Whats happened to my old transit breakers.

[baconsdozen]

The other day I was near a breakers that I used to go into years ago,they specialised in transits.They use to have all sorts from the mechanical remains of ex securicor vans (the bodies went off for scrap) to tidy looking vans for repair and mangled wrecks that had the odd bit left on them for re-use.
I was in for a shock,it was more like going into a hospital.Drums and pumps for draining this and that,an empty yard and shelves full of cleaned bits looking more like a supermarket or Halfords.Lists of stuff that can't be sold,more warning notices than you can shake a stick at and more No Entry signs than Wormwood Scrubs.I would have thought that if you stick an old Mk1 transit in a yard and allow a procession of people to take bits off it for their own vans untill there is bugger all left,thats true re-cycling and does the enviroment,the EU,Tony Blair and Greenpeace no harm at all.To strip one down in this automotive abbatoir means little is re-used (at the prices they were quoting it suprised me they sold anything) ,it uses power to operate all this equipment and it virtually guarantees that other vans that could have been saved by a few secondhand bits arrive there instead to perpetuate the scheme.Further up the chain it means someone somewhere buys a new van thats used god knows how much power and pollouted the enviroment as well to produce.
Anyone know if any "old fashioned" breakers survive anywhere,or have they all gone the way of unleaded petrol and V4 exhaust down pipes?

[Luke]

Mate this has happened near me too, due to new "enviromental" laws cars had to be stood on concrete! so the old fashoned yards - a field full of old cars just had to shut down, all the yards left have a smaller area and concentraite on keeping newer accident damaged cars that make them more money per sqft. it really pisses me off too, the whole goverments attitude of getting rid of older cars and vans cos they put out more Co2 emmissions etc. its totally wrong - no one who ownes a classic car or van does high millage so whats the problem? and its not like buying new cars is good for the econamy anymore as we dont even have a car industry left!!

[jay]

yes baconsdozen there is a breakers near me and maybe you(noticed you live in suffolk as i do).at dickburgh there is 1 breakers near the halfmoon pub.and there is peter wall round the corner from the first.but both dont really break many transit's.but they have lots of older cars from the 1980-90..you also have gun hill near the A12 on the essex/suffolk border they are having a clear out at the moment and they have lots of classic van and trucks as well as transits...I did a clear out for them a while back,and there were about 10-15 transits that were for breaking but that was 2 months ago.what area in suffolk are you???I may be able to point you in the direction of more yards..I do a lot of scrap removal in norfolk and suffolk..and clear out a lot of small yards..

[madmark]

our local has done this as well , oil draining before the car is scrapped they have a car up on the ramp with oil drainers under it pretending its have a drain ,but the rest of them dont ha ha

[rover]

I'm afraid its government policy, (as Luke implied) and they will all have to go that way eventually... There is only one in the whole of the East-Midlands I know of where you can still go and have a walk round with your tool box and 'poachers coat' (<for obvious reasons ) and strip the parts for yourself, all the others have gone the way of your local one baconsdozen......and I hate it, whats the point in buying a part that has been cleaned, especially if it is supposed to hold oil/grease/fluid...how do you know if it was leaking?

The government dont seem to appreciate all the hard work of Classic/older vehicle enthusiasts (and mechanics), the more we keep ON the road the LESS Carbon emmisions it takes to make new vehicles......But then that wouldnt give Tony 'The Furer' Blair more money that he can give away to the French farmers now would it?


Nuff Ranting now!


Rover.

[baconsdozen]

Hello Jay and co.I live in Lowestoft.My address etc is on my web site http://www.baconsdozen.co.uk.I'd be pleased to know about any breakers in my area I think I've been told about the one in gun hill but have never been able to find it,I had a mail the other day telling me about one in Southwold called Sole Bay Spares.
Maybe a listing of phone numbers etc of yards with transits in them or anywhere else where they are being broken would be an idea.
This goverment seems to be for the old car movement what DDT is to a butterfly.

[FredTransit]

and the government has completely missed the fact that it produces a lot of polution making a new van, which takes decades to dissipate. So that kind of cancels out the lower immissions a new engine puts out. Oh and Luke, we do a fair bit of milage, but it's mostly on newer engines!

[jay]

the bonus as well with a older van or car.if it breaks down you can usualy fix it for little money..if its a new van say mk6 its gonna cost yah...not many electrics on mk3 di..fix(bodge) to get you home..try that on a mk6 and computer says NO...