles and parts? I love trips to the junkyard and can spend hours in one. I'm doing this mainly because I like to hear what other people have found and it serves as a good read. Also a good reference guide for people going and needing to know what others have found that fit there vehicles or made fit there truck. On my agenda today is to try and find some EFI headers for my inline 6 and if I'm lucky a Lincoln mark VIII electric fan.

 

As far as elec fan here is a tip....Lincoln Mk VIII two-speed fan, Taurus or Lincoln cars
A 95 Mercury villager minivan with a 3.3L V6. The stock radiator for this thing was a gigantic three core all aluminum radiator However, the fan for this was a gigantic 19" two speed fan. This thing is massive. Bigger than a mark viii. If anyone's interested, I did some research the 92-2002 Villager is a rebadged Nissan quest.

JY stuff we like to find (this is a compiled FTE list).

Intermittent wiper set up (switch and box)
West coast mirror heads
"Sport Mirrors"
Super Camper Special emblems
Trailer Special emblems
XLT glove box emblem
XLT grill shell emblem
Hood ornaments
Race track mouldings
Tail light moulding bezels and tailgate trim
OEM push bars
OEM dual battery systems
OEM door speaker wiring harnesses
OEM CB radios
Contour bumper license plate light pigtails & light caps
Contour bumper brackets, rear
Contour bumper outer brackets, front (from what I have read, VERY rare)
OEM door panels and trim
Chrome headliner mouldings
Uncracked 73-75(?) early steering wheels
OEM gauge clusters (no idiot lights)
Chrome wheel well mouldings
OEM hubcaps (2WD and 4WD)
Bushwacker cut-out fender flares (No longer offered by Bushwacker)
76-79 integral steering box, drag link, & tie rod
FE PS pulley
FE PS brackets
Aftermarket valve covers
Autolite 2100, Autolite 4100, Holley 1850, and Edebrock carbs
2bbl EGR carburetor plate
90-degree FE oil filter housing from 4x4s
FE clutch bracket, engine-side
FE driver's side exhaust manifold
Auxiliary battery tray, solenoid, & wiring
Tailgate decor panels and tailgate trim
Factory door speaker wiring harnesses
Factory CB radio
Factory 8-track
Three-spoke "sport" steering wheels
Aftermarket highliner (plastic headliner with provisions for speakers)
Jr. West Coast mirrors (two legs)
West Coast mirrors (three legs)
Tilt column for manual transmission trucks (apparently rare)
License plate light pigtails, lenses, and caps for contour bumpers
Green, red, blue, and brown door panels (Uncut & cherry)
Any colored door panels with OEM chrome trim
OEM 2WD front swaybars, brackets, and end links.
Autolite 4100 carburetors with 1.12 stamped on the side (600 cfm)
DJM dream beams
AIM lowering beams
Dome lights
Cargo lights
parking light lenses
seatbelts
external mirrors type 9
inner fenders / battery trays
3G alternators
manifold heat shrouds
gauge clusters
*****, **** rings
hood latch and locking hood latch set up
headrests (swiped from a Taurus)
intermittent wiper switch, overflow tank with wiper pump, wiper motor
door molding (swiped off a later model)
chrome side trim
transmission cooler lines
radiator and electric fans
condenser
oil cooler
Lariat door inserts
OEM bed rails
factory shelving behind the seat
OEM 2WD swaybars
factory buckets and seat brackets (for Bumps but fits Dents)
factory door speaker wiring harnesses
Crew cab rear doors
Crew cab headliners
Supercab headliners
Supercab interior trim panels (back wall and doors)
Supercab rear folding bench parts
Supercab drip rail mouldings
Supercab side trim
73-77 hornpads and buttons
Any uncracked 73-77 steering wheel!
78-79 factory alloy wheels
Factory air horns & compressor! (RARE!!)
midship gas tank skid pan for the 1/2 & 3/4 ton 4x4
Rear sump oil pans - 351M400 and FE
OEM Ford locking hubs for the D44HD

 

I came across a real nice mint 2 wheel drive,the fellow put alot of work into it....wreck all twisted up,,dash panel in excelent shape,stainless ceiling trim,oem ceiling hood top.some new moldings salvageable,what a beutiful paint job green

 

Wow, that's a great list 250! Unfortunately I haven't found much so far. Also it is very sad to see trucks in the junkyard that someone clearly put a lot of work in to.

 

I complied that list off many FTE threads and use it as my "shopping list" when I make JY runs....along with the list of needed parts and pieces that folks send me all the time.

X2 on yes I hate to see a truck some one obviously put hard work and $ into wrecked in the JY.

Happy parts hunting today, last time I went I took 68 pics of different trucks, that were of just dent sides.

 

No parts but I did find a whole truck. I picked this up at the local U-Pull It. It was sitting in front of their building with a for sale sign. 72,000 miles. Snagged it the next morning for a decent price.

The story they told me was an older guy called and wanted to sell them the whole truck cuz' who the heck wants a 30+ year old pick up.....right.

I'm sure they only gave him scrap price or maybe a little more but I got myself a clean original truck. There's some rust over the rear wheels and lots of scratches/small dings in the paint.

I did have to rebuild the transmission and put a new front drive shaft in it. I also put all new poly bushings in the front suspension. And new tires/rims.

 

We've got a scrap metal yard locally and the other day a friend of mine called and said he saw a trailer pull into it with a nice dentside on it. I went to check it out. It was a 1976 F-150 Supercab Spirit of '76 Limited Edition. Unfortunately they unloaded it by picking it up by the cab with a huge claw and then not too gently dropping it. I did get a decent front bumper and grille shell, and a perfect right front fender and hood, as well as a mint set of Type 7 mirrors.

Sad thing is that body was almost perfect before they picked it up and dropped it. They even managed to ruin a nice tailgate. How they did that I couldn't figure out, but the damage was fresh.

The yard has a new manager and he promised if they got any more in that were in nice shape he would try to be more gentle unloading them and call me so I can get parts off it.

 

I came out pretty good, I got about 10' of 2/0 battery cable from a bmw, a new steering wheel and horns for my daily f150. A junction box from the same bmw for the battery cable. I didn't see any manifolds I really wanted to mess with and didn't find any electric fans I was willing to pay for.

 

I also stopped by summit and picked up my new Offenhauser C-series intake!

 

one can only smile pumpdriver 20,thats great.

 

I'm still learning what to look for for these trucks, but.

I pulled a toolbox lid and liner in near perfect shape. Lid has peeling paint but no rust, and the latch moves freely but no key. The plastic liner is whole with no cracks, but the upper steel plate where the latch catches is almost rusted to pieces.

Couldn't talk the manager into letting me cut the sheet metal out for the rim because there was "someone interested" in the whole bed. Even though he had no problem selling the other parts off the bed.