what a deal!

[etlsport]

no.. i only got 2 i stopped by spike's place on the way back to check his plates out.. i got the main plate that is in the center off the cross member and the one that covers the passenger side of the vx.. didnt get the one that protects the muffler... which as far as i can tell isnt all that helpful to begin with

one thing i didnt notice at the yard is that the passenger side plate was coated in what i can only describe as a peanut butter like substance.. no clue what it is.. im guessing really really dried clay and grease casserole... i soaked it in the utility sink for about a half hour... you could swear the plate was new.. there isnt a scratch on it! the main plate has a small scuff on the part of it that hangs the lowest... but other than that its perfect as well, i was going to repaint them but no need!

[VehiGAZ]

Man, I love self-service junkyards!! And I miss them too - I haven't been to one in over 10 years. :-( There were 2-3 good ones in the St Louis area that kept my '79 Volvo tip-top. If it wasn't a distinct engine part (i.e., alternator, starter, AC compressor) it was $5. I filled a bucket with interior and exterior trim bits that would have cost me hundreds or even thousands at a dealership, but it was $5 there!

I went a couple of times just for fun - smash some windows with a hammer, look through the possessions left behind in junkers, warm my hands by the fire burning in the 55-gal drum on a cold winter's day... ah, the memories of youth!

[Chopper]

I still haunt the Daytona U-pull-it a couple times a rear.

[Ldub]

MAN, I thought I got a deal...all three for $20, but since they were already removed & stacked neatly in the back seat, I guess I don't mind paying a bit more.

Still, you got a great deal.

And yes, I too love my local salvage yards...just wish there was even one VX.

[etlsport]

yeah i love u-pull-its too... i try to find one in most of my vacation spots heh just for fun and u never know what u find... i found a really nice condition '56 bel air body in a yard in VA.. too bad i had no place to store it! apparently its gone now

ok the plates are on now... i guess the main plate was a little bent or something because it took a whole lot of work to get all 4 bolts seated and the 4th took a whole lot of work to tighten down all the way... now im a little nervous that the plate is touching a bar (im guessing its a torsion bar?) that runs front to back of the VX it looks like the plate has an indent to let the bar pass safely but its not seated quite right... is this gonna be a problem... anything i can do to fix it other than bending the plate (cranking the bar up 1/2" or so?)

[orion]

The torsion bar doesn't move up and down, just twists. so you should be fine.

[Ldub]

If you make contact with something big & hard (read rock) with that r/f plate, it CAN, & does collapse onto the front drive shaft & makes one helluva racket as the allen bolts rub against it...been there...
No big deal if you carry wrenches with you.