The scrap yard gave the fire dept a donation of 2500.00 for the truck and are going to give the new tires back this week.Then it will be crushed. Sad for sure Gary
then you can lay the blame on the fire department for not selling it privately and getting their donation money that way. a lot of people see these old cars and trucks as nothing more than old junk that is useless in today's society. thats why they end up here
What waste of Americana. $ $ $ Did anyone from the city from which this truck came from have a clue? It was paid for by tax dollars, was it not?
if a scrapyard is also a AUTO PARTS RECYCLER then, and only then, could they sell the truck once it has entered the yard. if they are only a metal scrapper then their hands are tied
Any chance they would at least sell you the hood and doors off it? I'm sure asking to buy the cab would be too much. I don't need them myself, but in the rust belt, there has to be somebody building a pickup of that vintage that could use some clean parts.
This has been going on since the beginning of time. Every generation has had a group of hobby vehicles that have been scrapped, crushed, shredded, melted, into a railcar or foundry cauldron. The hobbyists can't stand it, the scrappers don't care, and the steel mills, aluminum foundrys, and other users of the materials are happy enough. Looking at the reality of things I think there may be only one, maybe two generations of old car folks left to enjoy what we have. The supply of cars and the laws about their use might just put this wonderful hobby to rest in the next 20 years or so. After all, there hasn't been anything worth restoring since the 70s and with all the electronics and parts proliferation and recycling there just won't be any parts or maybe even cars to play with by then.
Around here, this statement is the way it is. A scrap yard that sells anything can and will loose his license and face a big fine on top of it. The State is not beyond going to scrap yards trying to buy stuff so they can collect the big fine, and shut the guy down. Most IL state officials hate scrap yards as much as they hate auto recycle yards and want to rid this wonderful State of all of them, and most other businesses it appears these days. Gene
In N.Y. it is a state regulation. I have a N.Y. dismantlers license,so I can sell parts or car, until I turn in the papers at the end of the month. then I can sell parts as a "end of life vehicle " If I was a licensed scrap yard, I cannot sell a car or parts. just scrap. thats how it is in N.Y., not to mention the fines are astronomical and you lose your license. and probably worse if you didn't clean to the ground in so many days. and if you are a messy operation , sometimes you clean below the ground. not sure of the rules in other states.
I think I'd check my local statutes and make sure that's a legal way for the fire department to dispose of that vehicle. They may be legally bound to publicly auction it, or at least take sealed bids. If they did wrong by it, bust 'em on it, maybe the scrapyard will have to return the truck and they do it the right way this time. Then you know it will take about $3000 to buy it outright. And that is how you beat the "no car or parts, just scrap" deal - you buy it as scrap and maybe you cut it in two and take the halves away seperately. Worst case, the numbers on it are no longer any good, at least in your state, but there are ways to sort that out too.
Let me know if you have any good fire stuff for sale off that truck. My firefighter neighbor is building a bar out of old fire truck parts. Kinda cool actually.
Woo!!! I live close to a yard and they recently called me because they got a car in similar to one i was working on. That's pretty awesome!
Here in Ohio there is a strict legal distinction between "scrap yards" and "salvage yards." It's pretty darn strict, and most yard owners won't take the chance of getting in legal trouble, even if they must turn down a profit. Years ago I drove a regular all-black 1968 Impala with original 427 engine to work every day. But the roof was crushed in, and it was rusting around all the edges. One day I saw an all-black 68 SS 427 Impala on a flat bed truck on its way in the scrap yard (complete with rare SS 427-only hood, side louvers, emblems, etc). I turned around, and pleaded with the truck driver and yard operators to sell it to me. I offered to pay double, then triple whatever the scrap value would be. The truck driver apologized, and said he could really use the money, but once it was inside the gate, neither he nor the yard operators could legally sell it. I then pleaded again with the yard operator-manager. He apologized nicely, and admitted that he too liked collector cars, and understood how I felt. He said that he wished I had indeed caught the truck driver outside the gate. But now it was simply too risky. No way, at ANY price. I drove away dejected, cause I could used the parts from both cars to build one terrific all-black 68 SS 427 Impala. Since then I have learned a little more about the legalities of such things. There was a scrap metal yard near my home, where my brother in law and I used to occasionally buy parts. But then the yard sold to a more sophisticated, professional scrap metal company, and they are totally strict. You can't buy a hubcap, for ANY price from them.
Wanna blame someone? Blame legislators in every state, who try to stop car thieves and chop shops by passing laws on such things without fully understanding all the ramifications of what they are doing. I once testified before the Ohio State congressional committee about Ohio auto titles. This was on behalf of a SEMA initiative to make it legal in each state to title a street rod in the year in most resembles (rather than 32 Ford repro body and chassis having to be titled as a 2012 with 2012 safety standards, for example.) I told the congress members on that committee that we car-lovers understood and appreciate their efforts to stop car thieves and chop shops from faking titles on out of state stolen cars, etc. But I said that their laws were like legal "nets" which are too big, and are accidentally entangling innocent car collectors instead of the thieves. I don't want to get too far off on that topic; so suffice it to say that those people had NO IDEA that honest people were building repro bodies and chassis right here in Ohio (read Ohio JOBS!) and that honest people were buying and building them....and then getting stuck when they try to title the car. Our legislators are just as ignorant of how their scrap metal laws prevent us from saving classic vehicles from the crusher. It's that simple.
All I can say is,next time some guy sees a car that doesnt match their style,and even though it may look like shit,remember all the parts were saved from the scrapper and didnt go to feed a countrys economy that hates us.Anything is better than that.
Did we ever determine what engine is in the truck in question? I really want to know if it's a W motor.
Earlier this year i was driving to work and saw a '49 ford on a trailer with washers and dryers stacked on it. I chased him down in my 61 chevy van (its slow so it took me a while to catch him) ended up buying him lunch and bought the whole trailer load off of him, unloaded it behind my shop, loaded the washers and dryers back up, scrapped them. Called a guy and found the truck a home, title and all. Currently getting a 302 with corvair front suspension...Hate stuff getting crushed...
Great save, Cutlass boy! Every now and then we hear a happy-ending story with old cars and scrap yards...but they are rare indeed.
Wow....it's one thing to crush an oldie that's rusted to death and beat all to hell, but that big Chevy is almost perfect.
I can see it now on the Vintage Washer and Dryers site (you know there is one): "Saw some moron this morning going into the scrapyard with a trailor load of brand X and Z washers and dryers. I'd have given him 3X the price of scrap for them. Bet there were a lot of good parts left on them." Oh,yeah, 40 & 61 Fords you've got to pound some sense into your B-I-L or get him a box of adult diapers before he really has an accident in his trousers.
yeah on spincycle.com haha well was it a "W" engine or what ?inquiring minds need to know... maybe he is too busy pulling parts at an alarming rate !!!