Preparing for the Scrappers

This past Wednesday, I was thinking how I should probably just get Sassy scrapped as it’s become little more than a rusting hulk in the driveway.  As serendipity would have it, later in the day a small scrapping company stopped by and offered me cash for Sassy.  I took their information but declined the on-the-spot offer as I wanted to get any interesting parts first.

So today I went out and went through the beast.  I took out the air horns I had installed, then got the under-hood fusebox (which will presumably come in handy for higher-power 12V projects I have in mind, what with the high-amperage fuses and relays).  I also pulled the stereo speakers but was unable to get the stereo itself (a wretched Clarion DB336MP that had problems playing 2 out of 3 MP3 CD’s I burned among numerous other problems).  I had forgotten that I had installed a power inverter under the dash so I grabbed that along with some miscellaneous items not bolted down like a couple dollars in change in the compartment in the center of the dash.  Finally from the rear I kept the scissor jack, spare tire, and the wiring for the trailer connector.

Upon completion, I guess I’m ready to get rid of it.  Although I’m sad I didn’t get to complete my intended project, I’m glad that I can free up some more yard space and recover the tarp that covers it before it gets shredded in the wind like the last one.

Taking Parts sans Database

At the suggestion of Ali, I decided to not bother pretending I’m going to build a nifty database and track all this, but to just start taking parts.

Yesterday I went to drive the Buick and the battery was nearly dead (I blame a defective solar charger that I just started using).  I got out the charger and while I was waiting for it, I thought I’d pull the battery from the Civic — after all, it’s doing it no good to be slowly discharging and I can probably use it for something else … like jump-starting the Buick. Alas, it didn’t have enough juice, but I think it helped a little in conjunction with the charger.

Now I have a car battery. I’m working on converting a gas scooter to electric, so I may use that battery to test the electronics. I got the corrosion cleaned off of it and set it to charging last night. This morning it was done, and seemingly holding a charge. I’m sure it’s not like-new, but it holds a bit of energy.