I'm gonna' miss that old truck...

[kevinr1970]

...OK, not really!

Loaded up my '85 GMC swb 4x4 parts truck last Sunday with all the parts I had no need for. Sad to say but that included two good hoods, three good passenger doors (two power), some decent front fenders, etc. You can only run so many CL adds and get stiffed by flakes before you give up.
Plus, my GF was under the belief that it would only be around for a few months (a year and a half later)...

After getting stiffed by three different scrapper flakes I borrowed a friend at works trailer and Excursion. Although he said it wasn't neccessary, I insisted I fill his tank for letting me borrow his set-up. It was an overnight deal and I let him take my '06 GMC home with him which he very much enjoyed!

With scrap being at $190 a ton I entered the scales at ~13,800 pounds and left at ~10,000. The trailer couldn't weigh 2,000 pounds so that means his Excursion tipped the scales at ~8,000 pounds; YIKES!!! But that V10 is a puller though.
And this is for a swb truck that had NO engine, tranny, transfer case or bed.
That netted me a check for $357! I have to think a lwb with the drivetrain still intact would be over $400?
After filling his tank (didn't actually FILL it as the pump stopped at $98.10!!!) I pocketed $250. Not bad.
Now I understand why I see so many ads on CL offering to take junk vehicles for free.

But the REALLY SAD part?
The place I took it used to be a wrecking yard (still in the title) but now they are just salvadge.
The truck two in front of me going in had what looked to be a 3/4 4x4 '85-88 Suburban that from my vantage point had nothing wrong with it. Probably didn't run or anything but I am on the hunt for rear Subrban/Crew doors for my crew. If there wasn't a big sign saying you can't work on vehicles or take parts on their property I would have tried to talk to the guy.

But it gets worse.
By the time I got to the off-loading area the Suburban already had two cars stacked on top of it.
As I waited for the guy to come pick off mine I looked around and saw:
- an 80's K5 that from the passenger side looked nice
- a 70's C30 with a utility bed on it that looked good from the front
- an '88-91 C30 (V30?) flatbed that I could see nothing wrong with
- a 70's C30 crew cab; rough but still lots of good parts.
- a few others that I couldn't see real well.
I have heard it said before that there are millions of the 73-87 trucks around and that is why you can't sell one for much. Parts are a dime a dozen, etc.
At this rate with the price of scrap they are going to disappear real fast...

[Fraser Beatty]

Man that makes me sad. If I had my chance at em I probably would've brought at least one of em home. If not for a project then at least parts for other projects.