Very few things in life feel as good as scoring a great deal on a part you need for your hot rod. Spend some quality time scrounging around the local salvage yard for parts, and you too can have this wonderful shallow-pockets experience.
WHAT IS USEABLE?
It's amazing what hot rodders find in salvage yards and bolt to their cars—essentially, everything and anything. And why not? Nearly everything is useable, except some rubber, plastic and glass pieces, which age quickly. Steel components last the longest. From engine components to wheels, with a little rust and crud removal and some paint or plating, these components can look and work like new at a fraction of the cost of new pieces.
WHAT'S A CHOICE SALVAGE YARD?
Two types of salvage yards exist: the U-pick yards and the counter-jockey yards. The U-picks are exactly that—you bring your tools, unbolt what you want and drag it out. The counter-jockey yard has the pieces you want pulled while you wait at the counter. Some counter-jockey yards allow you into the yard but only without tools. You're just there to find what you need, then the yard sends an employee to pull the part while you wait. In general, the U-pick yards are filled with older cars, and the newer-car yards have employees pull the parts. This setup is driven by the cost of the salvaged car: The more expensive late-models are precisely dismantled by salvage yard employees to minimize the destruction of saleable items.
Both yards offer used parts at a significantly lower cost than new parts, but they both should be utilized differently. The U-pick yard is good for little pieces—brackets, springs, fasteners, clamps and so on—that you can throw in your toolbox and buy for pennies on the dollar or for general late-model equipment, like drivetrain pieces and suspension components. The late-model counter-jockey yard is good for finding that trick Honda (they're good for pieces, anyway) remote trunk release or door handle.
In either place, be prepared to haggle over the price. Some yards aren't flexible on their prices, but most are, and if you don't ask, you'll never know. Just don't be a jerk about the price, because it'll probably go up. If you think something is priced too high, the best way to tell 'em is to not buy it.
Many of the same rules HOT ROD outlined in "Swap Meet Shopping Tips" (December '95) apply here. Know what you are looking for before you get to the yard. Know what the parts should cost. Bring the tools you need to remove the parts you want (a steering wheel puller, if a wheel is what you need), and know how to remove them so you don't foolishly break some very useable part in ignorance. Bring only enough money to buy the parts you really need (the more money you bring, the greater the temptation to buy some eye-candy junk you don't need and won't be able to sell later). Once in a while, parts will appear that you hadn't planned on buying but are very rare or are priced incredibly right. In these cases, it is right to buy, but these situations are rare.
Combing the salvage yards for parts can be a lot of fun. But to make it fun and useful, you should have a plan so you're not wasting time looking for something you don't need. Grab your tool bag and head out for the yard—there's gold in them thar' parts piles!
