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Rescued from the scrapyard
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badhuis



Joined: 20 Aug 2008
Posts: 1390
Location: Netherlands

PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 11:41 am    Post subject: Rescued from the scrapyard Reply with quote

Following on from another topic, did you ever rescue a car from a scrapyard? Did it survive afterwards?

I think I rescued three cars over the years.

First one as noted in the other topic:
I felt sorry for a 1968 Austin Mini 850 in the scrapyard. It must have been about 14 years old and was one of the first I ever saw of the older model with the sliding windows in the doors and external door hinges. So I rescued it, towed it home and test drove a few rounds on the grass land behind my parents house enjoying the hydrolastic suspension. As it has no registration I sold it on to a Mini specialist. Twenty years later I bumped into someone who still has the car! Registered with 1970 plates, he had always wondered why it seemed to have the wrong specification for the year. I told him the plates were not original to the car, he was not very pleased to hear…

Second rescue took place around 1990 and was a bright yellow 1961 Commer Walk Tru. A firefighters vehicle, not with the hoses and stuff but for transporting men and material. It stood on the forecourt of a local scrapyard. Coming from a firefighters place it was was in a pretty good condition (Humber Super Snipe 3 litre 6 cylinder petrol engine) so a friend and myself decided it was not to be scrapped. We took it to my home, put on a set of new tyres and used it for half a year going to Rootes meetings and holidays. Then it was put into a shed where it still is. Uncertain what to do with it.

Third rescue was around 2002 when I saw a silver metallic 1984 Rover 2600 VandenPlas at a scrapyard. It was not taken in yet so I could have it for very little money. It turned out to be a one owner car from a local doctor. Apart from three rotten doors it was in fairly good condition.
I used it for a year or so but decided I did not like the 80s plastics everywhere (interior/ dash / bumpers). When the chance came to sell it I did. I have heard the new owner restored the car although I have not seen it since.

What about you? Did you do your good thing and rescue a car?
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 2:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I haven't rescued any cars but have seen a few beauties. My Grandparents used to own a village scrap yard that had its orchards full of classics, I wish I could have saved some of them!!
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peter scott



Joined: 18 Dec 2007
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 2:59 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Mine got rescued from Eddy Rossiter's scrap yard in Shepton Mallet in 1964 but not by me.

Peter


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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 3:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Peter,
That is interesting. Mr Grandfathers scrapyard was about 12 miles from Eddie Rossiters and we used to regularly go between the two yards.
Rossiters had some interesting things tucked away even when I was younger in the 1980's.
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peter scott



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 4:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rootes, Unfortunately I think Rossiter's is now no more.

Peter
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Ellis



Joined: 07 Mar 2011
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Location: Betws y Coed, North Wales

PostPosted: Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yes, I rescued my 1964 Ford Anglia 105E from a scrapyard in September 1988.

It was an old established yard on the A 548 near the village of Llangernyw, a one man operation of the type which are now long gone. Passing one afternoon I glimpsed the rear of a light blue Ford Anglia and stopped. The yard's owner was a real eccentric and I asked about the Anglia.

"Thirty pounds but the engine's ***ked and I don't think it's on the DVLC ".
It was on the computer, 902 ACA, so thirty pounds in cash changed hands and a friend with a trailer collected it the following morning.

I found a good replacement engine on Anglesey, a bit of welding on both sills and it passed the MOT.
I kept it or five years, a delightful car, but by 1993 the floors had corroded beyond salvation and before the last MOT ran out I transferred the number onto my daily pick up.

Two years later I was travelling along the A470 and a Peugeot 405 estate following me flashed his headlamps repeatedly. I stopped in a layby and a young man asked me if the registration number was for sale.
He explained that his father had bought the Anglia new in April or May 1964 and he showed me a photo of him as a toddler standing in front of the car.

A price was agreed and when I handed the original number plates to him on the transfer day at the Local Vehicle Registration Office the pleasure was on his face was obvious.

The spares from the dismantled car sold quickly and the steering box was sought by three people. It sold for more than I paid for the Anglia!

Today I wouldn't dream of scrapping what would with effort have a been a salvageable 105E. Sad
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Rootes75



Joined: 30 Apr 2013
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PostPosted: Fri Apr 06, 2018 10:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi Peter, Rossiters yard is still there. Its now known as Pylle Motor Spares.
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Bitumen Boy



Joined: 26 Jan 2012
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 07, 2018 10:23 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Dad went to Dursley Autos just off the A38 one day around 2001, looking for doors for his old Acclaim that he'd decided to try and return to the road. The car he found them on was so good that he rescued that one and scrapped the original! Paid the scrapyard £80 for it and had the outer sills replaced to gain an MOT, then a little while later had the carbs rebuilt (you could get the spares then!) as they kept acting up. There was nothing else wrong with it except a slightly weak synchro on 4th gear, that wasn't a problem to live with and between us we put another 60k or so on the clock before a combination of rust and a tired engine meant replacement made more sense than repair. He had that car for years but we never took a photo of it, all that's left now is one of the numberplates nailed up in the garage after we broke it for spares.
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Mog



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PostPosted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 6:05 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I got a 1936 ? Austin Ruby from Wollaston , Stourbridge wreckers. I think I paid 25 quid for it . COG 486 I think it is gone now . The wreckers was closed down and land sold for building houses . I did some work on it , new king pins and work on the engine . Had it 2 or 3 years before selling and getting a Fiat 600 , more work .....
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Rootes75



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PostPosted: Mon Apr 09, 2018 11:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Trouble is now is that most old style Scrapyards are gone, you find very few with older cars in these days.
Commercial wise its very much the same, but in saying that we are off up to Rush Green Motors which still contains many relics back to the 30's and 40's.
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Rick
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 8:02 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Rootes75 wrote:
Trouble is now is that most old style Scrapyards are gone, you find very few with older cars in these days.
Commercial wise its very much the same, but in saying that we are off up to Rush Green Motors which still contains many relics back to the 30's and 40's.


I've got a treat lined up for anyone with an interest in Rush Green Motors, thanks to forum-er Richard Hughes and a discovery he made not long back. Watch this space. Are you able to take photos in their yard?

RJ

PS I've never actually bought a car from a scrapyard, although several should have been in one!! On visiting a scrappy years ago in my Mk3 Spitfire to buy a few bits, another visitor to the yard asked if my parked Spitfire had just been dropped off. Harsh I thought Smile
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Rootes75



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PostPosted: Thu Apr 12, 2018 9:13 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have a few friends who have visited the yard on more than one occasion, they have taken photos with permission.

I will do the same when we go there, I will be like a child in a sweet shop!
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