Well folks, here we go again! It’s Friday, it’s the Junkyard Outtake, and we’ve got a fresh batch of cars from the Biggest Junkyard Yet. On our last trip to this yard, we found thousands – perhaps even tens of thousands – of tons’ worth of cars, trucks, and vans to look through. You’ve seen several dozen already. Now, let’s see some more!
My plan had been to bring you a private junkyard full of ’50s, ’60s and ’70s iron this week – and to use it as a vehicle for delivering some additional news as well. But assembling a proper tour of such a goldmine requires extra time and attention… neither of which I could spare this week. Hopefully I’ll be able to take you there next Friday, after I’m done de-vinyling and re-dooring my new work van (best $750 I’ve spent in a while!).
“But hey,” you say, “last week you promised a Pontiac wagon with a glowing Indian chief on the hood! What gives?” Never fear, dear CC reader – I’m not about to break my promise to you. Enjoy this week’s junkyard shots, then stay tuned for your bonus Poncho pic at the end.
When the first thing you see in the yard is a dead ENG van, you know it’s going to be a strange day.
(Trivial conjecture: Apparently the Hubbards finally decided to let this old Ford sign off. Wild guess, I’d say it likely started life at KSTP in Minneapolis/St Paul before ending up at co-owned KSAX later in life. Imagine all the places it’s been, the things it’s seen, and the shots it brought in, throughout three decades of schlepping local news reporters and cameramen around.)
Here, of course, is our long-anticipated headline car: an ’88 Touring Sedan, the fifth I’ve spotted in the tin. Looks like somebody already nabbed its grille.
All four of the alloy wheels are present.
So too were all four of the exterior Touring Sedan badges.
It’s rough… much rougher than I’d hoped.
Much, much rougher.
At least we finally get a proper look at the earlier style sport wheel.
As TSes go, this one was kind of a stripper. No sunroof, no DIC…
…at least it had climate control (though not the style I’m used to seeing – this one is much plainer).
Whoever last owned this car almost certainly didn’t see it as anything more than four wheels and an engine.
In case all the charcoal trim and round insignias weren’t a big enough tip, there’s also the script on the back.
Here ya go! If you’re going to have a Cavalier, why not make it a wagon?
It actually would be practical, and has the potential for being ever-so-slightly sporty if done right. (The fancier steel wheels and raised white letters help a lot.)
What could possibly go wrong? I’ll give you a hint.
Uh-oh, what’s this I see? Overly plush velour interior…
…a vinyl top…
…no wonder my Brougham-o-meter is beeping!
This one probably could have been saved. Still, at least we know this B-body’s death has allowed others to live on.
At least one has benefitted so far. Hopefully no one destroys that hood, it still looks pretty decent!
Can’t say the same for this little V6. Its days on the road are most likely over.
By popular demand, here’s the little Subaru that I missed last time.
If anyone actually needs these parts, they’ll have found a gold mine.
Sorry, I can’t come up with a witty boxing reference at the moment. Just know that I intended for one to be here.
Mmm-oused. (Note the little black specks on the carpet. That ain’t gravel!)
Dig that funky HVAC control!
No doors? No intake? Clearly, people around here still know what the answer is.
That’s quite a maneuver! But you wouldn’t catch me doing that in a ragtop…
If you want to wagon but don’t like rusty Cavaliers, maybe this 5-series longroof is more up your alley.
Just like every other one I find, this one is missing all four wheel-caps. Looks like the Jag will have to continue waiting for its new wheels to be complete.
Speaking of Bimmers, how on Earth is this in a self-serve yard?
Somebody really ought to get on this one. There’s gotta be money to be made.
Sadly, there seems to be little love for Saabs in this neck of the woods. The only change on our fake SPG is a new divot in the windshield.
On my way out, I was further saddened to see this Chevy pickup arrive. Despite my normal fear of other peoples’ abandoned projects, it actually looked quite savable. Other than the fenders it was still fairly straight and clean.
Why isn’t it on the road, or being revived, as we speak? The yellow tag says it all. To paraphrase, the City of Saint Paul demanded that the owner either purchase tabs and insurance immediately, or be fined and lose the truck. Their inaction led to the latter – and to a title-less truck that no one could register again. What a shame.
Last – but certainly not least – here’s a preview of things to come. Until next time!
Noooooooo…………on that pretty clean old Chevy truck.
No pity for the X5, I see that it’s in the company other very late model “reliable” German cars.
Are you sure that’s a V6 in the Caprice Classic Brougham? I thought that the 5.0 was the base engine in the upline Caprice?
I’m not sure that any credible enthusiast makes the claim that the average recent German car is particularly reliable.
“Are you sure that’s a V6 in the Caprice Classic Brougham?”
My vague recollection is that it was a 4.3, but I have no larger pictures with which to dis/prove it.
AFAIK, in ’89 and ’90 the Caprice Brougham came standard with the 305, but before that the V6 was available in all trims.
From memory, I thought the the V6 was standard in Caprice sedans through 1988, then was offered only in fleet models in 1989 and 1990. (Wagons were V8-only all along.)
Based on the writing on the back fender, the junkyard has identifed this one as an ’89.
Since the fan is more or less inline with the sway bar I’d say yes it is 2 cylinders short of the proper number.
I was never a fan of the look of that era of Chevy trucks, but I think my mind is changing as the years go by.
On the Subaru Wedge, well, XT also dig that funky steering wheel! My least favorite ever! *yuck* second ugliest goes to the English Austin Allegro of the 1970’s with it’s square steering wheel.
Indeed about the BMW X5 What the heck is it doing there? High class wrecking yard? 😛
My guess would be flood damage.
The 4.3L V6 was in the Caprice & Monte Carlo for a few years. The Subaru XT6, was a bit late to the Celica, 240SX, Prelude, etc. sporty coupe fighter. Look forward to the chrome suspender “Tin Indian” entry.
I know that it was, it would be strange though to see one in the decked out Caprice Classic Brougham, I always thought the XT was interesting, this is one of the later ones with the flat-6, but the more serious dash which lost the moving sidewalk digital tach/boost “pole position” gauges that looked like a video game.
The only XT I’ve seen in person in the past 10 years was on the back of a wrecker headed in the direction of the local metal recyclers. I think it looked worse than the one you found.
A shame, I really liked these back in the day. When I was probably 7 years old or so, the girl who would come over to watch me when my parents needed a night out drove a white XT. Always thought that was the coolest car.
Well, if E39s are ending up in self-service yards then I guess I should think about picking one up.
Are my eyes deceiving me or is that a 2.8 V6 badge on that Cavalier wagon?
It reads “2.8 Multi Port FI” – so yes, it’s a V6.
Just did some reading, and discovered that you could get a Cavalier wagon with a V6 and a 5-speed back then. Mmm.
As silly as I’d look in one, I’d have a hard time turning down a boxy little longroof that can achieve MPGs in the high 20s and still turn the (wrong) tires.
IIRC, in the late ’80s the 2.8 was optional only in wagons, not in other body styles. I’m guessing not that many wagons were built that way. The 2.8 was otherwise available in Cavaliers only by buying a Z24.
I’ve always wondered if you could get the V6 in sedans and non-Z24 coupes. I think you’re probably right, because I’ve certainly never seen one… not from the 2nd generation anyway. I do vaguely remember seeing a very early production 1985 Cavalier RS or Type-10 coupe with the V6 on j-body.org back in the day, though.
When it comes to wagons, though, I see way more V6-equipped models than 4-bangers. Wouldn’t mind having one of the rare V6/5-speed ones!
Those Caprice Broughams were very nice, they were sort of a “catch all” for traditional car buyers that weren’t sold on the FWD C/H car and didn’t want to go all the way to the Cadillac Brougham. They are as nice as a Regency 98 from the 1983-84 period with the exception of not having rear seat reading lamps, I think those are even Oldsmobile seats that Chevrolet recycled for the Brougham. They moved the seat controls to the doors too, like a Cadillac. All the doors had red and white courtesy lights too.
They are Oldsmobile seats, and I’m pretty sure they’re the ones from the Delta 88 LS in about 85 or so.
1984-1985 Oldsmobile Delta Eighty Eight Royale Brougham interior:
Close, but not the same seats. The Chevrolet seats do not have pouches on the seat backs. The seat pattern is different too.
The pattern is different, but the cushion design is very similar to the 98/LS 88’s, if they aren’t the same they were designed by the same guy. The Delta 88 LS had the previous years 98 interior, similar to what the Collectors Edition LeSabre had, which was the previous Park Avenue interior.
I agree on the Delta 88 Brougham LS using the Ninety Eight’s interior except for the door handles. I also agree the Le Sabre Collectors Edition used the Park Avenue interior. I think they are similar looking, but the cushion design is different and the Caprice’s seats do not have pouches on the back of the seat or assist handles.
Its not the pillow and button 98 interior that I am referring too, but the smooth cushion 98 Regency interior. You have to agree that this looks a lot like that Caprice Brougham interior, the pattern and the inserts were changed, but the seats are similar.
I agree with you last comment. In 1997, they did the Delta 88 Royale Brougham LS thing again. They just called it “Regency”. That interior you refer to was the Brougham interior that was offered from 1982-1984 on the Ninety Eight and 1984-1985 on the Delta 88 Royale Brougham.
It came back in a way in 1994-1996 on the Ninety Eight and 1997-1998 on the Regency. You are correct.
That has to be the coolest hood ornament ever.
I think rust was a standard, factory installed option on early J-body cars – that is disgusting! Precisely the reason I will likely never find a nice ’87 Z-24 in my own little corner of the rust belt.
Thank you for the photographic tour. I enjoyed looking at the Ninety Eight Touring Sedan. Too bad you did not check out that Toronado.
We did, in the last visit: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/junkyard/junkyard-outtake-the-biggest-one-yet-part-1/
No, wait – you’re right! The one from last time was silver, so this is indeed the white one that was previously inside the fence! Gotta get back down there and check it out…
Thank you so much and I look forward to that! I own a 1992 Oldsmobile Toronado with the front bench seat, but it is always interesting to see what others have to say on these matters.
A bench!? Never seen one like that before. I’ve encountered probably close to a dozen of the final generation Toronado-es, but all have had buckets and a console.
Wonder if that title-less Chevy could be registered in a state such as Kentucky, Montana, or South Carolina that does not have VIN inspections?
Look forward to reading about your 2003+ Chevy Express.
Somebody could do the old “VIN plate swap” trick on it and would likely never get caught, but that’s probably still too much risk – especially if you ever planned on selling it – for a truck that’s not extremely rare or valuable.
It is a damn shame, though. I’ve wanted to get an old work truck like that forever.
that’s government for you…I can see the fine, and even confiscating the vehicle… but why insist on it’s destruction by making it untitleable? more social engineering like destroying all the trade-ins from cash for clunkers?
Early 2000’s germans are starting to litter SoCal yards even R129 Mercedes are appearing.
Any chance of you picking up some parts from the Touring Sedan with some financial swaying?
Not much there that’s in nice enough shape to bother with, that I don’t already have on the shelf. (I’ve got a whole box of TS goodies that I’ve been meaning to put on eBay, but haven’t gotten around to it yet)
What radio was in the Caprice? I’ve been looking to upgrade my Delco to one with the equalizer.
Did you happen to notice how many miles were on the Olds? I’ll browse through the Copart website sometimes and I’m always amazed by the mileage these rack up. Those early 3800 engines (pre-Series I) seem like the most indestructible of the lot.
The Caprices/Impalas and Parisiennes with the TBI V6 are pretty interesting. That engine was only slightly less powerful than the Olds 307, or actually may have made more HP some years, and got very respectable fuel economy for the time. In ’85, the first year it was available, it had EPA ratings (old style) of 18cty/27hwy. The brand new Olds 98 “fullsize” FWDer with the sequential port-injected 3.8? 19cty/26hwy. No question the Olds was a better car in most ways, but if I was running the show back then, I would’ve taken this as a sign that maybe RWD wasn’t the dead end it was thought to be at the beginning of the decade.
Sad to see an XT6 that looks fairly solid in there! Although maybe there’s some rust in the rockers I can’t really make out… these things were so friggen cool and wacky – IMO, even cooler and “more Subaru” than the SVX. I used to see them pretty frequently, but it’s been awhile now. I think some of them, or maybe only the XT Turbo ones, could be ordered with the low range gearbox available on their other cars. That’d be a pretty sweet setup to have.
At an old job, I got to drive one of the few X5s that came over to the U.S. with a manual transmission. It was actually very fun to drive, I was surprised. The oldest ones are over a decade old now, so it doesn’t surprise me at all to see this in there. I’ve been seeing them in junkyards for years. The E39 wagon is a beauty (well, not this one) and if I’m remembering correctly they made a few 540i wagons with the 6-speed too. The M5 from that generation is my favorite one ever, and what I automatically think of when I think “BMW”.
“Did you happen to notice how many miles were on the Olds?”
Coming up on 200K. Don’t recall the exact number.
Seems like there are indeed a lot of mileage kings/queens amongst those cars which were equipped with the pre-Series 1 3800s. Transmission failures, rust, and/or the overall effects of age and neglect seem to be the last straw for most I see getting junked.
Of the five TSes I’ve seen, the miles were (going from memory here):
– Back Forty maroon/maroon rustbucket: 180K
– U-Pull white/grey wreck: 250K
– White/maroon Arizona car: 165K
– White/blue/white pimpmobile: 175K
– Today’s feature: 190-something K
Have seen plenty of other 88s, 98s, and others with similar miles. Two lowest ones I’ve seen? My faux Touring Sedan, at 94K when I bought it and 99K when sold; and the blue 88 seen here a few months back, which had only 66K.
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/junkyard/junkyard-outtake-crushing-the-deadly-sins/
That poor 88 touring sedan. Now those were probably some of the best cars to come out of Detroit GM in the 80’s. I had a late 85 model 98 Regency Brougham in 95. It was truly my favorite car outside of the 86 Cutlass Supreme coupe my folks had as a third car prior to that and the 08 Yaris hatch i drive now.
The XT always triggers a replay of the 80s Subaru commercial where the farmer walks up to his son’s new XT and says “I thought we decided you were going to buy a Subaru.” Kid – “But Dad, I did.”
I will never understand the writer’s obsession with the word “Brougham”. I simply don’t get it and find it irritating. Talk about beating a dead horse.