Donor vehicle

[Mark Farver <farver@texas.net>]

The search for a decent donor vehicle continues and it is getting quite
frustrating.  I'm wondering if this is mostly due to market forces in my
town (Austin, Tx) or just my unusually bad luck.  

I've been trying to find a light truck, ideally with engine problems to
lower the cost.  Oddly enough I've been told by nearly every auto recycler
in town that any truck that can still roll is towed to Mexico the moment
its price drops below $3000.  I haven't had any luck in befriending one of
the recyclers enough to get them to keep an eye out for any car/truck in
nice condition (I'm tempting to start delivering donuts).  Instead I get 
the.. "We've got nothing now... but call next week".  Cars in the under
3k price range always seem to have body damage, Austin has a rather high
accident rate.. mostly due to our large contingent of Bay Area and Boston
drivers.  

I've though of going to a few recyclers and trying to mix and match parts
to build one decent car, but this would require a paint job to match
everything up.  How much will a full repaint cost?  (Maaco has quoted as
low as $500.. but I've heard way too many horror stories)

Are there any sources I've missed?  How long did it take the average
person to find their donor?  Did you find it from a friend, newspaper, or
recycler?

Mark

-- 
"The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious enroachment by mean of
zeal, well-meaning but without understanding."
-- Justice Louis O. Brandeis, Olmstead vs. United States