Kern Dog
Well-Known Member
I'm in a place that I never thought I'd be.
For years, I've had classic cars as projects and fun cars. I'd go to the self service junkyards to look for parts for repairs or upgrades. In the 90s, I'd hit all the local spots to keep my Darts and Dusters going.
Some time in the late 90s, early 2000s, the supplies of those cars really dropped off. I used to LOVE going to the yards on a weekend day, making the rounds and hoping to find the parts I wanted. It got to where each time out was met with failure and disappointment. Nowadays, even here in California, the classics are really a rarity to find. Many times, the only cars that turned up there were stripped out before they met the yard or so beat up, there wasn't anything of value on them.
In 2002, I bought my first new vehicle, a Dodge Ram 1500 with the 4.7.
It was "one of ten at this price" listed at $14,995. 4.7, auto trans, manual windows and seats, rubber floor mat but it was new and fit my needs just fine.
Since then, I had a 2006 Dodge 1500 4wd and now this 2007.
I never even thought about how long I'd keep this 2007 but I recently hit a milestone...
I love this truck. It handles well, has adequate power, is easy to work on and still looks pretty good.
However....
Here is the part where I explain the first sentence of this whole topic.
I never thought I'd be in a spot where my daily driver is old enough to see in junkyards.
I have considered a newer truck but they just don't impress me. They seem too fancy, too busy and they lack some of the things that I really like.
No CD players? No column shift lever? No knobs for the heater and radio controls? NO full bench seat option?
I don't like how "thick" newer trucks look. Most of the styling just doesn't work for me.
Here I am though...I thought I'd start going to the junkyards to stock up on stuff that may be hard to find someday. Dash switches, lenses, body panels and other stuff.
I'm planning a transformation to an SRT 10 sort of style....
I have had these 22" wheels for 10+ years.
Next is to add the SRT 10 body cladding to look like this:
I was out today to find a spare rear bumper and hood scoop. I want to scuff and paint them along with the SRT 10 cladding, then put in all of the parts in one shot.
I was at 6 different junkyards today....the self serve yards that cater to cars usually 10 or more years old.
I saw maybe 22-25 2002-2008 trucks and not a single one had a decent rear bumper. How can that be? Several were missing from the trucks, maybe those were nice enough that someone already beat me to it.
I can't believe how beat up and abused some of these trucks were. My truck could use a good deep cleaning but it is complete. Most of these trucks looked like they were stolen and thrashed.
I do have a couple more yards to check tomorrow, maybe I'll have better luck then.
For years, I've had classic cars as projects and fun cars. I'd go to the self service junkyards to look for parts for repairs or upgrades. In the 90s, I'd hit all the local spots to keep my Darts and Dusters going.
Some time in the late 90s, early 2000s, the supplies of those cars really dropped off. I used to LOVE going to the yards on a weekend day, making the rounds and hoping to find the parts I wanted. It got to where each time out was met with failure and disappointment. Nowadays, even here in California, the classics are really a rarity to find. Many times, the only cars that turned up there were stripped out before they met the yard or so beat up, there wasn't anything of value on them.
In 2002, I bought my first new vehicle, a Dodge Ram 1500 with the 4.7.
It was "one of ten at this price" listed at $14,995. 4.7, auto trans, manual windows and seats, rubber floor mat but it was new and fit my needs just fine.
Since then, I had a 2006 Dodge 1500 4wd and now this 2007.
I never even thought about how long I'd keep this 2007 but I recently hit a milestone...
I love this truck. It handles well, has adequate power, is easy to work on and still looks pretty good.
However....
Here is the part where I explain the first sentence of this whole topic.
I never thought I'd be in a spot where my daily driver is old enough to see in junkyards.
I have considered a newer truck but they just don't impress me. They seem too fancy, too busy and they lack some of the things that I really like.
No CD players? No column shift lever? No knobs for the heater and radio controls? NO full bench seat option?
I don't like how "thick" newer trucks look. Most of the styling just doesn't work for me.
Here I am though...I thought I'd start going to the junkyards to stock up on stuff that may be hard to find someday. Dash switches, lenses, body panels and other stuff.
I'm planning a transformation to an SRT 10 sort of style....
I have had these 22" wheels for 10+ years.
Next is to add the SRT 10 body cladding to look like this:
I was out today to find a spare rear bumper and hood scoop. I want to scuff and paint them along with the SRT 10 cladding, then put in all of the parts in one shot.
I was at 6 different junkyards today....the self serve yards that cater to cars usually 10 or more years old.
I saw maybe 22-25 2002-2008 trucks and not a single one had a decent rear bumper. How can that be? Several were missing from the trucks, maybe those were nice enough that someone already beat me to it.
I can't believe how beat up and abused some of these trucks were. My truck could use a good deep cleaning but it is complete. Most of these trucks looked like they were stolen and thrashed.
I do have a couple more yards to check tomorrow, maybe I'll have better luck then.
