The daughter's '91 Bonneville needed a seat belt buckle. Today was a rare Saturday when I didn't have any racing or family obligations (the horse riding team is out of town for a show this weekend). So, I got out the Yellow Pages and looked up "Auto Parts - Used".

As I headed up to the one that looked the most promising, I got to thinking that I haven't done this for a long, long time. Not since moving to Colorado, and probably not the last couple of years in San Diego. So, late 80's was probably the last time.

I spent enough time there to think through these rules for your benefit/reading pleasure:

1) If you haven't been to a yard before, stop and ask how they run things before you head in. The counter guys told me where to look for what I was there for, and some places want to do a "tool box" inspection or some other kind of check-in before you head in.

2) Take more tools with you than you can possibly imagine using. You'll still have one that you could have used but don't have with you, but at least that'll keep the frustration down. I happened to take my Torx set, but let it in the car and had to go back and get it. I didn't have a long extension or 10mm deep socket with me, which prevented more activity such as is discussed in #4 below. This place wouldn't allow the use of cutting torches (don't have one, anyway), or jacks.

3) Don't give your wife an estimate on how long it will take you. The only pertinent time-issues are a) how long it takes to drive between there and your house, and b) when the yard closes.

4) Don't restrict yourself on what you'll get while there. Going for something for her car (or at least some car other than the "hobby" car - I fit the bill this time) is a good excuse to go. Let her know that they get new cars all the time, so you "have" to make sure they don't have something else you need. In this case, the only seat belt candidate was in a '96 Bonneville. It happened to have charcoal grey leather seats in pretty good shape. Well, "Might as well get them for the '57." Both 4-doors, both full-sized, $20 per bucket seat and $20 per bench seat. So, for $63.70, I have the daughter's seat belts working again, and leather power buckets and bench rear to replace the aging, delapidated shoe-box benches. The rear will probably take a little fabricating, but the fronts are same distance floor-to-seat bottom, so I'll probably need to drill a couple holes but that's all. The car had been hit hard on the driver's front fender & door, couldn't open that door, couldn't get all of the plastic covers off over the mount bolts, see #3 above.

5) Pay for everything you take out. Be honest, don't try to sneak out more than what you're mainly getting.

6) Don't break things to get at what you want. Nothing is more discouraging than finding what you've been looking for, only to find the ham-fist that was there before you busted it.

7) Consider taking mechanics gloves and bandaids. Most cars in the yard have been wrecked or had some glass broken. I set my elbow down on a piece of said glass while sprawled out in the car and got blood on my "new" leather seat. I hadn't taken my own advice, but luckily I found some clean drive-through napkins between the seat & console.

8) Enjoy.

For the record, the dealer wanted $85 for the seat belt.

 

65 bucks for a set of leather seats, but 85 bucks for a seat belt? There's a head scratcher.

 

:5) Pay for everything you take out. Be honest, don't try to sneak out more than what you're mainly getting. :

You have to be freakin kidding me

The #1 rule at any yard (remember the days before PnP's, when they actually made you go get the part?) is to get as much as you can.

Sure am glad they haven't installed metal detectors on the exit isles.

Okay, I'm honest (oxymoron?)...

I steal from boneyards.

 

My dad told me the tales of the huge pick-n-pulls out in california where you drive in take weight then drive out pay for the parts then drive upto the scale again for final weight. He said they were always amazed on how the weight was less on the way out but there was more in the vehicle.

My rules for Pick-n-Pulls are as follows.


1. Never make eye contact with anyone in the yard.

2. Never leave anything out of arms reach.

3.If you start pulling you better finish because if you need to go grab a tool there might be someone that is taking your part when you get back.

Happend to me with the 700R tailshaft. I went to the truck to get a pair of snippers and come back 4 minuets later to find 2 guys trying to pull the transmission. Lets just say I got my tailshaft and they got....

4. Always count your tools before you move on, and take a peek inside and around the car for tools someone else left.

5.What fits in your pockets is your own damn business, be it screws from the item you pulled or Q-jet rods.

I was just let back in to the one PNP here in town after being banned for 2 years. Never, never, never ever expect things that are in the holding yard to be held intact (by law) for 20 days. I waited, called and made sure my PB hood that was supposed to be held for me only was still there still in holding to be realsed on a certain day @11am only to run down there to find it missing 20 minutes after I called to verify it was being released.

6a. Rule 6a is not to threaten the owner, his parts monkeys or the manager for selling parts that were being held for you then doing a burn out right infront of the door filling the building with smoke and gravel even if they SOB's deserve it.

6b. If you can get to a part you need reguardless if its being held by law get it because if you dont someone else will.

 

:yourock:

I've done that to a neighbor as a prank, needless to say I did a tire rotation later that day.

 

That a full set of leather seats, front & back. Technically, $60, plus $2.70 tax (I paid a buck for the seat belt buckle first, then just had to go back for the seats).

Oh, I had all the rest of the seat belts sitting on the seats when I paid. They didn't charge me for them.

I know we've all heard the sleeze-bag junk yard stories. These guys were decent and helpful. And, I tend to think people tend to treat you the way you treat them.

 

Sounds like a case of the right place at the right time. Dealer prices are out of this world nowadays. Don't know of a pickapart in So. Ohio anywhere, be a nice idea though.

 

I hate how people do that! Whever Im looking for Camaro parts at the junkyard I always see them destroyed. People cut seatbelts, engine wires, destroy door panels, etc just to get to a part. Its the people that bring like 3 tools with them Its a sad thing.

 

I used to be good friends with an old guy that ran a salvage yard, when people he didn't know would come in to pull their own parts he would send them out to get them and when they came back in he would always say something like "that will be $10 for the spindle and $5 for everything you have in your pockets" lots of people would give the extra $5

 

Ahh.... I miss the you-pull-it parts junk yards. None of the places in my area will let you in their yards anymore. You tell them what you're needing and they go get it. Then they wanna charge you damn near what a new one would cost. Ridiculous. So no more browsing for me around here. I used to spend hours just looking around the yards because I never knew what goodies I'd find.

Good times..................

 

They just opened up a new pull it yourself yard here in Nashville... I gotta get 89gta383 from here on the board to go w/ me... Hell we will end up spending all day if we go at 8 and they close at 5... always fun to see some of the carnage... and to see what all you can find on those lots...