What really happened to our cars back in the day

They were driven very hard and sometimes didn't end up getting put back away wet or at least back in the garage :eek2:

 

People today could not imagine the Muscle cars I saw getting parted out in junk yards in Central Pa. in the late 70's-early 80's.

I personally took engine parts off a 66 or 67 W30 that had the rear of the car sitting in a creek. We got parts off 65-72 GTOs, 442's, SS Chevelles/El Caminos, and Camaros, including a front bench seat out of one Camaro. We got parts off all kinds of Mustangs, including a few 69 Boss 302s that were getting scrapped. One of the yards even had a few Cyclones and a Shelby in it. We did manage to buy one of the fiberglass Cyclone hoods. They were using it as a sled to put parts on and drag thru the yard behind a 4-wheeler. They liked it because it was lighter then the regular steel hoods they normally used. We bought that load of parts sled and all.:laugh:

Sometimes we tried to buy entire cars, but were rarely successful, so we had to be satisfied buying the parts off them. The only 2 cars we did get out were a 65 GTO 389 3-2bbl car, and a 72 SS 454 Chevelle.

The 2 cars that really hurt seeing them get parted out were a 67 427 COPO Chevelle and a 69 Judge. We tried like there was no tomorrow to get that 67 car but it was no-go. The last time I saw it the engine and 4-speed was removed and it was a 3 foot square cube. I had asked about the rear sway bar under the Judge and was talking to the Junk Yard owner about buying the entire car when one of his fork lift operators came up to the car, stabbed it thru the front windows, and picked it up by the roof. It buckled the entire body and made the car worthless. He thought he was doing me a favor by getting me easier access to the rear swaybar. It was such a shame.

I'm not even going to talk about some of the 440 & Hemi cars I saw parted out.
Duane

 

Lon, love the pics. Those cars were the "taken too soon" cars, totaled in their prime of life. Some of the earliest to go. A shame, of course. And Duane, awesome stories, I love hearing them. I was just a little squirt when you were exploring the junk yards and scoring those muscle car parts. Please post some vintage pics if you have them! Man, I was born way too late...

 

Yeah, well I have no pics sorry. I was too busy digging out parts and getting dirty.:laugh:

When we were starting up the Upholstery business and looking for seat patterns we would go to dfferent junkyards every week. My boss knew a bunch of Junk Yard owners, and so did I, so we got into a lot of yards no one else could enter. They knew we had money to spend and they liked it. We would pick out all the parts we wanted, and pick up everything the next week.

I remember going to one where the cars ran way up into the hills. The oldest part of the yard had cars as early as 30's-40's coupes. Some of them were in pretty nice shape, being under lean-tos, and sitting on 55 gallon drums. Getting them out would have been interesting, you would have had to cut down a few trees. That yard had a couple of Ford glass top Crown Victorias, and one Mercury version of the same car.

The most interesting/rarest car we ever saw in one of these yards was a 69 Trans Am convertible. The yard owner would not even talk about selling the car, but he did buy a complete interior kit from us. The car didn't look that bad and they ended up restoring it. I was told they sold it for BIG money.


I used to love getting into new yards and always said, "There was nothing like the smell of a virgin junk yard on a Saturday morning.":laugh::laugh::laugh:

Ah to be young and single again, with no cares in the world.
Duane

 

We had three great yards with acres of old cars in CT - in Tolland, Salem and Plymouth. All 3 are gone in the last 5 years, and the cars were crushed. I could cry when I think of it, there was sooooo much great stuff left. I photo'd all three yards before they shut down and I still see stuff in the photos I didnt see while I was there.

Mostly, the old man retired and the kids wanted nothing to do with the yard...and then the foot traffic market wasnt what it had been, and these guys couldnt fathom e-bay...local zoning leaned hard on them... the Salem yard told me they paid full taxes on any car with an engine in it, and there were thousands. Not to mention their heirs had dollar signs in their eyes over the idea of selling the property for subdivisions (check the history of the land when you buy a brand new house, especially one with well water!!!)

I hear the same story in every state - my kids will never know what a Saturday junk yard run is like.

 

One from a couple months ago.