The gas tank did get munched! but =
it still
works for now until I put a new one in. I lost about a 1/4 of the =
tank so
I have to watch the gas gauge all the time. My sliding door got =
trashed in
the moving process too, big dents from where the fork lift slammed into =
it, but
I found another one for cheap that has no rust on it whatsoever. I =
paid
very little for the van, had to put a new motor and clutch disk into it, =
and now
I am dealing with minor bugs here and there like you would with any =
other
vanagon. Total cost is under $1000 for me and once I get the new =
paint on
her, I'm sure she will be worth much more than that, but it doesn't =
matter since
I am going to keep it for a long time!
eggz
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Monday, June 04, 2001 =
9:12 AM
Subject: Re: Clean Westy at =
junkyard,
sad, happy day, long
In a =
message dated
6/4/01 9:41:10 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
drillock@EARTHLINK.NET =
writes:
Due to State and Local regulations, the fluids =
are
drained, batteries
and other hazardous materials removed, gas =
tanks
ripped out, etc. Then a
giant front end loader (fork lift) is =
used to
gently, ha ha, cart the
victim several hundred yards to it's =
spot in a
row. There it is placed
on 3 or more welded stacks of old steel =
wheels
with no regard for any
consequential damage to brake lines, =
hoses,
wires, body, bumpers, etc.
Get the picture?
i agree. once a car hits the =
salvage
auction circuit, its on its way to
being trashed..even at the =
salvage
auctions, the expensive stuff (radios,
center caps, alloy wheels =
are
swapped out for steel ones, spoilers dissapear,
etc) grows legs =
and walks
away, being picked over by salvage auction
buyers..the van is =
picked up by
a forklift (usually ALWAYS, even if it does
run) and the gas =
tank/LP tank
is always crushed (you pick up a vanagon with a
forklift, you WILL =
crush
the gas tank, its inevitable) and most yards will
toast the =
fiberglass
bumpers (if not already) by the time it makes it back to
it's spot =
in the
yard. gotta push it back into it's spot in the row? no =
problem,
that's what forklift tines are for.. ram it right back in there. =
most cars actually get more damage on their way from the final =
owner to
their
final resting place in the junkyard than they even had =
before the
car was
junked..
my best mental image was quite some years =
ago
when i happened to be at a yard
and witnessed the fork lift driver =
picking
up a '62 23 window microbus by
jabbing the fork tines thru the =
skylights
in the roof.... that makes ya
sick.. =
chris