Fordnatics List Archive

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: (email redacted) (K Porter)

>I wish people will quit harping about Chevron and Unocal. The numbers of
>cars they remove from existance is peanuts compared to what is removed by
>accidents and old age of these cars. There are hundreds if not thousands
>of Mustangs in junkyards in California. Besides, I think it is Chevron,
>has decided that "desireable" cars will be auctioned off. Plus the ones
>taken off the road aren't crushed. Only the engine block is destroyed.
>Well, I can live without quite a few 302's and 200 sixes. There are
>still thousands around.
awk! No you dont! They are also crushing flatheads and early hemi's - That
is fact. Ever tried to find a crack free flathead block? How about parts for
a red ram hemi? Further, The early engines they love to crush are the very
engines most desireable for street rods. Pre 1970 motors do not have to have
all that California emissions crap on them. The California "disease" is
spreading to other states who are like wise requiring pollution equipment to
match the year on the engine.
The motors for credits program is just plain wrong. It does not clean up the
air one bit. I have posted in the past facts on who is doing the polluting
and it aint the car enthusists!
>This does not mean that I fall for the EPA's garbage that the credits are
>really reducing pollution, but I am not going to loose sleep over it.
Crushing "old" (302) motors drives up the price of parts for everyone. There
is a pool of what we call 'un-obtainium' in old drive trains that gets more
expensive every year. The stroker motors built by Sixto and Dave are both
based on Cleveland cranks, that is no doubt a target engine for Chevron.
Maybe you dont want to get into street rods now, but when you do, you may
find that something that once was cheap to do has passed you by due to cost.
(remember the everyday $75 boneyard 9" rear end? Priced one lately?)

Point is: we all like to believe we are the "lone wolf" building something
different away from the crowd out in the shop, but the truth is, we are a
collective voice that makes up an aftermarket industry. Pull the rug out
from under one segment, and you lose some of your clout when they abandon
the part of their hobby that overlaps yours. In some parts of europe, all
modifications are illegal. That can happen here. Dont forget we are a minority!
k.p.
__________________________________________________________________________
(email redacted) |WARNING! Do NOT stare at welding arc
Standard disclaimer area: |with remaining eye!
OFFICIAL DISCLAIMER |
_________________________________________________________________________

This read-only message was archived from a public mail list.
Mail From: Roberto Arturo Schafer <(email redacted)>

> awk! No you dont! They are also crushing flatheads and early hemi's - That
> is fact. Ever tried to find a crack free flathead block? How about parts for
> a red ram hemi? Further, The early engines they love to crush are the very

I highly doubt that many engines of this type are dying at the hands of
Chevron or Unocal. I saw a junkyard full of 50's cars. The guy had had
them for eons. What happened? The EPA said the whole junkyard had to
be cleaned up and a concrete pad put in where the cars are to be
stripped. To clean up, all those cars were crushed. A few friends went
down and got some stuff real cheap. Lots of Studebakers were there and a
guy who loved them picked up a few engines. I'll bet you that more
flatheads died in that clean up that will in years of Unocal taking cars
off the road.

We are worrying about the wrong issue. Junkyards can not afford to keep
stuff indefinitely. There is still lots of stuff out there in Mickey
Mouse junkyards run by some old man with as much business sense as my
dogs. When we find some rare part or car, let people know. In our case
even if it is not a Ford. Some Chevy or Studebaker guy will return the
favor later. With what we have in our hands with technology, we can save
those old cars. Also don't forget those computers that junkyards use to
keep inventory.... They don't keep track of details. A Mexican block
302 is still just another 302. Any 428 is a CJ to all those guys.

The enthusiasts are the ones that know. With time the Chevron and Unocal
programs will be found to not do much in reality. Meanwhile not that
many cars will be destroyed as part of the program. Not nearly as much
as is due to normal attrition.

> based on Cleveland cranks, that is no doubt a target engine for Chevron.

They don't have "targets" like that. They have years that are targets
and they buy what rolls in. No one is forced to sell. Remember that.
If the general public could be educated (doubtful) then they would not
take in "rare" cars to be crushed.

> (remember the everyday $75 boneyard 9" rear end? Priced one lately?)

More likely this is all due to tightened environmental standards. At
least in Santa Barbara County, this adds thousands upon thousands of
dollars in fees, licenses, and occasional fines. Plus.... No one wants
new junkyards. They are expensive to clean up if some schmuck runs it
and dumps oil into a hole. It is all part of the cost of doing business
and we pay.

Rob