eBay - The New Junkyard - Car Craft Magazine

The traditional junkyard is dead. R.I.P., dear junkyard. We shall miss thee. A change has been under way for the last decade or so, and we've noticed it at the self- service junkyards we frequent in Los Angeles County. Useful parts are hard to find. Of course, useful is a relative term. If you're in need of parts for an Accord, Civic, or Corolla, no problem. But finding a car with a V8 engine in the front driving the wheels in the rear has become much more difficult.

We must stipulate that because the ratio of four-cylinder, front-drive cars to V8, rear-drive cars manufactured since the '80s heavily favors the former, and as the latter end their life cycles, one can only assume to find greater numbers of front-drive econoboxes in wrecking yards. However, if the Camaro and Firebird were manufactured until 2002, and the Mustang never ceased production, where are they? We have only seen a handful of fourth-gen F-cars and SN-95 Mustangs in the junkyards, and they have either had their entire drivetrain plucked before being set out in the yard or they are so badly damaged that nothing useful remains.

All magazines, including CC, are guilty of propagating some variation of the following statement: "We got this engine out of the junkyard, and it cost us next to nothing." You will find this somewhere in an article detailing the "budget" build of something. If the build is a small-block Chevy, yeah, it's probably true. Carbureted and TBI 350s are still available in junked work trucks. But if it's referring to an LS1 or new Hemi, it may be time to call the truth police. Your author has personally never seen any variant of the LS engine in the junkyards. Ditto for the Hemi. Yet GM and Chrysler have churned out hundreds of thousands of them in trucks and SUVs since the late '90s, so where are they? For sale online, that's where.

Online shops are the new junkyards. They have been for several years, but we've been slow to acknowledge it. Over the last couple of weeks, we've spent a huge amount of time scouring the Internet looking for used parts. At other jobs, this would be cause for dismissal, but here at CC, we call it research. Anyway, the proliferation of parts available online is astonishing. You could piece together just about any domestic engine made in the last 60 years with a PayPal account and some time to kill on a Saturday afternoon. So to get your creative juices flowing, here are some of the engines and combinations we stumbled across.

The Bricks And Mortar Junkyard

Let's start with the parts we believe are still available at your local junkyard. You'll have to sift through all the front-wheel-drive stuff to find them, though.

As mentioned in the lead, small-block Chevys can still be found in the self-service junkyard. Usually you will find them in work trucks, and occasionally you will see them in G- and B-body cars. But we've been surprised to see several big-blocks lately. Head straight to the truck section, and you'll probably get lucky. This 454 is complete and looks pretty decent sitting in the engine compartment of a utility truck. As little as five years ago, you'd never have seen this. The engine would be long gone before the truck made it out to the yard. There were four other 454s the day we took this picture.
As mentioned in the lead, small-block Chevys can still be found in the self-service junkya
We've seen a lot of 460 Ford engines in trucks, too, both carbureted and fuel injected, but we were very surprised to see this mint-looking 460 in a '71 Lincoln Continental. These 385-series 460 engines were phased into the Lincoln line in 1968 to replace the outgoing MEL-series 462-cid engines. The '71-and-older engines sported 10.5:1 compression ratios and 365 hp. Starting in 1972, compression dropped to 8.5:1 and fell to as low as 8.0:1 by 1973. Power output plummeted to a depressing 220 hp. Grab one of these and drop on some Ford Racing Cobra Jet heads or Kaase P51 heads. Put that combo in a Fox-body Mustang, and hold on for dear life.
We've seen a lot of 460 Ford engines in trucks, too, both carbureted and fuel injected, bu

Our apologies for the crappy photo—the junkyard workers like to rough us up if they see us snapping pictures, so we had to resort to subterfuge to get a shot of this 455 Buick in what looked like the remnants of a '74 Estate. Like all engines of the smog era, the 455 had horsepower ratings hovering around 250 and suffered from dismal compression ratios, but that is easily remedied by a pair of TA Performance heads and a good cam. This would have been a score. We haven't seen a big Buick engine in the yard in a long time.
Our apologies for the crappy photo—the junkyard workers like to rough us up if they see us
Continuing with the crappy photo theme, we offer this Chevy LT1 in a '94 Firebird, also parked near the watchful gaze of the guard tower in the yard. Often overlooked, LT1s make good swap candidates. They fit anywhere a standard small-block can go, they have good cylinder heads, they make close to 300 hp out of the box, and their engine management systems are fairly simple when compared with OBDII cars of the last 15 years. We see at least one LT1 in the yard each time we go
Continuing with the crappy photo theme, we offer this Chevy LT1 in a '94 Firebird, also pa
We can always count on seeing 4.6 Ford engines in the junkyard. You can find iron-block, SOHC 4.6 engines all day long in Thunderbirds, Cougars, and fullsize cars, and it's not unusual to see an all-aluminum DOHC 4.6 Mark VIII engine, either (shown in this photo). Why are they so plentiful? We can only speculate that it's because modular engines aren't easily swappable into older cars. They are physically so much larger than any pushrod engine they would replace that the chassis modifications required to get these things to fit an older car scare many people away. The 4.6 engines aren't the only members of the modular family, which also includes the SOHC and DOHC 5.4 engines in trucks and SUVs, the SOHC 6.8L V10, and the '05-and-later 4.6 and 5.4 three-valve engines. Good luck finding any of these in the yard; we've only seen one—a SOHC 5.4 in an F-350.
We can always count on seeing 4.6 Ford engines in the junkyard. You can find iron-block, S

The Digital Swap Meet

So what do you do if you want a later modular engine, a new Hemi, or an LS anything? You have to go online. Among other things, the Internet has spawned a number of mainly online businesses selling car parts, many of them dealing specifically with late-model cars. Check out the random sample we came across while searching eBay.

Introduced in the '05 Mustang GT, the all-aluminum 3V 4.6 V8 offers 300 hp, sounds great, and is able to stand up to some boost and nitrous as long as you don't go too far beyond 450 hp at the wheels. If you're not afraid of cutting shock towers out of an early unibody car, these engines make good swap candidates. Ford Racing offers a crate version with a stand-alone ECM. If that's too rich for your blood, look for a used version online. If maintained well, these engines run for more than 100,000 miles. .
Introduced in the '05 Mustang GT, the all-aluminum 3V 4.6 V8 offers 300 hp, sounds great,
LKQ stands for Like Kind and Quality. As a company, its original mission was to supply parts to auto body shops. In cases in which an insurance company decides to replace damaged panels with used parts (rather than new parts), they are replaced with parts in a similar condition to the rest of the car—like in kind and quality. Over the last decade, the company has branched out from its business-to-business model and now sells direct to retail customers online and at several walk-in stores throughout the country. The company owns a broad network of junkyards across the country and has access to late-model cars totaled out by insurance companies, which often have perfectly operating drivetrains ripe for the picking. See what’s available for your car at LKQ (LKQOnline.com or eBay.com/LKQOnline.
LKQ stands for Like Kind and Quality. As a company, its original mission was to supply par
Here's a combination guaranteed never to show up in your local junkyard: the engine and trans from a Mach 1 Mustang. This is a 300hp, forged-crank, 32-valve 4.6, and it's being sold with the car's TR-3650 trans, ECM wiring harness, hydroboost brake master cylinder, clutch-pedal assembly, radiator, and fans—everything you need for a full swap. The price is good, too, especially considering the engine's superlow mileage. Online seller MPS Salvage has this and the even more desirable supercharged '03 Cobra drivetrain conversion, selling it for a little less than $10K. Anyone want to see us swap a Cobra drivetrain into our Project Panther cop car?
Here's a combination guaranteed never to show up in your local junkyard: the engine and tr

To mod motor guys, this is the Holy Grail. The Ford GT came with an all-aluminum, dry-sump, supercharged, 32-valve 5.4L engine making 550 factory-warrantied horsepower. We have seen some of these engines making more than 1,000 hp and hitting 200 mph in standing-mile competitions. If you have $25,000 to spare (and who doesn't these days) you can pick this up from Mr. Norm's (yes, the Mopar guy) eBay store.
To mod motor guys, this is the Holy Grail. The Ford GT came with an all-aluminum, dry-sump
While you're at it, shop around for power-adders. At the time of this article, searches for both Whipple and Kenne Bell superchargers turned up no results. A search for Eaton superchargers did, however, which makes sense given that most factory-supercharged cars—Mustang Cobras, Lightning pickups, Thunderbird Supercoupes, and Pontiac Bonneville SSEs—came with Eaton superchargers. As owners upgrade in search of more power, you can often find these superchargers for sale at good prices. The Eaton M112 was standard equipment on '03 to '04 Mustang Cobras and '99 to '03 Lightning pickups. Note the different air inlet arrangement for each application. Air enters through the back in most applications, but from the top in the Lightning, and through a U-shaped bend in the case of the Cobra, where hood clearance was an issue. Each supercharger fits in a specific base because the intake ports on the Cobra's DOHC cylinder heads are shaped differently than the SOHC heads on the Lightning.
While you're at it, shop around for power-adders. At the time of this article, searches fo
So maybe you don't have the scratch to buy a complete Ford GT engine. Why not build a close version of it? Got a rapper buddy with a Navigator? Wait till he rolls the thing and buy it from the insurance company after it's declared it a total loss.
So maybe you don't have the scratch to buy a complete Ford GT engine. Why not build a clos

Between 1999 and 2005, Lincoln equipped these blinged out Expeditions with 32-valve versions of the 5.4L engine rated at 300 hp and 355 lb-ft. Snag that and throw it into something lighter than the 5,600-pound truck.
Between 1999 and 2005, Lincoln equipped these blinged out Expeditions with 32-valve versio
Unfortunately, the Ford GT supercharger and intake manifold won't fit a Navigator engine. GTs and the super-rare '00 Cobra R came with unique cylinder head castings. These are the best flowing factory modular cylinder heads ever made. They are also the most expensive. Good luck finding them anywhere, and prepare to take out a second mortgage if you do. To run an engine naturally aspirated with these heads, the only manifold that fits is from an Cobra R, and check out that price!
Unfortunately, the Ford GT supercharger and intake manifold won't fit a Navigator engine.
As a shameless bit of self promotion, check out the price of our most recent issue featuring a Cobra R. Shouldn't we staffers be entitled to royalties from sales like this?
As a shameless bit of self promotion, check out the price of our most recent issue featuri

By contrast, the $3,000 asking price for this rebuilt V10 seems quite reasonable. Its extra length makes this engine less desirable as a swap candidate, though it might have fit in the engine compartment of the Lincoln Continental seen earlier in this article.
By contrast, the $3,000 asking price for this rebuilt V10 seems quite reasonable. Its extr
Here's a seller who's really created a niche for himself. Bob Cook is the owner of BL Auto Parts in Frazeysburg (rhymes with Crazysburg), Ohio, and his eBay store specializes in '99 to '04 Mustang parts. If you like modular Mustangs, especially Cobras, you can waste several hours looking through his listings.
Here's a seller who's really created a niche for himself. Bob Cook is the owner of BL Auto
Cook and his son run the online business. They also operate a local automotive repair shop "working on everything from race car chassis to welding broken parts on a tractor." In their spare time, he and his son are building a '70 Mustang using the drivetrain and floorboards from an '03 Cobra. Fitting the shock towers from the donor chassis to the '70 body is a simple and elegant way to make this swap work. We also approve of Cook replacing the Eaton M112 supercharger with the big Kenne Bell seen in this picture.
Cook and his son run the online business. They also operate a local automotive repair shop

Cook tells us he began selling parts online about two years ago and that it has been very profitable. "About 75 percent of my income comes from online sales, and about 25 percent of those buyers are doing resto mods--V6 to V8 Mustang swaps or modular engines into older cars," he says. He buys from insurance auctions and looks for cars with 75,000 miles or less. "It's hard to sell parts with more mileage than that," Cook says. He sells about 150 parts per month. We first ran across his store searching for Cobra suspension parts.
Cook tells us he began selling parts online about two years ago and that it has been very
Check it out, they're even using the '03's independent rear suspension under the '70. Maybe we should be booking flights to Columbus to shoot this car.his picture.
Check it out, they're even using the '03's independent rear suspension under the '70. Mayb
With an asking price of $2,000 plus shipping, maybe it is worth looking into Northstar power. Does anyone remember the XLR-R? It came with a supercharged 4.4LNorthstar that makes 443 hp. That could be fun, and it would be completely different in an older muscle car.
With an asking price of $2,000 plus shipping, maybe it is worth looking into Northstar pow

Yes, we've run a ton of LS engine articles over the past two years, and some readers are sick to death of them. If you count yourself among that crowd, what do you think of GM's other late-model V8, the Northstar? The front-drive versions are packaging nightmares, but later versions can be found in rear-drive cars like the STS, XLR, and SRX (a short-lived unibody SUV). We don't know much about them other than the obvious 4.6L displacement, DOHC architecture, and healthy 320hp rating. What can they fit in? Is tuning software available? We have no idea. Wanna see some Northstar articles? We can dig up the answers if you want. The engine has only 10 original miles, which makes us wonder what happened to the poor donor car. Maybe it was flipped by a cell phone–distracted, Cadillac-dealership sales guy.
Yes, we've run a ton of LS engine articles over the past two years, and some readers are s
Enough with the Ford stuff, how about some LS engines? We've long been singing the praises of the pumped up LQ9 Escalade engine, but what does it actually cost to buy one? Autopartsdepot2000's eBay store had one of the best prices on a complete engine that we've seen so far.
Enough with the Ford stuff, how about some LS engines? We've long been singing the praises
Here's an idea we've tossed around the office: Why not build a 5.7L engine out of a lowly 4.8? It is possible to bore these blocks out to LS1 specs. Considering the asking price for this engine, why wouldn't you? Externally, the iron block says small displacement, so bore that sucker out, plop on some decent heads, slide in a nasty cam, and you've got the makings of a sleeper.
Here's an idea we've tossed around the office: Why not build a 5.7L engine out of a lowly

If you do decide to build that LS1 in disguise, you're going to need the internal parts. We discovered the eBay store of BBJ Automotive Cores. Specializing in late-model GM engines and parts, owner Billy Ingram told us 95 percent of his sales are from online customers. He buys engines from wrecked cars, disassembles and inspects all the parts, and sells everything that meets his standards for very reasonable prices. You could build an entire engine, complete from intake to oil pan with a complete accessory drive just by shopping from his site.
If you do decide to build that LS1 in disguise, you're going to need the internal parts. W
Cleveland Pick-A-Part is the online seller of the 6.1 Hemi in the adjacent picture. We spoke with online sales manager Jay Kacz about the company. "It's been a family-owned business for 26 years. We started out as a traditional junkyard but have evolved into a seller of performance-oriented parts. Seventy-five percent of our customers are building custom cars and hot rods, and the other 25 percent are resto-modding new cars, like V6 to V8 swaps."
Cleveland Pick-A-Part is the online seller of the 6.1 Hemi in the adjacent picture. We spo
We've taken some reader heat lately about the relative lack of Mopar edit in CC. Our project Demon will solve that. And you can build you own alongside Editor Glad by shopping online. Check out this ready-to-run 6.1 Hemi. Don't get sticker shock looking at the $7,000 asking price. Keep in mind you're also getting a five-speed automatic transmission, ECM, and wiring harness. Fit that into something cool and take it to your local tuner to get it running. The new Hemis haven't gotten the praise they deserve in the pages of CC. They are rugged engines that make great power.
We've taken some reader heat lately about the relative lack of Mopar edit in CC. Our proje

Kacz says Cleveland Pick-A-Part buys cars from insurance auctions, mostly from the Southwestern states, and dismantles them at its facility in Columbia Station, Ohio. The parts are clean and rust free. Need a front clip for your Magnum? Pick-A-Part has one.
Kacz says Cleveland Pick-A-Part buys cars from insurance auctions, mostly from the Southwe
Direct Auto Parts Wholesale is another eBay seller we discovered. Owner Mario DiBacco tells us his buyers are generally repair shops replacing a damaged engine with one that he is selling. "But I've sold six 6.1L Hemis in the last five months, and the buyers all told me they were going into older cars," he says. Maybe we should track down those buyers and follow along on their builds.
Direct Auto Parts Wholesale is another eBay seller we discovered. Owner Mario DiBacco tell
DiBacco also had a DOHC 5.4 Navigator engine for sale at the time we were talking with him. $2,000 is a good price for this engine, especially for one with such low mileage. Shipping is cheap, too, at $350.
DiBacco also had a DOHC 5.4 Navigator engine for sale at the time we were talking with him

Insurance Auctions

You may have noticed a common thread among the eBay sellers we spoke with: They buy their cars from insurance auctions. We suspect that's where all the late-model parts are going, rather than ending up in our favorite Pick Your Part junkyards in Wilmington and Sun Valley, California. That got us thinking, How do we get in on that? After some preliminary digging, we discovered you need to be a licensed automobile dealer to bid in auctions like this. Rules vary among states, of course, but this is food for thought. Clearly there is a market for these parts, and the business owners we spoke with said they were able to make enough money selling parts from salvage cars to support themselves. In this economy, that is impressive.

Here is one online insurance auction. You can find Insurance Auto Auctions at IAAI.com.
With a dealer license, you have access to the latest cars and the newest parts. Check out this steaming hulk that was once a $63,000 Cadillac CTS-V. According to Caddy's website, this '11 CTS-V is the world's fastest production sedan with a 556hp, supercharged, 6.2L LSA engine and 0 to 60 times of 3.9 seconds. Looks like all that performance got the better of the unwitting soul behind the wheel of this car. Though the site showed no pictures of the engine, we think it would be cool to snatch it up. The LSA is basically a slightly detuned version of the mighty LS9 from the ZR1 Corvette.
With a dealer license, you have access to the latest cars and the newest parts. Check out
The other new engine we'd love to get our grubby hands on is Ford's new 5.0 Coyote V8. It cranks 412 hp at a silky smooth 7,000 rpm, and this owner's misfortune could be a treasure trove for us. The listing states the engine starts and runs fine, and there are just over 12,000 miles on it. A Coyote Panther would definitely be in our future.
The other new engine we'd love to get our grubby hands on is Ford's new 5.0 Coyote V8. It

Way Out There

Do you ever type in ridiculous search words to see what results you will find? We did just that (all in the name of research, of course) and found this after searching “unique engines.” According to the description, this is a Bristol Siddley Olympus 22R turbojet engine. It was the prototype engine for the British Aircraft Corporation’s TSR-2 Military Aircraft Program. We’re not sure what that means, but it sounds important. Shipping to your door is possible! END