Roaming Through the Junkyard

I've always had a bit of a fascination with my local "Pick and Pull" auto salvage yard.

The beauty of these places is that the inventory is always changing so I always make it a point to check it out at least once every couple of months or so.

I'll just never know what I will find.

Besides the cheap entertainment factor of exploring these old hulks, it's actually a good way to get some fresh air and exercise.

Out for a stroll

And yet I always have a sense of sadness whenever I enter the yard, for a few reasons.

The first is that every car in the junkyard started out as someone's brand new pride and joy, was lovingly maintained by someone, and was a part of the events that happened in someone's life. In the end they only wind up at the end of line, up on blocks and being scavenged. It's especially poignant if a car was considered to be very expensive or considered to be among the best of the best

Sad old Merc

A Nissan 280Z - with no rust!

This Jag no go

Sometimes you find an old soldier, surviving for may decades, only to end up here, with no savior to swoop in to rescue it and give it a new life.

A mid 60's Dodge Monaco - Body's actually in good shape

Then you find something that looks to be too new and in too good a shape and you wonder why on earth did it end up here.

A 2011 Chevy Volt - Seemingly in excellent condition?

Even the interior is pristine!

The main reason for my forays into the junkyard is that I often get great potential ideas and raw materials for projects. Cars that have been built over the past decade or so contain a lot of electronic gadgets, ranging from your lowly AM/FM radio all the way up to built in navigation and DVD entertainment systems. The beauty of those items is that since they spent their lives in the harsh environments of a car, they are typically built very tough.

In the junkyard, these are also considered not high demand (i.e., high value) items, so they can be typically bought very cheaply.

Hmmm...

I don't typically go to the junkyard with something specific in mind, but I always leave with something, even if it's only an idea.