Yesterday at our local Pul-a-part I found a nice Walker Street rod radiator tucked safely under the hood of a 70's Dodge PU. Perfect measurements for my 36 Binder that Im finishing up, and even correct inlet and outlet. I also recently pulled a 72 351 Cobra Jet engine from a 79 Shag Wagon at the same yard. Completely correct with correct manifolds. Total price paid for both was under 200.00. Any other members here score a big find on the cheap recently???
I really lucked out in the local U-Pull-It yard. A '64 Impala SS got dropped in the yard as I was there, and I ended up pulling a 3.36 posi center section out of it for $45.00.
I went to a non pull it yard and they let me pull the parts I needed to get my truck back on the road. First time I have been happy for buying clutch head drivers.
My last good score was while searching through a 70's Dodge Tradesman customized van, I was looking for a lug nut lock socket and I saw it had a stick shifter poking out of the floor. Turns out to have been a factory 4 speed stick van, got the tranny complete with special Hurst van shifter for $150 pulled. Don't need the shifter but was a great deal for a clean A-833 Mopar trans. The key is searching through more than just the obvious cars to find the cool stuff that everyone else passed over.
Chrome rear bumper for 65 Ford P.U. with brackets for $40...arm was in a cast so the guy working there asked if I wanted it installed for $20. $60 for a straight bumper with decent chrome installed.
I usually pick up all the pennies, nickels and dimes off the floor to fund my entry fee. Or find crowbars, tools and a cattle prod that they don't charge for. Sometimes I look for parts, too. RB
A guy once gave me a 66' impala convertable that had an engine fire. It was a decent car except for the crispy bits on the engine, the burnt hood, engine compartment wiring burnt, underdash wiring the same and the local fire dept. smashed the instrument panel in, looking for smoldering whatnots. A few months later, while spending some quality time in the junkyard, I stumbled across a 66' four door that had everything I needed. Both cars were the same factory color and both were faded exactly the same so the hood matched perfectly. The wiring harnesses were in great shape. The dash components were perfect. I made a deal with the yard for 200 bucks to take anything on the car I wanted. I took the distrubutor, cap, rotor, plug wires...you name it,I took it. That weekend I transferred all the yard parts onto the free convert. and when I was done you could not tell that the car caught fire at all. Started it up, drove it around awhile and sold it two weeks later.
I got a fat hula chick off a dash in an old ford, she could use a new skirt but pretty sweet other wise
These AC delco gauges were in a '66 gmc cabover trash truck, with a vinyl wood grain background, laying in the back of a ford cargo van. 25 bucks. I made my own turned panel, that took 25 bucks worth of liquor.
Cool vac. guage out of an old motorhome....$10. Cop spotlights...$5/ea, have/had 5. Rims on my truck......$11/ea. Alarm bell......FREE. Tbird IRS....$85. Gobs of fact. clips and clutch hed screws for a 53 chevy truck I restored....Free. Luvs me some Pull a Part.
50 Chevy bumper overider, 2 extra uprights..$16 Rochester B carb....$13. 57 Chevy truck hood in EXCELLENT shape....$35. And I walked in there without a tool in my hand. All were unbolted and laying there.
Dont have the pics, but when working for a customer, he says "come out and look at my truck". We went to his garage to see his 65 chevy pickup. There was a pair of heads on the ground used as parking bumpers. They were double hump 461x, circa 61-63 365hp large intake runner heads. I tore the carpet out of his house for free when I resanded his floors, in exchange for the heads.
I was at the local pick a part yesterday and thought I spied a 348 or 409 popped the hood a little more and it was one of them funky early 60's GMC V6
Sorry. This may be lame or OT to the thread. I'm pretty far in the boonies and never been to Pull a Part. How do you know what the price of the part is that you want? Do you ask before you pull it or are you at their mercy when you take it to the desk?
I print off a basic price list and take it with me. If you buy a 350 SBC or a 427 tunnel port side-oiler, they are both the same price. The " value " of the parts are not considered. When you get up front, you have the option of not paying if you think that the price is too high.
I always ask at the desk before going in the yard what they get for certain items, I never take a part off without first asking what they want for it. I would hate to drag a heavy 3rd member to the office and they say," naw that's my buddies its not for sale." Try to give them respect, after all its their property. IF you open a hood, shut it. Same with doors, trucks etc... It alway helps when you return the next time, they usually say, "go ahead and look".
BTW, My wife keeps her " google box " on hand at all times just in case I need to run a number or look up a part.
1966 Ford Galaxie 500 7-Litre fender badges!! Car is pretty rotten but still has a lot of original parts on it.
If there is any VW guys here, Me n my brother in law were at pick a part and he said im gonna go look in he wheel pile... He found one BRM wheel it was real and he had a set on his 56 vert so he cleaned it up and used it for his spare oh and he paid 15 bucks
My local u pullit yard had wheels welded togather that they stacked cars on, the wheels were from the late 30's to late 40's and still had stainless trim rings on them. So for $2.50 A piece i bought every perfect one i could find, probably around 35 or so, mostly ford.... Then there was the other time i scored a set of chrysler hemi valve covers for $30 a couple years back, they'd been buried since the 60's or so
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