|
I work as a tow truck driver and come across some deals on cars that are just too good to pass up. Here are a few of my projects. 87 Nissan Noodle Body Got this out of impound, painted it black, dropped the torsion bars and put in a glass pack. Wiring in the truck was a loving joked, some cobbled start switch and headlights wired to a switch then straight to power, no fuse, no relay.      See, Noodle Body!  My plans for the noodle body was to trop the rear, weld the diff and swap in a KA and 5-speed, buuuuutttttt a few days ago this appeared!  Mother loving headlight luvers! Now my plans are to take all the good bits off the ramen machine and put them on this 86.     Air Horn! Now onto the AE92's 89 Corolla GTS Bigport 88 Corolla LE 4-Door Plans are to rip apart this mint GTS and put all the good poo poo into the 4-door, should be fun. so if anyone needs 2 door ae92 body parts let me know, even the front fenders are rust free!   450,xxxkm and still going strong. And The AMC Eagle, last on my list of things to do. 83 4.2l L6 Automatic 80's time machine.  And my tow truck, 2010 F-350 V-10 gas whore, Lowered, 5-th wheel plate, wintch. 6-foot for underground parking lots. also has a 450pound counterweight because the v-10 just isn't heavy enough.  I will try and keep this thread updated, work on the noodle body should progress fairly quickly. edit: fixed huge pics. eberbs fucked around with this message at 16:50 on Aug 9, 2015 |
#
¿
Aug 9, 2015 16:13
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 18:36 |
|
|
Friar Zucchini posted:Why do they call it a noodle body? Flimsy flexible frame? Its actually called a hardbody, I just called it a noodle body because of all the swiss cheese rust. And the reason its a gas-pot is the company I work for was having lots of issues with 6.0 and 6.4l so they got 6 gas trucks, the gas trucks are being phased out now since the 6.7l is out.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 9, 2015 18:34
|
|
|
A few more pictures of the eagle and 4-door rolla   
|
|
#
¿
Aug 9, 2015 22:12
|
|
|
Bonus Toyota Content Alert My roommate was driving his 88 cressida today and lost brakes. Got it home and the problem was quickly found and repaired  Replaced the rubber line and all is good. The retaining c clip was a bastard! Bonus pics:   we swapped in a 5-speed from a supra about 6 months back.   ah 80's digital dash. Plans for the Cressida are to turbo it and install this divorced downpipe, and eventually a 2jz. 
|
|
#
¿
Aug 10, 2015 02:51
|
|
|
So i found out today that the blue nissan truck needs a clutch, not a big deal, just need the cash. In the meantime i have started to remove the engine in the corolla gts.      front subframe is ready to drop, then just need to do the same to the 4-door.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 12, 2015 04:26
|
|
|
More progress on the gts tear down. My Cambodian tire Mastercrap impact gun took a poo poo so i took it back for an replacement.   *don't return to store* gently caress that!  Found some rust under the side skirt, but gently caress it this car is getting scrapped.  test fitting the side skirts to the 4-door, just gotta drill some holes for mounting.   
|
|
#
¿
Aug 12, 2015 23:41
|
|
|
On the subject of towing, Had to help recover a twin-steer cement truck that got stuck when the ground under the rear wheels gave way. Brought out the 1998 western star tandem wrecker.    Only damage was a dent in the fuel tank.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 15, 2015 03:40
|
|
|
More Towing pictures: Towed a absolutely pristine 1974 MG MGB.   Owner swapped in a all aluminum Buick V8 similar to the Rover V8, 5-speed trans and 4.11 posi-track out back, headers and full exhaust, even had racing harnesses installed.  Bonus Motorcycles! After opening his garage to put the MG in i spotted the holy grail of motorcycles, he was nice enough to let me snap some pictures.  Mint Honda Super Sport      Drag Bike
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2015 13:00
|
|
|
Gorson posted:Wow. Those are in amazing condition. What was the story with the MGB? Failed Lucas electrics? Any good stories from the road? Not sure on the exact issue, owner said it would purr like a kitten then out of nowhere it falls flat on its face, more than likely electronics like you suggested. I have a few good stories, I can write them out and post them although some of the senior drivers have some good stories, lots of bodies found in trunks in the impound yard.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2015 15:40
|
|
|
RIP Paul Walker posted:
These are all stories that were told to me by the old timers. Dave goes to a call for an illegally parked car called in by the police. Cop is on seen and says he is unable to contact the registered owner of said car. Dave then motions for the cop to turn around and as he does Dave says "is that him". The owner was hanging from a tree 15 feet in the air. Box truck that had been Jerry rigged into a workshop\camper was towed into the yard. Has an odd smell but when the back was opened to inspect only tools could be seen. Weeks later the smell is to much to ignore, then the camper area was discovered in the middle of the truck separated by a door. Old guy died and sat in there for who knows how long. Big accident about 10 years ago, 4 teens in a yellow honda crx (2 seater) 3 in the front 1 in the hatch, 180km down the highway and they loose control and hit the median sending them into a ditch. the guy in the hatch was thrown so far into the bushes it took hours and a search dog to find him. they suspect he was the one who initially called 911. they all ended up dieing and one of the girls was an organ donor and all they could save was her eyes. Cops search a car and then release it to us to impound. while looking through the car to catalog its contents a gun is found under the seat. cops didn't check that well. Guy gets clipped by a pup trailer of a dumptruck and squished. driver shows up and finds the guys un eaten mcdonalds on the ground picks it up and starts to eat it. i think he said it made one of the cops ralf. Girl gets pushed infront of bus and head is pancaked. teeth stuck in the treads of the bus tire. And lots of dead bodies found in trunks after the smell gets bad, dont know if its mostly suicide or murder or what. I will write out some more when i can sitdown and do it and will see if i can find newspaper articals on some of this poo poo. Here is a video of that cement truck recovery if anyone is interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb3ZOt2Gmic eberbs fucked around with this message at 23:05 on Aug 16, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Aug 16, 2015 23:03
|
|
|
Story time. I usually drive a wrecker unless its the weekend and the ramp drivers are off and they really need me to switch into a ramp. So i get a call to pickup a 1956 Benz 300sel that just sold for over 2million u.s. its that nice. So i jump into the hino 238 ramp and get to work.   The load goes flawlessly. Then the unthinkable (sorry in advance for the lovely potato pics i was still shaking while taking them). The motherfucking truck starts to roll away as im about to start unloading the loving 2 million dollor car! gently caress!     Due to the changing angle of the driveway as the truck rolled the deck began to drag and lifted the rear axle into the are causing the truck to pickup more speed. Amazingly absolutely no damage to the car and just a few scrapes on the hino thank loving christ. The truck was stopped by a few large rocks, if they had not been there the truck would be sitting in there living room. Still trying to figure out what caused the truck to roll but after getting back to the yard and testing the hand brake it was found to be not doing a loving thing. The truck was in park also so the trans may need a looking at. When the truck began to roll i heard the airtank blowoff witch usually indicates that the rear airbags are re-inflating and the pto is slowing down because the truck thinks it going forward. I suspect the PTO system has a short somewhere and it dissengaged and caused all sorts of poo poo fuckery to ensue. All in all very very lucky. the truck is parked and going to the shop tomorrow until this can be figured out. PTO- power take off (runs the trucks hydraulics) Truck must be in park with the handbrake on to enable. edit: forgot to mention the truck has a micro lock for the brakes (locks all 4 brakes). I suspect the valve is faulty and pressure bled away. Usually the trucks are kept in pristine running order, it was just the perfect storm for me to poo poo my loving pants. eberbs fucked around with this message at 09:38 on Aug 17, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Aug 17, 2015 09:35
|
|
|
You Am I posted:I thought line lockers on trucks released air, thus locking all the drums on all the wheels? The truck has juice brakes, and yes a wheel chock would have been a good idea but you can bet your rear end I'll be chocking like a mad man now. The trucks get a full government inspection yearly and a full service ever 5000k. It is going in for a full re-inspection. Might be awhile before I want to jump into that truck again, loving thing. And yes the owner was standing behind me and after it happened calmly said "I need to go make a phone call" and went inside. He and his wife were very cool and understanding, we move cars for them on a regular basis.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 19, 2015 05:19
|
|
|
BrokenKnucklez posted:Dumb question... What kind of licence do you need to drive a tow truck? Class B? It's a class 5 (regular car licence) for wreckers and single axle flat beds with juice brakes and a class 1 for our 7-ton single axle wrecker , our 27-ton tandem wrecker and our tandem axle tractor/land-all trailer combo. So basically regular licence for anything without air brakes.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 19, 2015 06:35
|
|
|
Big crash this morning. Cops think he was going about 150kmph and hit a tree, driver was ejected and is in a coma and possibly paralyzed.      And the flatdeck that rolled away on me came back from the shop. e-brake now works, line lock was replaced and a few small issues were fixed. Also saw this at a shop today, no idea what it was.  
|
|
#
¿
Aug 23, 2015 00:13
|
|
|
SouthsideSaint posted:Those rims make me think VW kit car. And not to be rude but any time a liberty is taken off the road its a good thing. i should have taken a picture of the inside of the allard but it is definetly not a kit car. and i aggree with the liberty statment. and the guy in the liberty was ejected so far they thought he had fled the scene.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 23, 2015 04:19
|
|
|
Did a flat repair on a 2015 jeep. That's a metal coat hanger stuck in the tire. who the gently caress even uses those anymore?  
|
|
#
¿
Aug 23, 2015 16:57
|
|
|
Had take that liberty out of our compound to the police station so they can do there thing with it. Took more pictures.     Used a forklift to unload it.  just giver a tune-up and she's good for another 5000k  Edit: also picked up a 2001 ford focus with 150k km for $300. I know they are heaps of poo poo but it was too cheap not to buy. Just gonna vacuum it and flip the bitch. eberbs fucked around with this message at 03:04 on Aug 25, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Aug 25, 2015 02:53
|
|
|
So progress on the Nissan's and Corolla's has basically come to a stand still until I can sell this ford fuckus I got for $300. It was impounded because the owner was drunk and they hit a parked car. Bent the upper and lower rad supports but other than that its in good shape aside from being a 2001 ford focus, im just hoping the valve seats don't drop on me. And on a side note we have a bobcat in impound that was used to dig a hole that a body was buried in. I have a feeling its going to be here awhile.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 27, 2015 05:38
|
|
|
Took the Noodle body (87 hardbody) for a trip today and was tooling around on some logging roads and heard a large bang followed by the sound of metal bouncing and dragging on the ground. Got out and found this:   Wish i had taken pictures but i passed right by a Forrest fire that was still burning just outside port renfrew on Vancouver island. http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/updated-port-renfrew-lake-cowichan-road-reopens-1.2039848 I still smell like smoke.
|
|
#
¿
Aug 27, 2015 23:00
|
|
|
More Tow Stories: These stories are from an old timer who has seen just about everything. Black ice: Call comes in on the Malahat (very dangerous and winding mountain highway on vancouver island), black ice has coated the road and caused a fatal crash. car rear ended a semi and another semi rear ended the car squishing it in between. 2 passengers in the rear survived but the driver was decapitated with her hands still gripping the wheel and her head sitting in the back seat. The car was tarped and towed with the body still trapped inside. Out of gas: Motorcycle pulls infront of a cement truck at a red light, truck doesn't see the biker pull infront. light goes green biker gets crushed. Turns out the bike ran out of gas sitting at the light. there were finger marks on the front bumper of the truck were the biker had tried to pull himself out. His head exploded like a watermelon inside his helmet. Armour-All: Motorcycle Armour-all's his tires tread and all, takes a tight corner and ping pongs off 3 cars, lost his foot and some fingers but he lived. Street Racers: 2 dumbass teens street racing downtown lose control going in excess of 120kmph and slid into a crowded bus stop killing 1 and injuring 3. The underside of the car was caked in blood entrails and small body parts. The car was taken to a secluded racetrack for testing, measuring yaw and tilt and all that poo poo to find out exactly what happened. stupid loving street racers. edit: incorrect body count. eberbs fucked around with this message at 04:55 on Aug 28, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Aug 28, 2015 03:59
|
|
|
so i sold the blue 86 nissan truck today. someone offered me way more than i paid for it and i needed the money. now my focus will be on the 87 hardbody. 5-speed swap, ka motor, new rear bed, tint , new rear shocks, lowering blocks and a bunch more poo poo. In other news, picked up another 88 4-door corolla with a blown head gasket off a lady who said a shop was going to charge her $4200 for a head gasket. im just gonna do the head gasket and sell it. and a co-worker bought a 91 corolla sr-5 2 door that needs a few things and i have every piece thats he needs from the gts im parting out. and last but not least the malahat, a winding crash prone chunk of the trans canada highway has had 3 major crashes in less than 48 hours! https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/motorcyclist-killed-in-malahat-crash-third-major-accident-of-weekend-1.2045268
|
|
#
¿
Sep 1, 2015 06:56
|
|
|
some texas redneck posted:$4200 for a head gasket on an 80s Toyota 4 cylinder that's not in a MR2? i figured retail on a head gasket all in would be about $1000. going to just do a KA24E, there is an auto wrecker nearby that has a hardbody with a ka and 5 speed stock plus lots of other hardbody bits i need.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 1, 2015 08:28
|
|
That was "gently caress you, we don't want to do this job, we don't know what a carb is" pricing, I doubt even a dealer would want nearly that much for the job.
|
some texas redneck posted:I'd still suggest the DE; if nothing else, because it has oil squirters under the pistons to help keep things cool. But there's FWD and RWD DEs; the FWD version won't work easily in a hardbody (distributor is driven off of the rear of the exhaust cam, for example, instead of off of the timing cover; hosed up cooling system setup as well). thanks for the info. going to the auto wreckers today to grab random crap and im going to take a bunch pictures of the ka hardbody. i will plan on doing the chain guides like you suggested. mafoose posted:I need to stop reading this before going to bed... Those stories... Yeesh im working on the next batch of stories 
|
|
#
¿
Sep 1, 2015 16:15
|
|
|
Forgot to take pictures at the auto wreckers today but i picked up a rear slider window for the noodle body. added some stickers. will be welded and 5 speed soon enough. And i picked up a cheap ABC fire extinguisher for the truck  Also replaced the rear shocks as they were loving useless.  Stories: Years and years ago at the local ferry terminal some crew members were moving tractor trailers around. Im not sure what the trucks they use to move them are but they look like this:  anyways one guy starts driving and runs something over, turns out it was someones head. About 10 years ago 3 young guys high and drunk in there done up old impala or cutlass or similar, ill try and find the news articulal, anyways, they floor it into a corner no seat belts, 2 get ejected and one basically disintegrates inside the car. Now funny thing is a friend of a friend of mine bought the car from an auto wrecker months later and pulled the worked v8 out and swapped it into his truck. there was still blood and needles form the paramedics in the car. heard this story and drive by the memorial daily from a friend who knows the guy who was in the crash and survived. There was a party ontop of a local mountain and a group of people were ready to leave. everyone had been drinking and doing mushrooms but one girl insisted she was sober and could drive everyone down the mountain. she was driving an old 80's toyota van. she made it to the bottom and onto the main road and on the first corner and drove straight into a telephone pole. guy was sitting in the middle rear bench seat and flew forward having his face literally explode on the gear shift, after coming to he noticed a warm sensation on his lap, it was the girl who was sitting beside hims brains. out of the 5 or 6 of them in the van i believe only he and the girl driving survived. the story continues and gets very strange form there but that might give away peoples identity's. I know there are more stories im forgetting so i will keep adding them as i am told\remember them.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 2, 2015 05:13
|
|
|
Got some work done on the noodle body. Installed some 2 inch lowering blocks and in the process cut a brake line, replaced brake line and broke the bleeder screw and had to replace the wheel cylinder.   Also mounted the fire extinguisher and installed the new rear window.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 4, 2015 05:29
|
|
|
Got sent out in our biggest flatbed to go move a loving tool box. But it was a loving sweet snap-on box full of tools, was moving from one dealership to another. Have a few more cars I got from the yard coming to my place soon. I will post pics and my plans with them are to just sell them so I can put more money into other projects.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 5, 2015 21:27
|
|
|
Had some down time today so we flipped our newest rollover car we use for recovery training. Drained fluids and smashed out the windows.  And the rollover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTe9Hi7G0Lw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3MlYTdS3rs And i got to tow that mint red MG MGB again. he showed me his car collection. He has 2 jag e types and half a dozen mg's   
|
|
#
¿
Sep 7, 2015 21:34
|
|
|
PT6A posted:So, you're a tow guy in BC right? How realistic and/or bullshit is Highway Thru Hell? It's my main guilty-pleasure reality show, but I'm sure it's just as bullshit as every other reality show (Buffalo Airways can go gently caress themselves!). Hard to say but they do some hoakey poo poo that I would get fired if I tried it there way, and they seem to do a lot of damage to the road surface and don't give a poo poo. there are a million different ways to tow something so I cant say they do it wrong, just not the way I was trained. I think a lot of it is realistic but there is totally drama put in to keep you watching.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 7, 2015 23:53
|
|
|
SouthsideSaint posted:And no matter how much glass just fell out with the flip it will still be found in that car for decades to come. gently caress, our last rollover car we had for years and had to replace it becuse the roof got way too flattened and it had glass fall out of it every single time we flipped it, and we flipped it hundreds of times. poo poo never all gets out.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 9, 2015 04:17
|
|
|
Raluek posted:So this may be a dumb question, but why not spend a couple extra minutes to actually take the glass out correctly? Surely it's worth it if you keep it for years. yes we could take the windows out correctly but where's the fun in that, plus we can show how difficullit actually is to smash a window. this is useful for lockout training as we mostly use air wedges to pry the door and slide in a long wire tool, and for emergency situations. eberbs fucked around with this message at 05:41 on Sep 9, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Sep 9, 2015 05:38
|
|
|
got around to pulling the head off the corolla i just picked up you might be able to tell what cylinder is leaking coolant. on the plus side the timing belt looks almost new.  cant see any cracks but gonna take it to get checked.  head gasket didn't look too bad only damage is a crack in the lining around the steam cleaned cylinder. Also picked up this generic 5-speed 90's civic out of the tow yard for $250, just needs a fender,drivers window has a CEL for a O2 heater circuit and then an inspection (PO got pulled over with broken window and got a VI).  
|
|
#
¿
Sep 10, 2015 04:59
|
|
|
some texas redneck posted:96-98 DX Civic. Front clip has been replaced at some point, judging by the headlights and panel gap (usually the headlights are basically opaque by now, and the hood + fender + bumper don't look like they line up right). my roommates ex had a 99 we swapped a cluster into but this is just gonna be a quick flip, i barly even looked at the car before i bought itor $250 if it runs ill buy it,ill take some more pictures and find out the actual year., going to the auto wreckers today for a parts run if i can pick up a cluster for cheap i might grab it. my roommate also has a set of replacment headlights that have a black backing in them so they look cooler to honda kids i guess, omly thing i dont have is a 4" gently caress-off fart can, then i would have boy racers lining the block to buy it. in other news i have switched to full-time nights at work so hopefully more interesting stories and pictures to come. all the crazies and drunks come out at night.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 10, 2015 16:30
|
|
|
So the civic is a 96 and only has 150k km on it.  One of the best parts of buying a car out of the yard is looking through all the poo poo left from the PO. I have found countless tools and useful poo poo.  3 boxes of nails.  engine bay needs a good clean  fender is hosed. Picked up a replacement drivers window from the wreckers today along with other random bits and pieces.  found a cluster with a tach from an acura el i might grab.  sweet old comet.  here is the hardbody with the KA and 5-speed im going to swap.   also going to get the rust free bed off of it.  and saw this at one of the wreckers, im guessing its from a movie.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 10, 2015 21:32
|
|
|
Just finished replacing the upstream O2 sensor on the civic to get rid of a P0135 O2 sensor heater circuit bank 1 sensor 1, erased the CEL and it has yet to come back. was a bitch to get out, i have a O2 removal socket but it flexed too much and started slipping so i had to chop the wires to the O2 sensor and use a deep socket 7/8 and a breaker bar to remove it. Also cleaned up the block of the corolla in prep for the new head gasket.  And the outside, don't mind the grease prints on the fender  and for a 88 the inside is loving mint. 
|
|
#
¿
Sep 11, 2015 02:28
|
|
|
so one of our ramp drivers had a tow eyelet on a Hyundai pull out of its threaded hole and cause the car to roll off the deck and into another car. and it didn't unscrew it ripped right out. cheap poo poo. this is what the eyelets look like.  and this is the only recommended way to recover or load most new cars. scary poo poo. Also seen Scott from highway thru hell a few times recently, he's working for another local towing company. eberbs fucked around with this message at 08:45 on Sep 12, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Sep 12, 2015 08:41
|
|
|
looking at a car in our yard thats come up for sale. i will get more info when i look at the car tonight but its a green 2003-05ish subaru forrester 150k km that rolled multipule times so the body is beyond hosed but the engine and drive train are still good. its a 5-speed, so my plans are to buy the car for $150and pull out the engine,drivetrain and pedals/linkages for someone who wants a 5-speed swap. question is, what is the easiest way to pull the drive train, (i have a tow truck at my disposal for a engine hoist)'what else do i need from the car for a full swap and should i bother pulling anything out of the rear subframe or say gently caress it. engine runs well, lots of smoke from fluids getting everywere after the roll, anyone know what these engines go for in good shape? just dont want to waste my time if nobody buys these things.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 12, 2015 15:12
|
|
|
got my buddy down at the yard send me some pictures of the Subaru. its an outback not a Forrester.      and only small amounts of blood on the inside.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 12, 2015 17:50
|
|
|
Slow is Fast posted:The fastest way to gut that thing is to undo the trans and engine cross members, control arms, and struts from the body, and fart the whole thing out the bottom of the car. thanks for the info, i will most likiey to it the way you suggested by removing the subframes then ill just loft the body off with the boom onthe tow truck., i am going to take a video of the enigne running to show to perspective buyers. ill call some parts stores and see what they want for the HG's and timming kit, like you said it will be easy once its out. and is there anything else worth grabbing off the car? im going to grab the ecu for the swap just incase but is there anything in the pictures that looks salvageable or worth grabbing before the shell goes for scrap. Seat Safety Switch posted:A working EJ251 and drivetrain should go for a decent price in BC. thats what i like to hear. priced out parts for the white corolla, $65 for just the HG or $268 for a full upper gasket kit. im going to grab the kit becuse it has all the gaskets i need plus some extras i can use on my other corollas. and its about $125 to have the head checked and cleaned. so i will be into the car for around $500 hoping to get atleast $1000 for it with a fresh headjob.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 13, 2015 18:37
|
|
|
Had a cock sucker of a call last night. Call comes in for a stolen recovered truck from a local police dept. that we usually don't do work for. Its a 2003ish f-350 long box crew cab long rear end motherfucker. Get there in our big flat deck and ask the cop if there is keys etc.. Cop says he dosnt know and i am not allowed in the truck or even touch the door handle. now i understand for finger prints but the police dept we usually work for will watch us like a hawk but allow us to turn the wheel or put it into neutral if we need. Nope, cant touch it at all. gently caress. its in park with the wheels turned on uneven ground with 2 near flat tires. Great. Jumped under the truck and poped the shift linkage off and the cop just about poo poo himself, says he didn't know that could be done. Ok now i start to pull the fucker and thank christ the wheels are unlocked, keys are probably in it but im not allowed to look. Get the fucker back to the yard and the cops want it in one of our locked cages. fucker is too long. got the gate to close, just. After that call was a 90's dodge 2500 with a blown wheel bearing. surprise! gotta love dodge front ends.
|
|
#
¿
Sep 15, 2015 16:35
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 10, 2024 18:36 |
|
|
A new sticker came in the mail today Also added a few more stickers  And a Cambodian tire suicide knob. works loving awesome especially with the small wheel. 
|
|
#
¿
Sep 16, 2015 21:33
|
|