This is a thread with a lot of places for stuff,,
http://www.rctruckandconstruction.co...ead.php?t=5693
As far a metal goes I have to order most of my stuff. For me it is cheeper to mail/ship materials than to travel to the closest yard. I think I've used discount metals online. Local scrap yard is good too but usually don't have nice shiny pieces of alum that I'm looking for a specific size. Post some pics of what you are doing, ask questions before doing it, that's how I found out how and where for most of this stuff. Some real ingenious guys here, can take a simple piece of scrap and transform it into an awesome rc toy with minimal tools!! Good luck!!