"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
11/09/2018 at 06:40 • Filed to: Junkyard, Salvage Yard
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"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
11/09/2018 at 06:40 • Filed to: Junkyard, Salvage Yard | 4
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***Re-post for the morning crowd***
This is a delayed post considering the recent basement flood I had a few weeks ago that I’ve been dealing with. The trip in question took place on October 26th, late afternoon. :)
Last year around the same time, I was in Halifax for a similar conference and, as the place I was at for the conference was only 5 minutes down the road from a Pick-N-Pull yard,
!!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!
All went well and I really enjoyed that afternoon - it was some of the first real ‘me’ by myself time I’d had in a long time. Considering the enjoyment, fun and success I had last year, I decided to go back there this year to find a few things for my own car (and one very small thing for my brother’s car). I was less fortunate this time around, only finding two very minor items from the list of 5 things I was looking for, but, it was still a fun afternoon! Come with me on my journey! :D
The yard is the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! located in Cow Bay, Nova Scotia just outside the twin cities (joined as one regional municipality) of Halifax and Dartmouth on the Dartmouth side of the harbour. It was only a 15 minute drive from where my conference was this year, so I was happy to take the short drive to visit again!
After I pulled into the lot and signed in at the desk, I walked out the back door of the main garage and found the yard layout is generally the same, but they’ve done some moving of things around and did a general cleanup. It looks a lot different in person now than the satellite images on Google Maps suggest. The first area you come to outside of the back of the main building is the truck/SUV area, but also where they put their more special cars....sportier stuff and luxury rides. I didn’t take all that many pictures as I was there on a mission, but I did note this black Mercedes....which I promptly snapped and sent a picture off to Borsuq as it reminded me of his car (he has a silver coupe version!)
The body was in somewhat rough shape, but certainly saveable....the interior was pretty trashed though, and the left rear window was either broken or rolled down.
I was looking for the Hyundai/Kia section though, which was at the back. On the Google Maps satellite shot of the yard, you can see a large area to the rear on the right. This area is not accessible to the public, nor is the left 1/3 or so of the left-side back lot. As I mentioned in the post about my first trip to Maritime Pick-A-Part, there is a LITERAL wall of cars in the way....that wall is still standing!
One of the first things I saw on my last trip was a down-on-it’s luck RalliArt Lancer from a few generations ago. I always thought one would be a decent DD and the yellow at least made it more cheery and bright than the blank black/silver/whites we mostly find on everything. On my way back, I found it again! That poor Lancer looks far rustier now along the front where the accident damage was, but it’s still there giving up it’s parts to keep fellow Lancers going! Sadly it doesn’t look like many parts from it have been even removed since last time, but I guess it wouldn’t still be here if people weren’t still scavenging it!
On my way out of that row towards my Accent targets further back, I came across this innovative cupholder with a stereotypical cup of Tim Horton’s finest - it was even the usual ‘Double Double’ as per stereotype...
The next two rows...or at least a row and a half...were all Honda. Civics ruled the day as I imagine they make a killing on parts for those. This lone Prelude was a sad sight to see though, and it’s clearly been ragged on and put away wet MANY times in it’s hard life...no obvious huge accident damage, but lots of dents, scrapes and mismatched paint...
This poorly painted now-red EK Civic cylinder head was worth an obvious +10hp, so I was surprised nobody had robbed it yet for the massive performance boost!
This VERY eye-catching vinyl wrap was on a North-American market Accord sedan (pre-facelift, so a ‘03-’05 or so)? I learned to drive stick on one of these from a good friend of mine, so it was sortof sad seeing it in this state. I always thought they were pretty handsome cars.
I continued on, soon finding the row of Mazda graves. This first-gen Mazda6 estate with a V6 has always been a very rare car around here. First-gen 6s were always pretty handsome cars to me as well, so this was sad to see also...
I also found the most Mazda 5s in one place that I’ve seen in a long time! You can see the end of a section of the ‘Wall Of Cars’ in the rear-left of shot, featuring a second-gen Chevy Tahoe. The car wall turned into box trucks and boxes once you got back far enough!
The Subaru row was next, featuring these two Impreza wagons and an earlier Forester out in front where the row met the road. I’ve always loved the second-gen Imprezas as I used to own one that I still lament having to get rid of. My second-gen 2002 2.5TS wagon affectionately called ‘Beastie’ was always a great car to me until Canadian salty roads killed it from rust and it was no longer financially feasible to repair...I still miss that car! A close friend’s dad also has a pristine 2006 WRX STi in World Rally Blue to add to my love for these cars!
FINALLY! Hyundai/Kia stuff! Am I going to find the stuff I am looking for? The first thing I find going back the row is a 2010 Hyundai Accent sedan in burgundy that looks exactly like my brother’s car....OK, so, can’t get the interior rear hatch trim or dash trim I need....no hatch and wrong color dash. I CAN get the little rubber driver’s side wiper arm bolt cover I need for my brother’s car though! WAIT A MINUTE, this car is familiar....HA! It’s the exact same car I pulled an newer OEM stereo head unit out of last year on my trip to replace his flaky one! Hello old friend! Huh....guess it’s been keeping interesting company as I noticed this pipe sitting under the buckled engine hood as I grabbed my small prize...
OOOOOoooo! An Accent exactly like mine! Maybe a year newer or older, but in hatch form and in the same color!!! Wow, this thing had to have a hard hit into a ditch or something....look how the front suspension is buckled back and how the fender is crumpled. At least I can definitely get the interior hatch trim I need from that!
....oh. Guess not...argh. I tried to retrieve the small dash trim piece I needed from this car though, only to find that it was already cracked.
No worries, I shall carry on! A few other random cars were interspersed into the mostly Hyundai/Kia row, including this Prius in remarkably good shape. No idea what killed it, but body damage wasn’t it! See, even futuristic reliable Toyota hybrid technology can end up in the muddy debris-littered salvage yards with every other plebian non-hybrid...
Wait....what’s that? Wow, check out the super effective aftermarket Selective Yellow fog light install on that Hyundai Elantra hatchback!
Yes...somebody had literally just painted the fog light mounting locations on a non-foglight car with whatever yellow paint they just had laying around...nobody would have ever seen through this ruse, right?!
AHA!!! Another Accent hatchback! I knew I would be lucky! Oh, wait, no, of course not....this one suffers from the dreaded rear hatch handle rust failure many do, and, despite the fact the hatch is there, I can’t open it to get the trim I need off....ARGH. At least I can get the dash trim piece I am looking for. This Remembrance Day Poppy sitting crumpled in the driver’s side footwell was sortof humbling to see considering Remembrance Day was only 2-and-a-bit weeks away...
Success though, I did retrieve what I was looking for - a pristine, if dusty fog light/gauge dimmer mounting panel!
Sadly, despite checking one or two more Accents and Kia Rios, none had a stereo head unit for me and there were no more hatchbacks to get the hatch trim I needed. My
stereo still works, but has been slowly losing radio reception. I know it’s not the antenna as swapping a known good one from mom’s or bro’s cars makes no difference. No matter, I will check the next time I am in the city, I usually use the Aux-in jack and my MP3 player anyway!
I’ve got some time left though, so no harm exploring the rest of the yard!
I found this Yaris the next row over in the Toyota row....it had taken a very hard front hit.
I was astonished by just HOW hard though...
Holy CRAP. That rusty, crumpled metal section mid-photo SHOULD be right where the A-pillar and windshield should be! 0_o
There was a fellow in the mostly-VAG row pulling an engine out of a Jetta of the same vintage as this. Guess he didn’t want the engine from this very roughly spray-painted bright orange Golf...
Meanwhile, this incredibly rough Cavalier had Chrysler Neon rims on it and a LOT of bondo...I don’t think this thing had ever seen undercoating in it’s life...and it’s even one of the later Cavaliers!
I always liked this very pretty teal-bright-blue on this generation of Nissan Sentra. It wasn’t a common paint shade to find around here though, but I have a thing for car companies that at least TRY to have some bright and cheery colors in their palettes as options! Thanks Nissan for at least allowing this beigest of beige Sentras to have a decidedly non-beige color!
Not far from that Sentra at the end of the row were two VERY nice early-90s Nissan Stanzas with hilariously low miles. WHY DID NOBODY SAVE THESE??? 110000 and 120000 miles? (Not sure why they actually wrote miles....I assume they meant kilometers as we use the metric system up here in Canada!) These would’ve had plenty of life in them! The bodies were pretty much perfect other than the scuffs caused from moving them around the yard! I mean, look how reflective that paint is on the hood on of the one on the right! Sure, a few chips here and there, but still!
PT Cruiser roof rack rear spoiler anyone?
The very back of the yard was Ford car and random minivan territory, including these three poorly Crown Victorias. Two were ex-Police Interceptors. Pretty sure the center one was from a town police force in the Annapolis Valley region of Nova Scotia, specifically a town called Kentville as they used to use a similar white/black color scheme. The left Vic was ex-RCMP. The right one was just your run of the mill grand-dad land yacht spec!
These Crown Vics made Borsuq sad as he quite like them...
Welp, it was time to head out, so I took a few shots of the ‘special’ car section on the way out to pay for my decidedly minimal haul...this empty husk of an RX8 greeted me as I approached the main building to pay...
This forlorn Celica was one of the last things I saw as I walked into the garage. Probably just FWD basic spec, bit these were always cool cars in my eyes, so another sad sight.
And thus ended my trip! I still need a replacement head unit for my own car, as well as THAT BLASTED HATCH TRIM PIECE.
Hope you enjoyed reading! There’s still another pick-n-pull yard in the city I’ve not been to yet. Maybe I’ll have to head to that one next time I am there!
slipperysallylikespenguins
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/08/2018 at 20:32 |
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I’ve always done this on my Caprice wagon, gotta get that downforce! This post reminds me I haven’t made a junkyard trip in a long time, maybe this weekend.
someassemblyrequired
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/08/2018 at 20:47 |
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That sure is a hell of a lot classier than R&R Kinsmen’s on Ross Rd.
used to be back when it was a pick’n’pull. Is that place even still around?
facw
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/08/2018 at 21:11 |
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I’d like to visit a pick and pull, but the nearest one to me seems to be nearly an hour away in Worcester. Granted that’s not much fa rther than one of the pick and pulls I visited in Houston (had to drive farther for good S40 parts, S60s/V60s are much more common), though I also had one that was like 10 minutes away. There was a junk yard a few minutes away, but it was not a full service, so not as desirable, and recently closed anyway, probably to make room for an office park (there’s an adjacent former railway that I hope gets converted to a bike path) .
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> slipperysallylikespenguins
11/08/2018 at 21:22 |
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I actually thought it was a spoiler at first until I clued in! :D
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> someassemblyrequired
11/08/2018 at 21:26 |
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Never heard of Kinsmen’s! It’s still listed on Google Maps, so assuming it’s still open?
There’s also Kenny’s U-Pull in Enfield, but I’ve not ventured there yet! Kenny’s is supposed to be even more organized, and a larger stock of cars as well!
Just found out the hatch handle on my car partially gave out this afternoon...the handle still works, but it’s a common failure on Accent hatchbacks of my car’s vintage....hell knows how much it’s going to cost to repair. It’s still working for not, but I have no idea for how long. Basically the metal frame the handle mounts to rusts out (the handle frame itself was poorly rustproofed from the factory, design flaw) and the actual hinge for the handle fails...meaning no getting into the trunk as there is no interior release. If it does give out completely on me, it’ll be the only real problem I’ve ever had with this car!
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> facw
11/08/2018 at 21:28 |
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The one I’ve been two twice now is over an hour from home, probably more like an hour and a half? I only go there if I happen to already be in the area for something else, which is rare....hence why I’ve only been there twice in two
years! :P
It’s a surprisingly calming and enjoyable experience just walking and around and checking things out aside from getting what you need for awesome prices! The OEM replacement stereo head unit I got for my brother’s car last time I was there last year was only $20 CAD, no tax
and maybe 15 minutes of my time! Definitely worth it! :D
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facw
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/08/2018 at 21:38 |
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Yeah, I like the concept. Prices are good, and you can see a bunch of cars. Plus you can disassemble stuff knowing that if you accidentally break it, it’s not going to cost you anything (as long as you notice you broke it). Good both for figuring out how to do stuff before doing it on your car, and seeing how things work in general.
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someassemblyrequired
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/08/2018 at 22:13 |
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Yeah I’d imagine that new place has put a hurt on it since it’s so close. It was a good pick’n’pull but when they stopped doing that it wasn’t great unless certain people were working. I used to go to/use Blenkhorn’s in Truro a lot, they were pretty on the ball even though it was a lot futher away. If you weren’t up that way when you needed something they delivered next day for a small charge
.
It’s
amazing how the salt air/salty road combo is perfect for OEMs to test their rust protection. I wonder if there is some sort of remote release that was an option on that gen Accent that you could retrofit? Or maybe rig a manual release where the latch engages the pin with some bicycle cable?
fintail
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/08/2018 at 22:18 |
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When a pristine early W210 is worth 5K, unfortunately, nobody is going to save a rusty one. Probably some good parts though.
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> fintail
11/09/2018 at 06:21 |
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Yeah, I know....that’s the sad part. There were quite a few Mercs and BMWs there, I should’ve taken a better shot of them all!
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> fintail
11/09/2018 at 06:21 |
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Yeah, I know....that’s the sad part. There were quite a few Mercs and BMWs there, I should’ve taken a better shot of them all!
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> someassemblyrequired
11/09/2018 at 06:22 |
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As far as I know, none ever came with a remote release, just key fob electric unlock/lock, but nothing to actually ‘pop’ the hatch. :/
I just posted on the Hyundai-Forums....hoping somebody can tell me the cost to get it repaired at the dealership, or the part number (s) I would need...
DutchieDC2R
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/09/2018 at 07:43 |
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As I saw your post yesterday, I started thinking how cool it must be to have junkyards where you can just freely roam through. The couple of times I had to go to a junkyard, it was a situation of: report at the desk what car you're looking for and we'll decide if you can go in or not.
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fintail
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/09/2018 at 09:13 |
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Sad, yet the decay is fascinating in a way. Also MB W202s and W210s can really rust in the right environment (which I believe is yours), which hastens the decline.
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someassemblyrequired
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/09/2018 at 09:23 |
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Ah I’m sure someone will come up with it, or you might be able to source one from a junkyard down in the southern part of the States.
Might check eBay. I bet you just have to remove the interior hatch trim and then it’s probably a couple of bolts to get it out.
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someassemblyrequired
> RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
11/09/2018 at 09:38 |
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since I’m bored this am,
I’m fairly sure full part number
is 81720-1E020, $35 new a lot of places in the States.
duurtlang
> DutchieDC2R
11/09/2018 at 13:58 |
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I’ve found these in the Netherlands though. Yes you report at the front desk first, but afterwards you’re (somewhat) free.
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> fintail
11/09/2018 at 15:25 |
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Yup, unless you undercoat every year, you’re just asking for trouble with our winters...
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RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
> DutchieDC2R
11/09/2018 at 15:27 |
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Most normal junkyards operate that way here as well. There are Pick-N Pull yards in a few places though, but they are far less common. The only two I know ‘near’ me are over an hour away, but you just saunter in, show them your bags of tools so they know what you had when you got there, sign a ‘if I die it’s not the yard’s fault’ waiver and off you go!
Once you’re done, it’s just a matter of stopping at the desk, showing them what you scored, they total it up at hilariously cheap prices (most of the time) check your bags to make sure you’re not smuggling anything out you didn’t pay for and that’s it! :)