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?

I know nothing of these(yet). Can you please explain why diesel cats are crap please? Just for knowledges sake

I will vouch for the "Angle-neck Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable" Just cut one off a 1999 Mercury Sable- Let's just say 4 blades and two different pulling angles with a strap hooked to one end to my trailer pockets. Graded as a "Medium Standard" and paid out $50 bucks. I was not to be defeated.. but man did I work me arse off for that one!

Yes, I would hate to have to replace one of those Ford Y-pipes with the two converters. I don't want to begin to imagine what all you would have to remove to get the new one up in there in one piece! Some of my junkyard customers will leave the back cat on those cars until they rip out the engine. The back pre-cat on some of them bolts right to the manifold with a sideways flat flange- it literally cannot be cut off, it must be unbolted.

The Caravan/Voyager/Town and Country vans are probably one of THE worst vehicles to "de-cat". Some of them are worth the effort- Depending on the year and engine, they can be a $200+ converter (889 or 050 6-line). Then, if you're unlucky, it could be a garbage 434 10-line worth 50 bucks. Hint: The ones with the 3.3 engine seem to have a better chance of being the good ones.

As far as bad ones to remove, the Ford Contour/Mercury Mystique with the Wide Mouth cat aren't much fun, either. What is it with Ford bolting converters right to the manifold?!?

Yeah, I hate beads, too. I always find myself grading the partial ones too generously, paying half on a 1/4, full on a 3/4. Hard to judge when you can't actually see inside the things. For a converter that hasn't been made in over 20 years, there are still a lot of those old things around. They seem to be tapering off a bit, but not fast enough, LOL!

The Big Mouths aren't bad IF the bolts cooperate with you. Same with the Mazda cast manifold cats. Stripped/rusted bolts are common here in the good old Pennsylvania Rust Belt. Surprisingly, I just junked out a 2000 Mazda Protege, and the rusty bolts came right out of the manifold cat. I was expecting the worst!

Someone needs to invent a tool to easily remove those rear Ford pres, they would get rich. If they were a $15 junk pre, I'd just leave 'em, but at 60 bucks, they're coming off one way or another.

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.

I recently sold a cat of of a '00 Bonneville SSEi. My buyer thought that is was form a Cadillac, it had alot of holes on the heat shield on one side.
I got 100 bucks for that one, buyer said high grade GM, what would you have paid Sparrow?

Yes Shaun, those Caravans are a breeze after you know that trick, less than 10 minutes now, the first one I did took all afternoon!!

My most despised convertors are the ones that you think are worth $$$ but to much disbelief you are convinced otherwise.

Originally Posted by SuperDave

I recently sold a cat of of a '00 Bonneville SSEi. My buyer thought that is was form a Cadillac, it had alot of holes on the heat shield on one side.
I got 100 bucks for that one, buyer said high grade GM, what would you have paid Sparrow?

Yes Shaun, those Caravans are a breeze after you know that trick, less than 10 minutes now, the first one I did took all afternoon!!

Bonneville Cats are a BEAST! And that Double Wall makes your day.. Not so fun! It wasn't as bad as that 99 Merc.. but I remember cussing at the Bonneville Cat a few times myself!!
HA!