That's a generation thing. I'm really old and if I want a bit for a car I immediately think 'scrappies' whereas all you kids think eBay. I really need to get with the times. I'd have spent more than £8 in petrol getting there without paying for the bit.
That's just it Bob... Even though I'm technically a young'un, my first bug that I did was with bits from scrap cars... front seats, rear lap belts, horns... some other bits n bobs!! Now it's a case of time, distance, and fuel... work that out and have a look on ebay for something that could be new and cheaper!! Just have to wait a few days for it to turn up!!
I used to love mooching round the scrappies....seeing what bits I could conceal.....and paying for parts obviously. There used to be great one just down the road, who specialized in old British cars and odd balls....full of Jags, Triumphs, Humbers and stuff from fairgrounds....The owner's son was UK stock car champion for a few years, so he always had these kicking around as well....fantastic place for a young mechanically-minded whipper-snapper , such as I was. His son took over the business when his dad died.....a car fell on him!...died instantly.....a fitting end for a scrappie IMO....
When I got my first bus there was a fantastic scrappie near where I now work. He had a field of splitties and bays and let you wander around helping yourself. He's in jail now though and sadly before he went to entertain her majesty he'd already got wise to people paying for one part and stuffing their tool boxes with deluxe clocks etc. Ah, those were the days.
That sounds like the place I used to frequent, not the jail the scrappies in Red Lodge owned by Noel I think,I'd come home with odds and sods that happened to fall into my tool box which including a heated rear window.
There used to be a old vw place like that near Diss... Environments Agency went in and made him clear the site, as none of the vehicles were on hard standing and were classed as toxic waste!!
I can remember crawling around inside the bottom car of a precariously balanced three car stack surrounded by other wobbly three car stacks, to get the bit I wanted. I'd wander around for ages just getting stuff that caught my eye, some of which I paid for. It's all changed now round our way, you stand at a counter and tell the man what you want. He sends someone to get it and then they charge you a fortune for the privilege. No fun at all nowadays.
There's a place in Derby that I like to go to every now and then that still lets you mooch around and unbolt stuff yourself. Albert Looms just off Brian Clough Way.
So for all who have a method of opening the tail gate from inside: Do you have a method to stop it swinging rapid opening and for easily getting it shut again (without getting out of bed)?
