Salvage Yard Picking?

I got a call from a friend of mine today. He was at a junkyard near me, and saw a banged up H3. (Front end smashed). He sent me some pics...Some parts look to be in good condition. Notably the leather seats. Mine are cloth (base). I think this unit may be the Luxury package. ( I have a pic of the dash and don't see the the differential locks, so definitely not an adventure).

As these things are getting more and more rare, are there things that you'd recommend I go yank off of this thing? I don't really "need" anything, but might be useful to have, and I've got some time on my hands in the next week.

From a junkyard, what would you expect to pay for front and rear seats?

Couple of door handles, r/l mirrors, 4wd control panel. On the bigger end, never hurts to have a spare transfer case or front diff.

Interesting question. Sure they are going to become more rare. They are kind of like a morphadite ....like the old Land Rovers. At first you see a lot, then fewer and fewer. High Schoolers buy them when they become cheap. They don't spend much on maintenance and beat the crap out of them (putting more into junkyards faster). Then they'll become sparse and prices will creep up from the bottom. Eventually they'll get expensive again, just like you see the 1st Gen Toyota Pick-ups. Toyota is incredible on parts ...you could (and probably still can) get a lot of parts for 1st gen trucks (I knew a guy who got a minor frame piece shipped from Japan). GM is big too ..but at some point, starting like now, they'll dwindle support and parts for H3's.

For now, you can buy most of the H3 part a guy needs right now on ebay. But if the local yard is cheap enough and you don't mind housing something you might never need ...but no shipping buying local too. You have to gauge your committment to H3's and availability of parts. If you're going to be out of them in 3 years and into a full-sized truck, for example (???), I wouldn't hoard too much. If you are playing the long game, front fenders, grille, hood would be great to have in stock. Are the wheels any good?

Jeepwalker said:

If you are playing the long game, front fenders, grille, hood would be great to have in stock. Are the wheels any good?

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Jeepwalker, do you tend to run into a lot of things with your vehicles?

alrock said:

Jeepwalker, do you tend to run into a lot of things with your vehicles?

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Ha ha ....Just deer! (once in a while)

Jeepwalker- I was thinking about the wheels too. I fell in love with the Bantam trailer build that one of the members (can't remember who, and not going to bother to look it up) did. I'd love to do one. I don't go wheeling, but I do a lot of hunting and have a trip planned for CO next year, a bantam trailer would be perfect for me.


Alrock- I was thinking the same thing...Go grab a bunch of the small stuff that I can easily store that has a tendency to break or get dinged up.

I'm going to pass on the leather seats, not that important to me.

Did you check to see what they want for some of those parts? Some salvage yards are very reasonable, others like to covet their 'golden parts.