Car and core guys- Name your most despised converters
I thought this might be a fun/interesting thread for the car recyclers and core buyers among us. We all know the converters that we always love to see. An exotic import cat, a center-O2 newer Straight Edge or a nice big X-Body GM from a Cadillac will always bring a smile, but... How about the "uglies"? I have a number of groan-inducing converters that I'm never too happy to see. I'll list the ones that come to mind for me, and would be interested to know which ones make you guys grumble.
- Of course, anything empty or aftermarket. This one is pretty obvious.
- Junk diesels: Big, heavy, dirty and almost worthless anymore. Refiners hate these things with a passion.
- 746 Straight Edge: 746A or 746M. These are on earlier-model Neons. They look just like a regular 10-line Straight, but a little smaller. They're only worth about $35-40! Really easy to lose money on if you're not careful, and still pretty commonly encountered. These are probably my single most despised OEM converter.
- Small brick Ford Crown Vic: These look like a Small Domestic, until you check both ends with a stick. There is only a small brick of material in the middle, the rest is empty from the factory. To make it worse, the little bit of material that IS in there is very low-grade. These converters are worth less than $20 each.
- Angle-neck Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable: These are graded by number, but 90%+ are the bad ones. The "good" number is worth a Small Domestic, but the bad ones barely break Low-Grade Domestic as far as value. These cars have high-grade pre-cats on both manifolds, and that's where all the money is. These angled-neck "main" converters are actually just a junk secondary cat. They DO look like they should be a Small Domestic. Also, they often come with only a half brick...then, they're almost not even worth buying!
So, what are your least favorite converters?
Car and core guys- Name your most despised converters
idk if this is possible for that rear ford but with the 95 intrepid manifold we used to tip the car on its side and wrap a chain around each one and go out to another 40 ft chain and pull with a bob cat
Car and core guys- Name your most despised converters
second the bobcat idea. i like rock buckets & bale spears. brush buckets with the thumbs also work very nice when you got them. make grabbing smaller or specific things a bit easier.
i junked a couple cars and had them stripped of motor / tranny, radiator, most heavy cast and most other valuable items besides wire in less than 10 minutes each and had alot of fun in process.
the added advantage is you can flatten them and stack them in at same time. granted dont work if you intend to core or resale parts but just scrap it works great.
i suggest at least a 90 hp or better skidloader to handle the abuse a bit better. a 60-70hp can do the job but will have to work pretty hard and eventually will take some damage.keep in mind a bigger skidsteer may still take damage. keep in mind they are not exactly designed to be playing car soccer or hacky sack.
now then...
DARWIN AWARD DISCLAIMER:
most skidsteers have fold down lockout arms to lock out arms in upright position. if you do play car soccer with a cat and need to get out DO NOT EVER TRUST THE HOSES TO HOLD! use them.
also keep in mind you will probably get a rough ride and bounce / maybe tip the skidsteer. doing this. also if you got helpers watch for loading pressure against bucket / attachments incase it unloads and skips. this is alot of weight moving and carrys massive injury potential including being killed or maimed.
