Welcome to Sports Car Salvage. We are a niche hobbyist sports car dismantler located in Northeast Ohio, selling parts for C4 & C5 Corvettes, Mazda Miatas, and other sports and performance cars. We also restore diamonds in the rough. Let us help you with your restoration project.

That’s an odd-looking sports car….

June 2, 2015 | Posted in Shop Time | By

This past weekend, we had the opportunity to acquire (and start parting out) a 1995 Buick Roadmaster. It has 175,000 miles, power everything, and an interior in great shape. It had an issue with one of the brake lines, the starter, and a front spring, which is why it’s in our care now. It has a known good drivetrain, with the Gen 2 LT1 V8, 350 c.i/5.7 / 4L60E / Limited Slip 2.93 rear end.

I’ve been taking advantage of the unseasonably cool weather and parting out as much as I can. Its 18 foot overall length (in a garage bay 21 feet deep) is another motivator for me to work quickly on it. It’s looooooong. On the plus side, I don’t need a stepladder to reach anything on it 🙂 So, over the next few days I’ll be photographing and listing these items in our eBay store, at http://stores.ebay.com/sportscarsalvage.

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eBay’s Hassle Free Returns (And why we use it)

May 14, 2015 | Posted in Uncategorized | By

Over the past few months, I’ve been converting our listings to use the relatively new eBay Hassle Free returns process. The process is virtually automated, with clearly defined choices and policies. Sellers can choose their own automation rules to simplify the process for buyers. Return shipping is tracked, and payment for return shipping depends on the reason for the return. By the end of this year, eBay’s Hassle Free Returns should be the de facto returns process. Click here for more: http://pages.ebay.com/buy/hasslefreereturns/

Hassle free returns are available for domestic shipping for most items and allows for protection for both seller and buyer. For our items, a restocking fee may or may not apply, depending on the reason for return. Returns to us must be initiated within 14 calendar days of receipt. Because most of our items are distinct from one another, a refund is our usual method of honoring those returns. It’s helpful to us to have a tracked return process, where every step is recorded, plus I have some lead time to locate an exchange, if needed.

Unfortunately, with every process meant to help, there are a minority of people who abuse it. It can take some time to identify one of them, but after selling on eBay for several years, spotting them has become easier. We’ve contacted eBay on occasion to step in when dealing with an uncooperative customer. Problems we’ve encountered include people indicating a reason for return other than what is actually intended in order to avoid the restocking fee, people outright refusing to use the returns process, and claiming an item was damaged in shipping when it was not.

The eBay Hassle Free returns process is relatively new, but gaining traction. We are learning alongside buyers and are adapting as needed as we grow the business.

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A new look!

April 20, 2015 | Posted in Uncategorized | By

I’m in between projects now, so I took the time to update our web presence. Facebook, Twitter, our eBay store, the website, even this blog…everything. It was long overdue, and well worth the time I spent teaching myself the skills to do so. (Paying someone to complete the work for me would have cost at least a few hundred dollars.)

Screen Shot 2015-04-20 at 12.35.07 PM

I like it!

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I am ready for Spring. Who is with me?

March 4, 2015 | Posted in Shop Time | By

My secondary storage area has been impassable for a while now because of all the snow. The end result is…I have waaaaay too much stuff in my hair here at the moment. (I am not kidding…I’ve been running sales to clear out entire racks on shelves. Even with two new large shelves!) In fact, I’ve also been going through the older inventory and creating fresh new listings with new pictures

Fortunately, I was able to clear out enough space to work on this 2001 Oldsmobile Alero we got just recently. It’s unofficially for sale at the moment. I’m still working on a few things (nothing major) before advertising it. Including washing it….indoors.

That’s all for now. In anticipation of some new projects coming up, I’ve been doing some pre-spring cleaning of some old listings, our website, and some other general maintenance stuff. It’s good to have a relative lull in the action sometimes.

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Let There Be Light(s)

January 27, 2015 | Posted in Uncategorized | By

Thanks to a couple of friends (one who we got building materials from, the other who helped build shelves out of it) I’ve managed to get two pallets of side view mirrors organized, plus a truckload of boxes. I should add that I feel about as much joy and excitement about acquiring boxes as my cats do! *PURR* It’s also nice to have the middle garage bay free again so that I can pull the truck in if needed. (Well, mostly…does anybody need a Jeep engine or transmission? LOL)

I accomplished this feat in time to start getting in more assorted car parts. Right now I’m working on listing different kinds of headlights, tail lights, marker lights, and fog lights. I should be getting some more of those in later this week, plus some other items. The best part is that these have all been tested good before being delivered.

We primarily buy and sell on eBay, but did you know that we have our listings on JustParts.com as well? Click the link to view our inventory there. This is a relatively new interface for us. Our JustParts listings refresh several times a week from our eBay inventory. Sign up for email alerts when new items become available.

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2001 Saturn SL1 – The latest funny-looking sports car

December 15, 2014 | Posted in Saturn | By

Last month, I had the opportunity to buy and part out a 2001 Saturn SL1 in Black Silver.

A stock photo of a 2000s Saturn SL1.

A stock photo of a 2000s Saturn SL1.

It came to us having a VERY rough idle, supposedly due to a broken timing chain. While the timing chain wasn’t actually broken, we ran some tests and the engine was still kaput. A blown head gasket will do that, I guess. I had briefly entertained the idea of an engine swap and turning the car into our second runabout. (2003 F150 – 12 miles to the gallon: Great for business and shipping, but not so great for family trips.) However, the final decision was to part it out. The parts have been surprisingly popular with customers so far. Even the less glamorous items, like door latches, have sold well.

The Saturn was somewhat different than other cars I’ve parted out, so watching richpin06a’s YouTube how-to videos was extremely helpful. Otherwise, I’d probably still be puzzling over how to take the windows out. Overall, it was pretty pleasant.

I rotate between listing different categories of inventory, so I’m still working my way through listing the parts on eBay. You can find the items in our eBay store. I’ve been working my way toward putting up more shelves and re-organizing the office area so there is room in the middle garage bay for….You guessed it….something else to part out!

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1996 Jeep Cherokee and Through the Looking Glass

October 21, 2014 | Posted in Uncategorized | By

Just when I got my garage mostly clean…. 🙂

I have a friend who gave me a gift that keeps on giving. Specifically, two Gaylord boxes full of car mirrors. What in the world am I going to do with a half ton of mirrors? List them on eBay, of course. He works with an automotive dismantler who deals with large parts (engines, transmissions, doors, etc.) so the smaller items, like the side view mirrors, are sold in bulk for scrap price. One man’s trash, and all that….So I list them and we split the money for them. While I usually offer free shipping, for accounting purposes, charging actual cost for shipping makes keeping track of everything much easier.

I wasn’t exaggerating about a half ton of mirrors, either. I’ve been steadily listing these. Every mirror has been tested good before being delivered to us.

In the midst of taming the mirror beast, I acquired a 1996 Jeep Cherokee. It’s a Texas vehicle, with relatively little rust. Not to be confused with the Corvette we bought in Texas that ended up being a Michigan car. Anyway, I started parting it out a few days ago. Items will be listed for sale as they come off and are evaluated for condition.

Keep an eye on our eBay store over the next days and weeks to see what we add.

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More of those funny looking sports cars!

September 13, 2014 | Posted in Uncategorized | By

We parted out a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee. It was our daily driver, so we know it’s been well maintained. Rather than trading it in and losing money, we determined that it was worth more as parts. So, doing what I do best, this Jeep will help finance our recent truck buy. It’s a Ford F250 and is much more suitable to our business needs (hauling large loads, towing, etc.) than the Jeep was.

Many of the parts are still available. They are listed locally and in our eBay store.
As always, local pickup is available by appointment – just give us a day’s notice. We can be available almost any time.

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A new arrival in the garage!

June 24, 2014 | Posted in Uncategorized | By

It’s a 1987 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z!

1986_Daytona_Turbo_Z_CS_(Carroll_Shelby)_with_T_roof

It doesn’t look quite like the picture, however 🙂 This Daytona came to us already mostly parted out. Before we got it, it was initially intended to be a project vehicle.

As far as teardowns go, it’s a real gem! It’s not wrecked, burned, or rusted out. The engine and transmission were both running when removed. Aside from being in pieces parts, it’s a nearly complete vehicle.

However, before dear husband decides to turn this into another project of his and gets evil ideas, I’ll be listing the parts on eBay. We have a new store category here: 1987 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z

We’ll be listing more and more parts over the next several days. I have extra motivation from yet *another* delivery being expected by the end of the week (Yay! But I must make room!) so keep an eye out.

PS: About the Capri? I lied. It’s staying. 🙂

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The Capri lives! (And is unofficially for sale.)

May 16, 2014 | Posted in Mustangs | By

After some initial delays, we took this to a local person who is known for fixing complex wiring issues. What happened is that a previous owner had cut many, many wires under the hood. Good job, Scott! She runs…

We took this to our house to see how it ran. My better half was trying his best to behave with it. I had taken the car for a quick spin around our shop’s parking lot before, but even with that, I was pleasantly surprised. The motor in this a drag motor from a 1990 Mustang that a friend of a friend had acquired in a divorce. Here are the specs:

  • Small Block 302
  • Headman headers
  • Aftermarket 4 barrel aluminum intake
  • Edelbrock 650 cfm 4 bbl carb
  • Summit Racing starter with a wrap
  • Unsure of cam
  • Motor has been converted to serpentine belt

My next project is to get the interior back together. After that, maybe I can entertain the aesthetic suggestions from friends for the exterior…

I was outvoted on this look.

I was outvoted on this look.

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