Most "obssessed" thing you have ever done while parts hunting... - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

BobK · #16 10-31-2005, 09:48 AM

Had a '62 Ford Galaxie wagon when I was in HS. Right side upper "A" arm bushing went bad and came loose. Loads of fun trying to drive when steering on one side is moving all over the place. Caster and camber were changing HUGE amounts as the end moved onto the engine then way out in the wheelwell. Found a '61 at a junk yard that had same part only good. Bad thing was, car had somehow been pushed sideways into the creek down about a 10 foot bank. Drivers side was in the water and passenger's side was on the 45 degree bank. Climb down in weeds and stickers and try to stay out of the water while jacking up the car-to about 50 degrees! Unbolted ball joint and big nuts on "A" arm. All mine for $10 (a large sum in those days, but still way cheaper than the dealer).
Another fun adventure was replacing the dead starter in a '63 Plymouth Valiant in total darkness (well, until I shorted the POS terminal). I was able to drive home that night!

Pete Burton · #17 10-31-2005, 09:56 AM

Maybe the most "desperate" thing...
Driving from Wyoming to Vermont in 81, my friend crashed my sister's 67 Mustang into a culvert on the Trans-Canadian highway in a rainstorm. The whole unibody frame was bent, the LF lower control arm like a pretzel. I found a 68 Mustang in town with a similar (but not really fitting) control arm and removed it in the mud and rain while the front of the car was lifted several feet off the ground suspended by a chain to a backhoe bucket (not locked in place, but idling) I had a guy torch a hole in it about where 1 stud of the remaining control arm brace would hold. I bargained $25 Canadian to $20 US (we didn't even have the $5 left in cash) and forced it together. Crimped off radiator tubes, added stop leak, chained down the hood and drove it another 700 miles home to VT, then CT.

J. R. B. · #18 10-31-2005, 09:58 AM

One yard owner in my area puts all of his choice cars in the middle of huge poison ivy patch. I'm one of those rare individuals who isn't bothered by ivy so I have a field day in the patch. Other people stand outside the perimeter and holler You're in poison ivy. I holler back It doesn't bother me. They reply can you get such and such for me?

meltedpanda · #19 10-31-2005, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carrameow

I stripped down to my boxer shorts in the cold weather and got a 13 mm socket and bar from the man. Needless to say, my Adrenaline was pumping!!! I had the booster off in 5 minutes, though I was already getting frost bite! 30 minutes later I was athe mall, totally cleaned up and dressed up again and the booster safely hidden in the trunk. No one was wiser!

Just no way this can be beat,

closest I can get it removing an air cleaner bracket off a donor MB . I had to climb over two cars and be very careful not to dirty my shirt, (I was on my way to a meeting and spied the donor). I did have sense enough to remove my tie. Fortunately the bone yard had hand cleaner.

stayalert · #20 10-31-2005, 10:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glinko

Dude, you are bizarre.

The most obsessed thing I ever did while parts hunting was yank an aftermarket CD player out of a wrecked 88 Toyota Celica and hide it in my toolbox so I didn't have to pay for it.

Okay I'm lying, my friend did that, I just gave him moral support while he went about it.

We deserved that CD player, though, there was a five dollar fee just to get into that stupid pick-and-pull, and we didn't find a dang thing (aside from said CD player)

punk.

Main Entry: 1punk
Pronunciation: 'p&[ng]k
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
1 archaic : PROSTITUTE
2 [probably partly from 3punk] : NONSENSE, FOOLISHNESS
3 a : a young inexperienced person : BEGINNER, NOVICE; especially : a young man b : a usually petty gangster, hoodlum, or ruffian c : a youth used as a homosexual partner
4 a : PUNK ROCK b : a punk rock musician c : one who affects punk styles

bhanson · #21 10-31-2005, 10:08 AM

As it happens, my I went with a buddy yesterday to meet a guy with a wrecked '85 300D in the woods. We were ten minutes late on our rather tight schedule. We left at 12:42 to head to the destination 35 minutes away, knowing if we weren't back by 2:30, we would be in violation of the official family friendly Halloween party wife time restrictions clearly set forth.

We got there, and started stripping, thankfully not to our underwear. It was only a little chilly. We got a rear bumper and trim, antenna, sunroof motor assembly, some miscellaneous trim, lots of switches, heater blower motor, auxilliary water pump, the one good taillight housing, radiator expansion tank, a door latch plate, and a couple of little things that don't come to mind immediately. Left at 2:14, which put us behind just enough to feel the wrath of mothers thwarted.

It was a good trip, and well worth the abuse.

Ben

Zerohour3k · #22 10-31-2005, 10:14 AM

Eh. I dunno.. while stealing is pretty darn wrong.. I can understand it, when someone charges a "looking fee". It's a junkyard, not a theme park. Personally? I've taken a few trim pieces, hell, even an instrument cluster from a 300D, from a local ******* by me. This guy not only charges a SEVEN DOLLAR ($7!!) looking fee, but his prices are totally unreasonable. Problem is, there's not many junkyards around me that have 300D's in em.. and this guy has about 9. I mean, give me a break.. a dial for the AC compressor, he ended up charging me 30 dollars for. It's a dial.. with no guarantees that it will work. More reasonable price? About 5-10 bucks. Instrument cluster, speedometer.. $150?! Blower motor (I love this one).. $120, because it's a "rare part". I ended up haggling him down to $100 on that one, and ended up needing to rebuild the thing myself, since it didn't even work.. and he wouldn't take it back. Yeah, real nice guy.

Beyond that, the guy is a complete pervert.. and will stop at nothing to get into the pants of any women within 10 feet of him. When someone completely hits on your sister, and says "I'd love to have a piece of that!"? Yeah, it makes people less honest. So, while I'm normally a very law-abiding person, I have no problem taking a few things here and there (while paying for the rest), from a total *******. Not that I've gotten much.. just a cluster, and a few switches / trim pieces.

Anyway, I can understand why someone would do such a thing... not that it's right, mind you, but some people deserve it. The way I see it, the absurd prices I've paid for the other parts, more than equal up to the one or two things I've pilfered here or there. :\

PagodaLover · #23 10-31-2005, 10:26 AM

This thread is hilarious

meltedpanda · #24 10-31-2005, 10:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bhanson

if we weren't back by 2:30, we would be in violation of the official family friendly Halloween party wife time restrictions clearly set forth.

It was a good trip, and well worth the abuse.

Ben

LOL,

been there done that, and not just on car outings

PagodaLover · #25 10-31-2005, 10:30 AM

Personally, I just don't waste time at junkers... It's never there, and if it is they want 60-80% of what a reputable retail seller wants for the same part that is NOS or remanufactured, and the junk part doesn't work or is about to break (being as old as the part you are replacing).

stayalert · #26 10-31-2005, 11:21 AM

carrameow has raised the bar. Glinko snuck under it. This thread is hilarious. I once trudged accross a muddy 10 or so acres for a hinged liscense plate bracket from a 60's muscle car. it was used to cover the fuel fill now it covers my front reciever hitch on my truck....The lot I got that bracket from several years ago is now closed to people wandering and getting what they need. you call for parts see if they have them. The reason these places charge "looking fees" or close to scavengers altogether is due to insurance and.....gasp.....punks stealing stuff.

Zerohour3k · #27 10-31-2005, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PagodaLover

Personally, I just don't waste time at junkers... It's never there, and if it is they want 60-80% of what a reputable retail seller wants for the same part that is NOS or remanufactured, and the junk part doesn't work or is about to break (being as old as the part you are replacing).

Exactly why I stopped going. The *good* junkers that I used to visit around here (which had maybe 1 or 2 W123's).. were.. erm, OK people.. and still charged a fortune for the parts. I simply stayed away from them, since I wasn't about to pay $50 for a health kit lid (In pretty rough shape). The other guy, I stopped going to, simply because he was a total a** (As you could see, above). My shop of choice, now? Advance Auto Parts. Blows Autozone out of the water, with much better prices.. and their parts are pretty darn reliable, compared to other brands. Plus the people seem to know their stuff, there.

Oh, and the most "extreme" obsessed thing I've done, for my diesel? Probably digging in a junkyard in the middle of winter, standing in a pretty large snow drift, trying to fish out a blower motor.. wearing a t-shirt and no jacket (mostly because I didn't want to get my leather jacket dirty). Certainly not in my boxer shorts, though.. yow!

#28 10-31-2005, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d.delano

I once went to great length to get a trunk triangle bracket out of the locked trunk of a 300D euro. How great of a length I will not disclose for fear of being ostracized. I felt like I had found gold or won the lotto. I was super happy. But I never stole nuthin'. The yard keepers totally have the right to charge the fee, and I can always find something that I can use. Besides, junkyarding is fun.

I too have popped the trunk of a Mercedes to get a trinket so I know just what you went through it would have been better to pay the $50 for one let me tell those that have not attempted this those trunk locks are very, strong think 1 hour with a drive shaft as a leaver. Why steal nuts bolts ECT they just wave you through with out charge when you try to pay for that stuff. PICK-N-PULL engages in such deceptive pricing such as a gauge I bought yesterday posted price $5.99 real cost $5.99 plus a $1.75 environmental sur charge gees I thought I was helping the environment.
They advertise every thing half off weekend well after you spend hours pulling parts then stand in line for 20 minutes they tell you those parts are not included. I frequent pick-n-pull as well as other yards several times a month and not one time has Pick-n-pull not tried to over charge me it is so bad I lodged a complaint with the city attorney.
However, I do not under stand stealing nickel and dime stuff if you are going to risk humiliation, arrest ECT steal a semi truck full of used money on its way to be incinerated once you pull the tracking devices hidden in the cash it is completely untraceable if you’re going to be a thief be a great one. PS if you know the time and route of a semi truck full of cash destined for the incinerator PM me I can defeat the security measures we can split the money 60 40.
DHS

t walgamuth · #29 10-31-2005, 01:10 PM

fond memories of wandering through junk yards. too bad none around here any more.

tom w

Hit Man X · #30 10-31-2005, 07:20 PM

Out in low 100° heat + high 90% humidity for a 1/2 Price day sale... not for 30min mind you, ALL DAY