Back to the junkyard

[Zaphod Q. IX]

Some of you know of my obsession with my Volvo 240. For those of you who don't, here's a picture of my baby...
http://i33.tinypic.com/2z7pjzc.jpg
I paid $300 for this awesome car. It's not perfect, however. The driver's seat is broken(as well as many other small things). I'm on my way right now to go get a "new" driver's seat for it from a local "you pull it" junkyard. Total cost of a replacement OEM car seat...$10.99. I just have to go out to the junkyard and remove it from the junked car myself. That just makes it even cooler as far as I"m concerned. ;)

Then I get to bring it home and stretch my existing upholstery over the seat, since the junked cars all have tan interior and mine has blue. TADA! new seat.

It'll be nice, since I pulled the driver's seat out of it two days ago (hoping to be able to fix it), and I haven't been able to drive it since I did.

I'm also going to be looking for an exhaust system for my van while I'm there...it should be fun. I love the junkyard.

[The_Amaster]

Dude, nice. That thing has blue interior? Must look pretty sweet.

Man, I wish there was a junkyard around that I could harvest parts from...

[MasterSwordUltima]

You should totally paint the outside something not off-white.

[Modus Ponens]

I'm with MSU on this one. Volvos rock my socks, but why not try something cool, like hunter green? I mean, money permitting, of course. Painting a car can be a costly endeavor, or so I hear.

[Zaphod Q. IX]

You should totally paint the outside something not off-white.
lol
I actually like the color. ;)

It quite a fun trip to the junkyard, as well as profitable. They had a Volvo 240 that had just been put in the yard. It hadn't even been put on their website yet, so I'm guessing it was placed in the yard today. It had almost every part I need for mine...license plate lights, power antenna, spring for the hood release, instrument cluster (so I can replace the gear that broke in my odometer), and the seat that I originally went for. All of those parts, except the seat, are parts that commonly break, so most junkyard Volvo 240's don't have them. This car was in great shape except for the fact that it had been rolled. :rolleyes:

Unfortunately, the driver's seat also was breaking in the same way that mine went, so I got the passenger side seat, and I'm going to remove the top section and put it on mine, and cover it with my upholstery. It just means that the knob for the lumbar support will be on the wrong side. Like I care about that.

The only parts it didn't have that I need are the turn-signal lenses that are cracked on mine, map pockets for both doors, and the center console that houses the e-brake (mine is in better shape).

Total cost: $43, and two hours of my time.
I love junkyards.

I just have to go back tomorrow with a hacksaw to get the exhaust for my van. :sb:

[MasterSwordUltima]

Your junkyard has a website? Where in the hell do you live?

Also, what year is your volvo? I'm thinking about finding a local dump myself, my jeep could go for some fixings up, and you've inspired me to look into it.

[Glenn the Grand]

Do you have a catalytic converter yet? Good luck finding that in the junkyard. They resell for $200 nowadays because of the heavy metals used in the catalyst. There's been a recent rash of catcon thefts from parked cars in my city as of late. My office lost two of them off of company vehicles last month.

[Zaphod Q. IX]

Your junkyard has a website? Where in the hell do you live?

Also, what year is your volvo? I'm thinking about finding a local dump myself, my jeep could go for some fixings up, and you've inspired me to look into it.
I live in Cincinnati, Ohio... and the junkyard is U-pull-and-pay (http://www.upullandpay.com/). They have locations in seven U.S. cities. The coolest thing about their websites (each location has it's own site), is that you can do a simple search that shows you what vehicles they have in the yard. No details or conditions on them, but...
:shrug:

My Volvo is a 1988, with almost 200k miles on it, and it still runs beautifully.

Most of the things I'm fixing now are restoration-type repairs, such as replacing broken mirrors, missing trim, the broken seat, the broken odometer, broken light housings, and such at this point.

When I got it, it wouldn't start, and that's why the guy sold it to me for $300. He's an idiot. I bought a starter for $100, an alternator for $75, and a battery for $50...and poof! Volvo-licious. I mean, this isn't some friggin' beater...it's a Volvo! In 1988, someone paid $25,000 for this car. :D

Working on your own car is one of the most satisfying things you can do, IMHO. I recommend it highly. Get out the yellow pages and find a "you-pull" junkyard in your city (they have the best prices), and fix that Jeep up.

[MasterSwordUltima]

I would love to fix up my Jeep. I definitely wanna get the front doors into a state so I can remove them without too much hassle [like Wrangler doors. It is possible, and apparently not toooooo difficult].

I would also love to get some new upholstery, as my Jeep was also bought used and for some reason there are some marks that are just plain weird. For instance there is this one large syrup-like indent of black substance on the ceiling. [shrug] I should get Sute to help me out with covers for the seats, she's good with sewing and stuff like that.

I'm looking up U-pull junk yards in PA right now.