One nice thing about U-Pick junkyards where
you pick and remove the parts yourself is
that this type of experiment is possible.

https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-.../#post51980224

Pull both seats from two different cars.
Try to swap them and see if the fit works.
All before even leaving the junkyard.
Cost: time, no money

You also get to see vehicles already in
various states of disassembly.
"So that's how it's put together."

Which is really nice to see,
-before- you start to disassemble
your own car.

And, I also pulled a few useful things that
were not part of of the original mission.


There is something about the process of exploration.
Walking around, searching for your car's year and model.
Seeing all the different cars.
And how they met their demise
(think of the junkyard scene in the movie
American Grafitti)

Finally you find the same make and model
as your car. Then inspect the parts as
to how good they are, and if you want them or not.

You can discern things about the former owners
of the cars. A university student with a dog that
shed lots of hair. A mom with kids who visited
McDonalds. Real estate business cards,
someone buying or selling a house.
Rosaries on the visor, probably a good Filipino family.


Last year I found a little notebook, in a
Honda just like mine, about 3 * 4 * 1/2 inches.
It was a WWII gunner's diary.
The first few pages were specs, and instructions
on how to use the guns, calculate trajectories
(longhand, no computer, or calculator).
Later it was a day by day summary. Some of it
mentioned how many miles the army advanced that
day, and that they met Jerry. There was also a
bank statement with a name and address. I called the
house, got the answering machine, and left a message.
But did not get a return phone call.


My Honda had no option for a cargo net.
But the other year I found a cargo net in a different car.
So, I bought the net cheap, then bought the correct nuts
at the hardware store. Drilled holes in the trunk plastic.
Bolted the net holders in and attached the cargo net.
Very useful.

This week, I also drove to all the other junkyards
searching for a good seat. Most would not let
me look a the cars myself. It was always, what
exactly do you need? And then they charge
more for it. One of them (LKQ), it's just a guy
sitting behind a counter, in front of a terminal
that links to their international databases. He never
sees any cars in any lot himself, because all the parts
are from junkyards in other states and provinces.
Let's call them, used parts stores.


My thoughts:
the u pick yards have soul
the used parts stores have little or no soul

I much prefer the first






How did this VW meet its demise?

 

The pull n save out here are my favorite. Several locations and only 2$ to enter. I know of a handful of folks who actually make decent side incomes buying from junk yards and reselling locally and on ebay. If you frequent the yard enough there is even a membership you can purchase that gets you 20% off every time. Ive seen several sub 500 complete swaps, awd systems etc.

Have you seen row52.com? It has an app too, but its a third party which lets you search the yard's inventory before making the trip. They tend to be a few days behind, but still better than nothing...

 

I used to love junkyard hunting.