Jewels in the Junkyard - Self-serve

In the first two installments of this series we talked about finding yards that have the parts enthusiasts are looking for, and how to conduct your salvage yard search. Now let's talk about scrounging tips on where you can find some of the best bargains—self-service yards.

Take Your Pick
Although many salvage yards do not allow their customers to set foot in their lots, others welcome visitors and either require or allow you to remove your own parts from the vehicle. Being able to walk through the lot is helpful for those with project cars, as you may come across other parts you didn't even know that you needed (like an original Wonderbar radio or a set of European taillights for your VW).

Newer self-service lots go out of their way to make it easy for you to remove parts.
Another advantage to personally picking through the chrome-plated carcasses is finding the best example of the part you are looking for. The chief criteria for the yard mechanic may be which donor car is easiest to get to, not the one with the best-quality whatzit. You may also find rare parts that you do not need on your project, but that would make good trading or swap-meet material down the road.

Make a List
Before you leave on your journey, write down all the part numbers that you're searching for. If you're not sure what your old part came off (the usual case on hot rods, customs and kit cars) take the old one with you to compare. If you don't have the old part, bring photos, tracings or drawings for reference. Do not count on the yard personnel for help. Some may be friendly, knowledgeable car guys; others just cash-register jockeys. Worse yet, some will tell you whatever it takes to complete a sale.


Each salvage yard is run a little differently, but much is also the same. Let's take an imaginary trip to a typical self-service yard to see how it works.