Aussie Junkyard Gold

[@HazeyAuto]

Benny channeling an Aussie Steve Magnante telling stories on all these old locally sold legends. Love it.

[@BennysCustomWorks]

I did draw some inspiration for sure.

[@ADOS31]

Thought exactly they same... ive had a desire to do similar for an incredible amount of time, but havent thought there would be much point being aus, less vehicles made here/less vehicles in wreckers/less need for info or stuff like this...

[@HazeyAuto]

@@ADOS31 I think you should- plenty of wreckers about the countryside with some legendary Aussie Iron. Remember me when you’re famous.

[@fgialcgorge7392]

Man, I love junkyards. They're like an amusement park for gearheads.

[@BroomysGarage]

Could watch this all day long 👌🏻 Still love losing hours walking local junkyards looking for hidden gems.

[@TasmanianDevil3]

L28E in the datto

[@andrewrigg4905]

You may also remember the old ford laser Carla Zampatti edition. Great video down memory lane. These kinds of wreckers have always been my happy place.

[@BorkenGarage]

18:20 - That definitely looks like a Bluebird dash, did 1000's of K's in my Grandpa's back in the day. The economy gauge was based on vacuum pressure, so the more beans you gave it, the less economy you got.

[@jeepnutscotty]

Some of them old 70s Datsuns were shipped to Australia on the top deck of the ship itself, packing as many inside and out as they could, the ones on deck getting covered in saltwater waves for a couple of weeks, given a quick wash on the docks here and sent to dealers, and why they rusted like you pointed out, even on the roof. 200B’s being the worst affected

[@BennysCustomWorks]

Thanks for the info, that makes total sense

[@wobblysauce]

Inside Shipping containers was still a new thing

[@JyveKilla]

i think this isnt true and just folk law. would like to see a photo to confirm

[@borismcfinnigan3430]

@@JyveKilla I can assure you it is 100% true. I remember vividly seeing images of Datsuns being shipped RoRo to Aus on the deck of the vessel, out in the open.

[@andysaunders3708]

Pretty sure that the 200B was assembled in Aus. Mine was, according to the plate on the firewall. It wasn't a rustbox, but the engine was a bit shit, unlike my 910 Bluebirds.

[@mitchellpatterson3323]

I'd watch an entire series if Benny just wandering through wrecking yards and giving knowledge dumps. This is beautiful automotive archaelology.

[@AdrianM082]

The Pulsar Reebok also came with a pair of Reebok's 👍There is actually one for sale on Gumtree complete with the shoes

[@pce0513]

I remember this from my childhood

[@rhettcorbett3346]

Awesome. It is Junkyard Gold. And that is what is so good about driving in the country. Playing 'Spotto'.

[@wurlycorner]

Love this video. These kind of breakers yards are absolute gems for those of us running properly old rare cars. Can easily spend hours doing just what you've done - walking round just looking at stuff! Those kind of sections at the bottom of the windscreen would be used in the UK due to rot at the bottom of the screen and in the front scuttle panel (common rust areas on anything up to late 90s). The other sections people have cut, they may not have cut/shut the other car the same extent, but it's easier/quicker to take the large section from the breakers and then pick apart the smaller panels you need when you're back home doing.

[@notold37]

I used to love walking around wreckers yards, that was freaking brilliant, cheers Benny

[@pieflies]

The 280zx would have had an L28E or L28TE, so you were pretty spot on with your guess.

[@nickgalea82]

Grew up like 10 minutes from there, both there and the Pick and Payless wreckers in Blacktown used to be absolute goldmines for parts and project cars back in the late 90's and early 2000's. So many cars I wish I'd bought as projects from both yards back in the day. The big one I remember was a XW Fairmont with a 302 Windsor that was pretty straight, rust free and complete.

[@tonydoggett7627]

I once saw a 2 door LJ torana body shell at Pick and Payless for $900 back when they first opened. I didn’t have the money.

[@blairhallinan4102]

Your knowledge or cars is amazing. As someone who does still have a mini ute 100% those mu were cut up to be used on mini trucks

[@ondrejhybler9371]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Benny. I used to get so many Volvo parts from there over the years. They also had so many Japanese cars there. I remember seeing a Datsun 240K there a good 15 years ago. They used to sell cars as well out the front. It's a shame that so many of these kinds of wrecking yards are gone now. I used to go to Pick and Payless as well for many many years.

[@myopinion69420]

I love yards like that. its so handy if your not sure what you actually need. retrofitting a thermo fan on a car with a clutch fan? take your tape measure and find something that fits in the space you have.

[@davidshepherd265]

Not only that, but if its a part you've never removed or fitted before, its better to practice on a wreck first before having a go on your own car.

[@bradleysmith6797]

G'day Benny i used to go to this wreckers most weekends when i was a young bloke to keep my old HR holden on the road and they used to sell the better cars in a yard out the front to the side which i did buy a couple of cars from them, loved seeing this, brings back a lot of great memories.

[@arcopierik3894]

I love these kind of videos, when I watch this it doesn't matter where you are in the world the junkyard is everywhere slowly disappearing .Here and there you can still see an old-fashioned scrap yard, but most of them have become modern car dismantling companies or simply disappeared. I spent hours wandering around the scrapyards in the area. Now my eldest son, 20 years old, has been working at a scrapyard for about 2 and a half years now. The most common complaint from him and his boss is exactly what you say. For a €2.50 switch, people would demolish more than €200 worth of dashboard and other parts. That is why he often goes on site for customers to dismantle the parts designated by them.Because he is the only mechanic who does this, customers regularly come to the site who demolish more than necessary.This makes it increasingly difficult for well-intentioned customers to find parts themselves. Here in the Netherlands we almost only see European and Japanese cars on the scrap yard.That's why I like seeing scrapyards in other countries.

[@quadruple_negative]

I used to go to Pick and Payless pretty much weekly as I had an EB Falcon XR6. I got a lot of genuine Ford parts from there. One week there was an immaculate XF S-Pack in the yard. The next week it was pretty much a bare shell.

[@stevenboyd5044]

Not much gets past you mate. I could watch this content for days. Absolutely loved going to the scrappies with Dad as a kid. Scottish scrappies were lethal back in the day. Now you have to book a slot, get a high vis, all the cars are on racks, brought down by forklift.

[@SPARKIE2850GAMING]

ive taken many parts off the fairlanes and ltds from there over the last 5 years even scored a set of genuine xd falcon taillight lenses with ford logos for $75 about 2 years ago that was stashed away in the shed

[@Mattstang]

Love your work Benny and been following for a few years now. You and I had a quick chat at Nats 33 at the dyno hall when you had the Cresta there. I remember a wrecking yard at Seven Hills down near the shale, there were near complete LJs back then amongst many other Aussie classics, Cheers Matt

[@darrenliggett7222]

Yip, it was the Vauxhall Caviler here in the UK Benny, my Dad had a SRi 130, 2.0-litre petrol 130bhp, hence the name, it was the one to have. You could get a wagon as well, or estate as we called them. There was even a convertible version, and a fancy Calibre model.

[@patawic]

That poor 200b SSS. It would have had a vinyl roof originally or travelled on the top deck of the ship. That's why it's so damaged. The car you're talking about at 18:42 is a 280zx, Had an injected L28

[@roddydykes7053]

It’s fun wandering around looking for gems in the prairies of Canada. Ours are covered in snow 7 months of the year though

[@justaaussie]

Stuff the Capris that JB camera in the background @3:53 be calling 🤷🤷👌 someone just save it ✌️also @4:51 ... Let me at em 🤣 , my dad owned one of these in white and a station wagon we snapped the CV joints driving it to rawlinna w.a lol memory's 🤣

[@someyoungguy6990]

Ah that brings back some memories. Seeing all the old cars kinda feels like catching up with old mates!!

[@stevehall8981]

I used to wander around there years ago when there were still 20s and 30s cars there!

[@soulyouth]

I grew up just down the road from Dunkers U-Pull-It, so many weekend trips down there for a bit of trim or cheap ties or just anything for my old VH, sad to see these places go

[@LV-FOURTWENTYSIX]

I love wandering the wrecking yard just to imagine the stories the cars could tell.

[@grahamparsons1070]

Well played mate thank you for sharing

[@Thommybee-85]

Nice old school wrecking yard. speaking of brand collaborations the N13 Pulsar came equiped with the GM Family 2 16LE or 18LE. At a guess it had something to do with the Button Car Plan, Holden was using them in the Camira so it counted as local content at the time maybe. I had a Reebok as a first car and always dreamed of doing the CA18DET swap that was popular in the early 2000s. Anyway, I didnt know about this yard but it reminded me of Budgewoi Auto Wreckers on the north end of the Central Coast. I haven't been there in about ten years but they always had a gold mine of old school parts. The top end is concreted and stocked with the usual modern stuff, the dirt yard out the back had rows and rows of older stuff. They might still have a few rows of sigma/ aussie Mitsubishis. They still had rows of Torana's and Gemini's when i was last there.

[@glynngrauer3962]

Hey bunny I can't belive that the northern wreckers are going I remember going there as a little kid and I'm a 39 year old man so sad 😢 😞 my pop used to live just round the corner of the wreckers so so sad

[@SuperEoin09]

Awesome work man. What a cornucopia of meta. I’m in Scotland, and there are millions of cars and vans throughout the UK that have been scraped!!!! There are some really good cars that have been abandoned on unused air strips. They cannot be stripped for parts and are just rusting away. Worth a look on KZbin.

[@kentstroud8218]

Great episode Benny. So many memories. No Carla Zampatti Lasers?

[@BennysCustomWorks]

Couldn’t find any. Those had the phone dial wheels from memory?

[@rc70ys]

Pick and Payless was around locally for a very very long time had some great memories early 90s walking through picking parts

[@furai-ingfalc-kuru8149]

Loved this place, such a shame its gone. Pulled some great parts for my EB2 Ghia outta here, left plenty of bits I now wish I grabbed, just never had a ute or help to do it. I've got a taillight lense out of that XK Falcon sitting on my parcel shelf as a bit of decoration lol

[@toddmccarter45]

Thanks for this! I'm from the US so most of these cars were either completely new or only vaguely similar to stuff I've seen.

[@StavTech]

Yep, we got Mk2 Cavalier estates same as that. My dad had one!

[@FixTechStuff]

Brings back memories of my childhood, walking barefoot in the wreckers standing on surprisingly not sharp shattered window glass and helping dad get parts for the Kingswood.

[@tk91802]

Love this wreckers, been going there since i was a kid, has helped me out with projects and repairs for a long time.

[@ESISTTIGER]

I have/ had 2 go to wreckers in qld 1 in Brisbane and 1 in Bundaberg Found they pulled the engines and boxes that worked and would put them in containers or the warehouse And just put the roller out in the paddock only times they left engines behind was if they were blown or seized

[@stevemcintyre4398]

As memory serves me the Datsun 810 was a fully imported SSS and should have independent rear suspension (ala 1600, 180B). The other was 280 2X2.

[@LobbyDaLobster]

I believe that the 200b coupes weren't meant for Australia, but were mistakenly in an Australian shipment. Datsun international said it was too much effort to take them back and sell them somewhere else so they were sold in Australia. And yes. I believe they did have IRS

[@BennysCustomWorks]

@@LobbyDaLobster probably bound for NZ originally.

[@patawic]

@@LobbyDaLobster ​ it was the IRS 200b sedans that accidentally got shipped. Australian made sedans were solid axle rear. All 200b coupes had irs and were jap imports.

[@twinshock175]

Sad to loose all these old wrecking yards, thanks for walking through this one showing these old past relics.

[@infotechplus1950]

After many months of waiting (not so patiently) the yard opened again about a fortnight ago. The business was bought by Clyde Auto Wreckers from Penrith. Their lease at Penrith runs out at the end of 2023 and then they will move to Northern Road. The business is now called New World Auto Wreckers. That's the good news! The bad news ... for all of us looking for small plastic pieces or trim, or a couple of bolts to replace project parts you can forget this yard. Firstly, they do not have insurance so it is no longer DIY or Pick Yourself - there is No Admittance to the yard. As it was explained to me they only do major items so if you need a plug or part of a wiring loom, you have to buy the whole loom. I suspect you also have to ring in advance. They will not get small items - "It's not worth our while" I was told. Also, and this will impact those of us with projects 30-40 years old, all the old stock will be removed and recycled, to make way for newer stock. I suspect that could be anywhere between 50-90% of what's there! I didn't ask about payment so I'm not sure how happy they would be if you asked for a gearbox and it turned out when you got there it was not the right one!

[@danielb2114]

I learned how to drive there in an RB Gemini and a Diahatsu Delta when I was 14 😆 Mates old man used to be the manager so every school holidays we would go thrash shitboxes around. Good times

[@zappy7393]

Paid $500 for my girlfriend/wife's Twin Cam Corolla back in high school and fixed it up with wreckers parts back in the day... Wreckers also kept my KE70 and Astina together for years...even had an accident in the Astina and repaired it all with a wreckers front cut. People just don't want to repair things like they used to. The space would be worth so much more money to development. Seeing that Z there got me wondering...

[@user-du8cs8sn2v]

I wish Brisbane still had one of those old style wreckers....

[@waynewilkin3582]

could watch you walk around all day, loved wreckers

[@geordiegibson1210]

That Datsun you're talking about around the 18:30 mark is a 280ZX, from memory it's the S31 chassis. Should be an L28 motor. all around the world except US got the EFI L28 in that car, they got the S30 240Z/S260Z shell with a carby motor (some may have been EFI), the rest of the world got that same model with a 2.8l injected motor..

[@SchrottiJr]

Our wreckers do disassembly and inventory, so you can call up and ask if what you need is in stock or walk into a used parts store basically, gallerys of fenders doors etc. Prevents vandalism, death and even if someone takes the oil cap off an engine it wouldn´t rain into it.

[@BennysCustomWorks]

There’a heaps of great dismantlers in Aus that are fully catalogued like ACM but when you’re building a car sometimes you don’t know what you need until it’s there in front of you. Or you can measure and check against multiple cars

[@jrbuch]

Moog hates Holden Camira's.... haha the 4cyl shorty VL Commodore.

[@neilperry2224]

Spot on Benny, I almost bought one but it got torched in the sellers yard. The car was a Vauxhall Cavalier est, where the tailgate went all the way below the bumper. Yeah, we had the Probe too, but didn't sell well . But now people are restoring them in the uk. We got Peogeot 205's with VANS,RIP CURL and the usual ones.

[@sickmick8846]

Don't forget the "Mizuno" Charade.

[@waimser]

That dash is absolutely from a bluebird. Series 3 with colour matched "aero" bumpers.

[@PageUpPerformance]

Love it Benny! Brings back some good memories from back in the day! Next stop Flynn’s Wrecking yard at Cooma?!👌🏼

[@AutomotiveKarnage]

Now your right up my ally! I did not expect this style of content and its awesome. Mate you are welcome out my neck of the world anytime to have a look around at some old rust.

[@wasabicars]

How good was this?! So many epic cars. And, hey. Have fun in Canberra and the Summernats

[@billmago7991]

i first went to Northerns in 1979 looking for parts for my mates hot EH wagon 👍👍

[@scottr9900]

In the States, the firewall and dash area contains the VIN, and can be useful when assembling a mongrel car. Some states will actually issue a title and license the vehicle, I believe.

[@trayner]

I had a Holden rodeo mini truck back in the day with the mux/frontera guards

[@icascone]

@17.17 There is an Alfa Romeo Sud! Sud = South in Italian It was built in the South of Italy to help the poorer parts of Italy... They have amazing road holding due to their "watts linkages" in the suspension, but sadly they were very well known for rusting due to frequent strikes and cars were sometimes left unpainted outside... Remarkable to find one in Australian wrecking yard! That Falcon in same part of video is amazing as well as the Austin I think at 16 mins into video! Those are very rare! I also never seen a Reebok also never heard of the swift Fiorelli, I Barely heard of the Ford Laser Zampati version! Thanks for the video I learned about a lot of trim levels I never even heard before!

[@tturi2]

Cool to see all of those old Aussie gems,

[@BarrelBros]

Omg! The sportsgirl!!

[@fordyford]

I think that was a Nissan 280ZX, a crossover between the S30 and the Z31 I think. Had a 2.8L. My 1st car was a Sportsgirl 1986 MB Holden Barina! Best times lol. It ended being wrecked locally to that yard so it's probably there. Wrecked circa 2002. You know it's mind because the Sportsgirl sticker was still in it but had been bleaced clear....

[@nickgrech9634]

Awesome video mate! Such a great yard. So many memories in that yard

[@Giddzy]

benny i love your channel but ive never understood the bcw cut screen and delaying it by a few seconds when its returns...

[@v1jilante]

That Alfa sud didn’t even look rusty - If so, that’s truly amazing!

[@briangard3452]

good old northern yard love tht place

[@mrgtsx]

Wrecker runs are always great fun

[@infotechplus1950]

Northern Auto Wreckers has been there a long time but the business actually started in Westmead and was known as Parramatta Spares. It was started by Roy Horne (1906-1981) and carried forward by one of his sons. The yard was on the corner of the Great Western Highway and Hawkesbury Road Westmead, dating back to 1943. The son, also Roy Horne, sold the Westmead yard for housing development and moved everything out to Northern Road about 10 years ago. Northern Road first appeared on aerial maps in the Seventies. The Westmead site had a lot of Datsuns - I lived around the corner and got all my race car spares (Datsun 1600) from there including engines out of 200Bs. Clyde Auto Wreckers based in Penrith have taken over the yard. Let's hope they do a better job than the previous owner as he let the yard deteriorate to a point where it was very difficult to get parts, and the pricing was so haphazard it really left you scratching your head. I'm sure the guy in the Office just pulled numbers out of the air! I'd hate to think what the snake population is in there, with all the tall grass growing up through many of the cars!

[@twisted2291]

The J-Car was a Caviler here in the U.S. as well. Came with a 2.5 Iron Duke or the 2.8 V6 to later grow to a 3.1 V6. The Ford Probe was planned to be the Mustang Fox Body replacement. But with the back lash that Ford got from the public. That Idea was scraped and the car was put out as the Probe on it's own. Very cool trip around the yard. Maybe there is a career in becoming a Australian version of Steve Magnante. Check out his channel for the American Junk Yard Crawl series he does.

[@markellis9355]

That bus looks like the same model that was used in the original Italian Job

[@LZYEYEST0081]

Funny how people think when they harvest parts. Bought a MK2 escort shell and the whole front clip had been cut off it. Sought after auto shell with no rust. Would have been a good car to build rather than cut up.

[@jasonwestmoreland7632]

I remember getting a 98 cressida interior it was red with button velvet for my 1977 cressida think it cost me $100. Had so many good memories. When I was there I was able to get Subaru Outback foggys and some B pillar trim. Place will be missed.

[@andrewmackay3382]

Was at that very yard less than a week ago looking for some Toyota parts not suprised it’s closing it’s sad though been going there for years you need a good full day to walk around and take in some of the wrecks in there !!

[@lyndonbelanger9670]

Gold coupe is a 280zx. They came non turbo, turbo and injected with a L28.

[@alastairwatson3201]

Great vid! Want a challenge? Find a Carla Zampatti Laser Ghia! They’re probably what started that whole cross-endorsement crap.

[@apbuilds1519]

Love me a great wreckers! I also seen a yellow mk1 golf in the background at 14:30 behind the 121 and the rusted corona. If you go again reckon you could see what other vws are there?

[@karlschroen392]

I spotted a first gen dodge neon, those jave to be pretty rare outside the US. They are getting rare here even.

[@christiankirkenes5922]

No wonder my sisters ford Capri had so many issues, made in Australia! Very Cool to see something like this.

[@rob83r]

That Pulsar and the Holden Astra along with the Camry and Apollo, lexcen and commodore etc were a part of the Button plan back in the day.

[@jamessuman2151]

Shoot, never heard of this place! Pretty rare to see a bronco at the wreckers, no doubt I could've used something off it 😥

[@bigalalbig]

What a great episode and step back in time. I used to hunt the scrappy for parts for my Honda 1.3S twin carb Civic back in the day, plus other gems. I think that was a Datsun 280ZX or similar, but hard to tell. Also saw lots of the Cavalier Estates in the UK. They were brought in as a late edition to compete with the Volvo and Sierra estates.

[@phillipevans9414]

ABig Al. Yeah, that Datsun is a 280ZX - my dream car when I was about 13, hahahaha. Cheers!

[@RevIt66]

Just wondering if you have looked at the silver and maroon XJ Jag that was behind you in the first scene? If it's the one i am thinking of it had a 308 conversion and a moroon vinyl roof. I don't know of many jags that colour, if it's the one i think it is my ex-stepmonster built the gearbox and the owner was a motor trimmer from crookwell.

[@jeep2701]

Another yard was dollar Wally’s at Lansvale in Sydney rebuilt my EJ Ute there in the 80’s….yes i am old

[@hazzalandy]

The bus is a Bedford VAL, made famous by The Italian Job. Firewall cuts could be to convert a LHD car to RHD...

[@rjpheonix67]

The early Falcon was an XK. Miss going to wreckers like this. It's always a good time to just have a wander around

[@iamtimthetoolman]

I have the headlight surrounds off it, probably 4 years ago now..

[@MRMOPARMAN0426]

You sure? I thought the XKs didnt get the tower supports, which is why the front ends used to collapse in them when new?

[@rjpheonix67]

@MRMOPARMAN0426 yes it's is. The Xk was the only model that had the thiner pillars at the rear window.

[@KARR]

I love u pull yards! If you ever get a chance to show more I will watch. Or even any other yards you know of. A little surprised how bad the cars rust there.

[@TheDexta98]

Victoria friends, next time you're at Imlachs have a look how many VL's make up the walls

[@wasabicars]

Re: Fiorelli Swift/Sporstgirl ... (I forget) Reebok Pulsar... made me think of the Carla Zampatti Ford Laser. Lol. Best of luck tracking down the Sportsgirl in the future

[@ItAintJustPaint]

We had a Cavalier wagon in the states. Even had a 3.1 v6 option w/ cowl induction😳

[@myopinion69420]

one of the big issues with these yards is people complaining to council about them. there is one not to far away from us that are always getting complaints, even though its kind of in the middle of know where in a paddock, they have to get the crusher in about twice a year to keep the council happy or risk getting shut down. complaints range from 'its a fire risk' to 'its a breading ground for pests' to 'its an eyesore'

[@pce0513]

They move in knowing it's there and then complain?

[@myopinion69420]

@@pce0513 thats how it works. same thing is about to happen over in florida with the freedom factory. they are looking to build 4500 homes right next door to a race track and drag strip. same thing happened in Melbourne. bunch of apartments were built around night clubs, then the people who moved in complained about the loud music, in a suburb known for its nightlife.

[@Thommybee-85]

@@pce0513 Its a grift, buy a place for a cheaper price and then get the 'undesirable" property/business closed down then resell the property for a profit. It has happened all over greater Sydney with race tracks, live music venues, workshops etc

[@aaronmayon1990]

As far as I know in ireland pick and pulls are long gone. If we have to go to a scap yard we go into the reception and they tell the people working there to go pick the part you want.

[@djcommie]

Started the first shot right off with a Daihatsu Rocky!

[@62TRB0]

Love these types of vids Benny

[@kaolla1000]

the bus is a bedford VAL twin steer coach, known here in the uk as a chinese six

[@cme2cau]

There was a silver Scorpion out the front of the wreckers about a week ago!

[@danthewookiechewy9555]

Benny do you live in the blue mountains? i could have sworn i saw you when i went walking one day not going to say where though.😁

[@BennysCustomWorks]

I don’t sorry

[@64nine]

Got told I can't walk thru a wreakers and get my own parts 10+ years ago... Sad day!! Plus pay extra for their labour 😪😪

[@Xanderscotty199]

Wow I think that ex ambiance electrical contractor is a local business that is still around called Dobsons electrical In Ulverstone Tasmania