Dent puller for au2 bonnett

[Citroënbender]

Originally Posted by my67xr

Pity you're not in SA, we have 3x U Pull It self serve wrecker's, there's heap's of AU's, and a bonnet is $85


https://upullit.com.au/stock/4623901.jpg

Sounds like the sort of place I would have once visited for rust-free parts, SA is off the menu for now.

[slowsnake]

My local wreckers in Perth "Tony's Wreckers," and like all wreckers they are connected on prices by an unseen multi strand umbilical cord.
When I wanted an alternator they said $160, I said cleaned and tested?
They said no, straight out of car and on shelf, that is why I bought a no-name one for $182, online plus $12 postage, and when I enquired about an AU 2 Fairmont bonnet, $250, out of stock, and in Liquid Silver $350, all others similar price, its crazy here, always use FIFO as an excuse for shortage of labour, so paying top dollar for workers, geez they are not TAFE Trained mechanics, they are labourers, and on sh.t money.

[wodahs]

we use to have pickapart in kenwick wa and at one stage they offered a "if you could carry it out in one effort" (think from memory) $50 max price
but it ended up shut down due to indemnity insurance costs always 1 f'er that will go the i hurt my self at your place pay me

Originally Posted by jaydee

Seeing as we're sharing roo strikes, here's one of a WA Highway Patrol car, I think it was near Ceduna.
image

um well slightly embarrassed here , i was roof surfing and i slipped , but at least im ok right

[slowsnake]

Originally Posted by my67xr

Pity you're not in SA, we have 3x U Pull It self serve wrecker's, there's heap's of AU's, and a bonnet is $85


https://upullit.com.au/stock/4623901.jpg

Yeh when I lived in Sydney always went to a place I think was called "Pick and Payless" at Blactown, I loved it there, like a kid in a lolly shop I am, and my go to for really good used and sometimes near mint parts for my Saab, was European Wreckers, on Woodville Rd just on right past railway overpass heading towards Parramatta.

Nothing at all like that in Perth, nothing I can find anyway, but regional towns here may let you look around!

[slowsnake]

Originally Posted by jaydee

Seeing as we're sharing roo strikes, here's one of a WA Highway Patrol car, I think it was near Ceduna.

There's another pic somewhere, was just north of Mt Magnet or Meekatharra, from the back looked like a normal cop car, then they showed the front photo, geez what a mess, hit right in the middle.

And a more famous one from Europe was a standard BMW from all accounts, until you opened the bonnet, there was a small deer wrapped around the motor, out side you couldn't see anything but a black grill, no other damage, but it went right through the grill, will have to see if I can find online.

[oldel]

Originally Posted by slowsnake

Yeh when I lived in Sydney always went to a place I think was called "Pick and Payless" at Blactown, I loved it there, like a kid in a lolly shop I am, and my go to for really good used and sometimes near mint parts for my Saab, was European Wreckers, on Woodville Rd just on right past railway overpass heading towards Parramatta.

Nothing at all like that in Perth, nothing I can find anyway, but regional towns here may let you look around!

Perth used to have wreckers you could help yourself at, as mentioned pick-a-part in kenwick for all you could carry for $50 was great.
Lot's of good wreckers (like that one) closed 20+ years ago because the land got too valuable. Of the ones that didn't close -Yards got smaller, whole cars couldn't be stacked up en-masse, so instead parts are stripped and stored for counter sales - with the rest crushed. So no more cars to pick over self serve style.
But 25 years ago in Perth was wondering around tonys, wanneroo wreckers and the kenwick/maddington area wreckers just fine. These days they charge so much you only buy things you can't get from China or ebay. No point going to them for anything electrical or hardware. Panels only.
Makes you wish you had a garage/yard so you could buy rolling wrecks cheap yourself for what you need and part out the rest to make some money :(

E: Every time I needed to find a wrecking yard again all my old favs were gone or turned to crap. Prices were shocking for what I wanted - 70% new price.
Best one I found was searching on facebook and a well stocked falcon wrecker was nu-koop in rockingham. If I needed something from a wrecker I was going to make the long journey there as well stocked for falcons, nearly everyone else has given up on them. Too bad they closed now too :(
Never ever had any luck over the past 2 years from wreckers. Have to get most of my stuff ex east or join facebook groups

[wodahs]

Originally Posted by oldel

Perth used to have wreckers you could help yourself at, as mentioned pick-a-part in kenwick for all you could carry for $50 was great.
Lot's of good wreckers (like that one) closed 20+ years ago because the land got too valuable. Of the ones that didn't close -Yards got smaller, whole cars couldn't be stacked up en-masse, so instead parts are stripped and stored for counter sales - with the rest crushed. So no more cars to pick over self serve style.
But 25 years ago in Perth was wondering around tonys, wanneroo wreckers and the kenwick/maddington area wreckers just fine. These days they charge so much you only buy things you can't get from China or ebay. No point going to them for anything electrical or hardware. Panels only.
Makes you wish you had a garage/yard so you could buy rolling wrecks cheap yourself for what you need and part out the rest to make some money :(

E: Every time I needed to find a wrecking yard again all my old favs were gone or turned to crap. Prices were shocking for what I wanted - 70% new price.
Best one I found was searching on facebook and a well stocked falcon wrecker was nu-koop in rockingham. If I needed something from a wrecker I was going to make the long journey there as well stocked for falcons, nearly everyone else has given up on them. Too bad they closed now too :(
Never ever had any luck over the past 2 years from wreckers. Have to get most of my stuff ex east or join facebook groups

was going to as a retired mate who as property in old part of kenwick tomorrow if he had , its a place i have cars n other stored at too and he has a few and other sorts and yes theres a tilt tray but with your post got me thinking and haha
footpage market rips has a $50 one in kelmscott
reads
Condition
Used – good

au fairmont bonnet
will also suit series 2/3 falcons
no rust
nearly ready for paint
or use as is
(writing is texta and should wipe off with prepsol)
pick up kelmscott area
as been stored in a shed for years
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...tory_type=post

and i rarely ever get on footpage for nothin

[prktkljokr]

Originally Posted by oldel

Perth used to have wreckers you could help yourself at, as mentioned pick-a-part in kenwick for all you could carry for $50 was great.
Lot's of good wreckers (like that one) closed 20+ years ago because the land got too valuable. Of the ones that didn't close -Yards got smaller, whole cars couldn't be stacked up en-masse, so instead parts are stripped and stored for counter sales - with the rest crushed. So no more cars to pick over self serve style.
But 25 years ago in Perth was wondering around tonys, wanneroo wreckers and the kenwick/maddington area wreckers just fine. These days they charge so much you only buy things you can't get from China or ebay. No point going to them for anything electrical or hardware. Panels only.
Makes you wish you had a garage/yard so you could buy rolling wrecks cheap yourself for what you need and part out the rest to make some money :(

E: Every time I needed to find a wrecking yard again all my old favs were gone or turned to crap. Prices were shocking for what I wanted - 70% new price.
Best one I found was searching on facebook and a well stocked falcon wrecker was nu-koop in rockingham. If I needed something from a wrecker I was going to make the long journey there as well stocked for falcons, nearly everyone else has given up on them. Too bad they closed now too :(
Never ever had any luck over the past 2 years from wreckers. Have to get most of my stuff ex east or join facebook groups

Its hard to find the good old fashioned wrecking yard, having owned a wrecking yard for 8 years back in the late 90's I can tell you that most people think we got the cars for free and we made huge profits from everything we sold.

In reality we had to compete with other yards and pay what the car was worth, store it for god knows how long before we sold stuff off it, then every night some thieving bastard would come knock off the good $$ stuff and do more damage to the fence car and workshop than the parts were worth and between the licences, insurance, wages, rent, council, neighbours then the licencing squad we had to compete with Joe Blogs buying the car and wrecking it from home with no overheads, it was and still is a hard industry to make money in and that's why most have closed down, just to have a dealers licence you have to jump through hoops and show that you have money to back yourself, for what? so the guy across the road can buy a wreck and wreck it on his front lawn with no consequences, no licence no oil disposal, letting the air con gas off etc.

I used to have several friends that had yards, and now I have 1 left, Steve from Freo wreckers or now known as Rockingham recyclers, and he is having a hard time making ends meet, then the Guy I sold my yard to closed it down a few months back and now works at the same place I do, from the outside it seems the dream business, but its far from it.

The amount of money it costs to have a yard and fill it with stock is more than most houses are worth and give less return then the rent of one some weeks.

I could go on with all the idiots from the bottom of the human race we had to deal with on a daily basis but this thread is about slowsnakes bonnet

[oldel]

I completely understand, like I said land is too valuable in Perth, and there's other costs too. Obviously can't compete with the owner parting out their own car. Same as no one ever repairs tvs, hifi fridges etc here anymore, as labour is too expensive.
End result is wreckers end up being useless for the past 20 years as you are paying 70% new prices and have to travel to edges of the city. Pointless, may as well all pack up and sell the land, like many did.

Clearly though this is only a Perth thing. I became mates with people on FB that can pick up cars and spares for my old cars no worries. Like wodahs alluded too, I had to join facebook and facebook groups to get anything for my old e34 BMW, sent from QLD, NSW and Vic.
Wreckers here was useless.
E: There was one old guy in WA that filled a storage unit up of various BMW parts but can't be bothered selling much outside of ebay listings. They suggested a while back I find a roller if I wanted parts. IE most are just hoarding, getting the private wrecking cars before others get parts LOL.
In the meantime there's wreckers in Vic and tas listing everything for sale on GT or FB - unlike here where you have to ring around and get attitude.
I get it, the attitude comes with dealing with idiots, but hiding everything away and then having to deal with enquiries wasting your time doesn't help, list things online. WA is so backwards with internet/social media it wastes everyone's time and makes everyone grumpy and keeps us all in the dark. All made worse because wreckers are in the stoneage and won't let us look ;-)
They think they're coventrys with everything behind the counter and made up prices, we want it to be like coles again, wonder around like the old days. They've gone backwards in time, it used to be better.

[prktkljokr]

The insurance is a killer here in Perth, they ask if you let customers in the yard, if you say yes they want stupid money to insure you, I think I was paying $15,000 per year back in 98, then when the planes hit the towers it went to $18,000 and I did not let anyone in the yard that did not need to be there, this is why pick a part closed down, they just could not do what they were doing without the public liability that would sink them.

The biggest problem is the overheads, I think I used to pay out around $200,000 a year before I purchased stock, so it made it hard for me to take home a wage some months, don't get me wrong I made money, but for what I had outlaid to buy the business for and just to keep it running I would have been better off leaving the money in the bank.

Its hard to make the $200,000 a year to just keep the doors open when you have people wanting clips, bolts, wheel nuts or a part from a component that renders it worthless, then the thieves taking your profitable parts .

Gumtree and Facebook have killed the humble cheap old wrecking yard, and other businesses too, Like I have been telling Steve from Rockingham recyclers, you have to evolve and adapt to advertising on these platforms or go extinct.

I did it while I managed Jandakot wreckers, and we were doing quite well, just old Eddie is a hard person to work with when he gets paranoid so I left.

[Citroënbender]

It intrigues me that self-serve wreckers are still readily found in the US, whom we see as more litigious than ourselves.

I’m still trying to visualise the sequence of repair to that damage with only basic tools. Even a cheap spotter would improve things, but that’s a $500+ cost blowout.

[oldel]

I'd offer to help him pick up that bonnet that wodahs found but I think Billy is taking this as a personal challege now and won't back down

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

It intrigues me that self-serve wreckers are still readily found in the US, whom we see as more litigious than ourselves.

Insurance here probably costs more, many over there probably think insurance means a shot gun anyway.

I don't think the self service wrecking yards are in USA capital cities. Fact is they just have way more towns and cities where the wreckers can be cheaply located.

[Citroënbender]

Not in the heart of cities, no - but mobility there seems quite different and they’re (the yards) seen as accessible via a day or half day trip. An old friend lives in Philadelphia and visits them often enough.

Still looking at the dents. I’d start on the external angle where it’s got a wiggle, then move to the adjacent internal angle, then the lip of the recess for the upper grille trim.

[slowsnake]

Too right oldel, it is a personal challenge!....and you have met me now and understand where I am coming from.
But meeting you was a pleasure, I have lived here for 4 years now and you are the 1st visitor I have ever had on a friendly basis, lol, beside the postman, and meter readers, you are the 1st off-line or online friend or family who has visited me.....

When you left my neighbours come out of the woodwork, all saying to me , " oh was that your brother Billy " I said no just an online friend doing me a nice favour, Samantha next door, said to me, but you never get visitors?...

I had to tell her I don't want visitors, family or my old friends, but this guy was special, he lent me some tools to fix the bonnet, she said oh we all worry about you Billy, I said that's alright Sam, I have always been a nomad or gypsy and I like it!....

But thanks oldel, and am still too sore to start on bonnet, will take a good week to recover from fitting alternator, each day is harder but I like it the way it is, the status quo!

[prktkljokr]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

I’m still trying to visualise the sequence of repair to that damage with only basic tools. Even a cheap spotter would improve things, but that’s a $500+ cost blowout.

I second on the spot puller, they make a hard repair easy, that bonnet would have to be worked from the outside in and would take a good hour I reckon but a much cleaner repair, but as you say the cost is prohibitive for the 1 repair.

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

It intrigues me that self-serve wreckers are still readily found in the US, whom we see as more litigious than ourselves.

US with 329.5 million people have way more people that will go to a wreckers than we do in Aus with a mere 26 million Aus wide, even in sleepy little towns in the US would outweigh what we have in the city, so the amount of customers they would get would out-way the insurance cost over the year, I can remember not seeing a customer for a week. Their insurance in the US is much cheaper as they have way more people that are insured than we would, i could remember there being 12 wrecking yards in a 20k radius from mine, all competing for the little amount of customers Perth had, now there are 2.

[slowsnake]

The difference is the population between our 26 million and an arid useless inland compared to 360 million in USA, and the inland is opened up, broken down cars everywhere which are the towed to the closest town and off to the local scrap yard.

I did mention about my early travels through Central Qld and the NT in the 70's, you could find Toyota Landy parts everywhere and anywhere, that's why they were popular for round Australia trips!

[slowsnake]

Originally Posted by oldel

I'd offer to help him pick up that bonnet that wodahs found but I think Billy is taking this as a personal challege now and won't back down


Insurance here probably costs more, many over there probably think insurance means a shot gun anyway.

I don't think the self service wrecking yards are in USA capital cities. Fact is they just have way more towns and cities where the wreckers can be cheaply located.

Yes oldel it is a personal challenge, but I'm challenging myself, when I have to use duct tape to hold dolly blocks in my useless left hand it does become challenging but stimulating, just knowing if I was the old me, I would knock that bonnet out in half a day, but of course it would be bonnet off!
But I have to drive it during day, to appointments etc so bit by bit is fine, and it may take a month partime having to pace myself!

[prktkljokr]

Originally Posted by slowsnake

The difference is the population between our 26 million and an arid useless inland compared to 360 million in USA, and the inland is opened up, broken down cars everywhere which are the towed to the closest town and off to the local scrap yard.

I did mention about my early travels through Central Qld and the NT in the 70's, you could find Toyota Landy parts everywhere and anywhere, that's why they were popular for round Australia trips!

Exactly and I know of 1 such yard there that processes 40 cars a week just for scrap as they cant store the amount of cars that come through the gate on a daily basis.

The difference between then and now is that you wont find any of that stuff lying around any more as there are groups that buy all cars / trucks for parts export that has now driven the prices up, they fill containers with the stuff and send it overseas making it harder to get decent stock at the right price for a yard.

I know of a company that exports car parts to middle eastern countries, they will buy a car and just gut the mechanicals and crush the rest, they are not interested in the body parts at all, its hard to compete with them at the auctions as they will buy 20 cars at a time and spread the cost over the lot, so they dont care if they overpay for 1, they will make it up on another 1, they also dont care if they only make $100 out of a car once processed as any profit is profit no matter how small, they would process 40 cars a week easy every week, mostly Toyota and Hyundai at the moment, but they will take anything.

[oldel]

Originally Posted by slowsnake

Too right oldel, it is a personal challenge!....and you have met me now and understand where I am coming from.
But meeting you was a pleasure, I have lived here for 4 years now and you are the 1st visitor I have ever had on a friendly basis, lol, beside the postman, and meter readers, you are the 1st off-line or online friend or family who has visited me.....

When you left my neighbours come out of the woodwork, all saying to me , " oh was that your brother Billy " I said no just an online friend doing me a nice favour, Samantha next door, said to me, but you never get visitors?...

I had to tell her I don't want visitors, family or my old friends, but this guy was special, he lent me some tools to fix the bonnet, she said oh we all worry about you Billy, I said that's alright Sam, I have always been a nomad or gypsy and I like it!....

But thanks oldel, and am still too sore to start on bonnet, will take a good week to recover from fitting alternator, each day is harder but I like it the way it is, the status quo!

Happy to help in that small way. Neighbours being flummoxed and the cat confused is all part of the service.
I bet when you met someone here you weren't thinking the chat would be along the lines of literature and asian grocers*.

All good an normal in the end, critiquing the shocking shockwave ute of mine. I did make it look good 2 years ago when thinking of selling, found proof here in this old post of mine: https://www.fordforums.com.au/showpo...8&postcount=40
headlights were just fixed and not yellowed back then either. Second photo with yellow circles shows where the paint started peeling every time I washed it, so it hasn't been washed for over a year.
I could probably fix it up again, maybe to sell for a van or something larger for all my stuff maybe. Not risking the paint peel for regular upkeep washing etc until I need it looking good for sale.

* got some good stuff in morley (mcq), cheap sauces, curry and veg. Living the dream for succulent chinese meal with cauli, carrot, garlic and choy sum with fermented bean sauce and black vinegar to chew through the next few days. I'll call it "democracy manifest".

[slowsnake]

Well oldel, had a look at the pics of the ute, wow that is not the same vehicle that turned up to my place on Sunday, I cannot believe it, you should put as pics now, to show deterioration, that surely is a paintwork fault?
Just does not look like same car, no way!

Couldn't sleep last night and neighbour was away so I got out at 2am and decided to fix my bonnet, with a medium crowbar, am scared to look, but popped most of it, now to get a " shrinking hammer " ain't seen one since the 80's or 90's

[slowsnake]

Well for 2am under carport light I did ok, lol, just couldn't sleep. Just went out and had a look, looks OK 👍

[jaydee]

Mate I know you want one in silver, but if you get sick of the hammer and dolly, is this any good?
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...62934272%22%7D

[slowsnake]

2 weeks ago I would of jumped all over that bonnet, but now I have committed myself to fixing my bonnet, what a damn shame they only advertise on Facebook, I miss the old Quokka paper, and the Trading Post in Sydney, but it looks really good eh, just paint and fit, I will think it over, I would of seen it if on Gumtree but I am not a Facebook fan for personal reasons, but I most definitely will think it over tonight, pension day tomorrow too, thanks jaydee

[slowsnake]

Just resurrected my old Facebook account, sent message to seller (I think) not sure if I did it right, wait for answer!

[wodahs]

Originally Posted by jaydee

Mate I know you want one in silver, but if you get sick of the hammer and dolly, is this any good?
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...62934272%22%7D

haha thats the on i posted in post 37

https://fordforums.com.au/showpost.p...0&postcount=37

[wodahs]

Originally Posted by slowsnake

2 weeks ago I would of jumped all over that bonnet, but now I have committed myself to fixing my bonnet, what a damn shame they only advertise on Facebook, I miss the old Quokka paper, and the Trading Post in Sydney, but it looks really good eh, just paint and fit, I will think it over, I would of seen it if on Gumtree but I am not a Facebook fan for personal reasons, but I most definitely will think it over tonight, pension day tomorrow too, thanks jaydee

yep i hate face book and even deleted my account a few times but when you delete an account its no better than just signing out as they wont delete your info no matter how much ive tried or asked
and if you stay actively signed in it consistently changes the privileges back to how they want your info and ive had to re turn them off heaps of times prier to first trial of deletion

Originally Posted by slowsnake

Just resurrected my old Facebook account, sent message to seller (I think) not sure if I did it right, wait for answer!

yep thats one of the things i hate bout face book is that you have to use them to contact the other party they will censor any attempt to put other contact details in the adds
and you have have an account and be logged in to contact them and interact a sale
so you have to wait for them to be on and same with them waiting for you to see the reply
i dont know why face book but why were phones invented , was it to get directly involved with the other party or so we can strictly only interact thru you

[simon varley]

it's probably way too late now, but I just bought this for the project car.

https://vevor.com.au/collections/stu...r-electric-hot

[slowsnake]

Originally Posted by simon varley

it's probably way too late now, but I just bought this for the project car.

https://vevor.com.au/collections/stu...r-electric-hot

Thanks for that, but too much dollero for one job, if I was younger and get other work for it fine, my last stud welder would weld 16mm dia Metric studs, that thing used to dim the workshop lights, lol, we had to run a special 30 amp plug and cable, just for that, what's very interesting about yours though is it welds studs onto aluminium too, looks OK to me, good luck and have a good pull, lol

[slowsnake]

Originally Posted by wodahs

yep thats one of the things i hate bout face book is that you have to use them to contact the other party they will censor any attempt to put other contact details in the adds
and you have have an account and be logged in to contact them and interact a sale
so you have to wait for them to be on and same with them waiting for you to see the reply
i dont know why face book but why were phones invented , was it to get directly involved with the other party or so we can strictly only interact thru you

Yep, but I got an email from seller, was expecting a phone number or even reply to email?
I was directed to upload an app called "Messenger".......
Pigs ****, I want a bonnet for an AU2 Fairmont not an app!

[wodahs]

so im gonna guess , still no bonnet from the add then