Nevada Overland Trip (EXBRO5), Day 5 – Junk Yard Pay Dirt

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– Updated on October 25, 2025

So far, EXBRO5 was mostly about driving, scenery, camping and historical/cultural sites. Given our proclivities, finding some old cars well preserved in the dry Nevada air would certainly have been a welcome bonus. We hit CC pay dirt on Day 5, just outside Tuscarora, a classic Nevada ghost town still inhabited by a few dedicated citizens.

Actually, it wasn’t a “junk yard”, which implies some economic basis or ownership; this was the town dump, where folks are welcome to dispose of their automotive hulks and other detritus. Quite the eclectic collection it was too, as this German Ford Taunus in the foreground attests.

But let’s star at the beginning of that day. We headed back up into Lamoille Canyon to take a hike up into the mountains. After four days in the mostly hot desert valleys, the notion of hiking into a cool alpine environment was a powerful draw, especially to some of (me).

Lamoille Canyon is a gem. We took a loop hike past several high lakes.

The last one was the destination: Lamoille Lake, where there was still a fair amount of snow. What a contrast from all that dusty sand.

Randy took a group selfie, to document this high point of the trip.

The welcoming committee wasted no time making an appearance.

The return trail took us back down on the other side of the canyon.

Wildflowers were in abundance.

We headed back out of the canyon, somewhat reluctantly.

I could have spent several days up there, and plan to come back.

The weather had become progressively cooler, and there were some distant storms.

In Elko, we treated ourselves to a well earned meal out.

Our next destination was Tuscarora, another former silver boom town. First stop was the cemetery.

It’s a splendid spot to be buried, given the views.

These heavily-weathered wooden grave markers and fences date back to the 1880s. They’ve survived only because of the very dry climate; in Western Oregon, they’d have been turned into duff within a couple of decades.

The year of death is still visible on this one: 1881.

The fence posts have become sculptures.

The marble wears a bit better. The town is visible in the background.

The sky added a melodramatic touch.

Here’s a more recent addition.

This one’s from 1990, and includes a VW hubcap.

The former Tuscarora Society Hall has been restored and is the town museum. As is common in these little hamlets, as soon as we pulled someone walked over from one of the nearby houses and opened it up for us.

Across the street from the pottery workshop we spotted a fine old Land Rover.

Love that grille material and the badge.

Looks ready to drive away. Seating for three in the front, as long as the middle passenger doesn’t mind all those levers between their legs.

Room for four more back here. A different sort of three-row SUV.

Some critters have been nesting on its intake manifold.

A gas pump is located conveniently nearby.

The only remains of many of the former wooden buildings in town, which was once quite the bustling place.

Not quite so old as the building it’s attached to.

Continue to Page 2 for the most scenic junkyard ever.

 

On the other side of the town from the graveyard is the dump. It included a number of cars that found plenty of interest in our party. Jim Klein was particularly taken by this blue Datsun 510, which has a particularly fine resting spot.

Looks like the engine bay isn’t exactly fully stocked.

The block is still there, and the transmission too.

There’s still a fair amount of the interior left.

A jumble of older cars, including a 1950 or so Buick coupe and a ’63 Chevy.

The old Chevy wagon has some good company.

The Buick is still sporting its big straight eight.

It’s got a nice bronze patina. Like on everything else out here, the rust out here is very superficial.

The Rambler’s high coil spring is on full display.

This Starlet looks to be a rather recent arrival.

It’s just starting to work on its tan.

The German Ford Taunus P2 (1957-1960) was of particular interest to me, as it’s the first of its kind here and of course it reminds me of seeing them in Austria back in the day.

It looks a lot like a scaled down ’55-’56 American Ford, and was dubbed the “Barocktaunus” due to its rather gaudy American styling.

 

 

The interior was still fairly intact, except for the upholstery.

These were of course sold by some American Ford dealers in the 1950s during the great import boom. The 1960 Falcon effectively killed that, until the Cortina arrived some years later.

I was curious to see what was still left under the hood.

 

The pushrod four cylinder, either a 1.5 or 1.7 L unit, was still fairly intact.

Coincidentally, its styling inspiration was sitting nearby.

Although much of the front clip was gone, the Y-block V8 was still there.

 

A good look at its odd stacked intake ports.

This Plymouth Belvedere has gone green.

A Pinto and Chevette; two fitting neighbors.

A good look at the Chevette’s somewhat unusual valve cover.

A vintage snowmobile.

This Ambassador called to me: open the hood!

I’m not just why exactly, but I was rather surprised to find a six under its long nose.

And a three-on-the-tree. A stripper Ambassador. So why didn’t they just buy a Rebel, which had the exact same body except for the shorter front end?

This old Pontiac had a rather different power train.

Under its hood is a flathead straight eight, the last of its kind in 1954, its last year.

And its teamed up with the original Hydramatic.

I love these old Hydramatic shift quadrants.

An old timer.

I’ve saved the best find for last. As soon as I spotted this early Wagoneer, I wondered if it might still have its Tornado OHC six under the hood. If so, it would be a first for me, as I’ve yet to be up close and personal with one.

There’s the oil pan. But it appears it didn’t have the IFS, which would have really made my day. Jeep Dana solid axles are worth something, so it’s not surprising to see it gone.

The vinyl upholstery Jeep used was pretty tough, to last this long in this environment. Three speed column shift manual.

Ever wonder what the gauge cluster of one of these looks like behind the face plate?

The back seat’s in even better shape, thanks to being more shaded from the sun.

And the view from the way back.

Now to lift that hood. Success! There it is, the first post war production OHC engine in America, not counting the Crosley. Its block was essentially the venerable long-stroke Continental-Kaiser 226 six, upped to 230 cubic inches. But on top sat a classic aluminum SOHC hemi-head, designed by the Italian engineer A. C. Sampietro, who had also designed a high-performance head for the Nash-Healy.

It has a lovely cast exhaust header. Although its power output of 140 hp was not exceptional, it was tuned more for a healthy torque curve, given its intended role on Jeep trucks and the Wagoneer. But its potential was massively unleashed after it was sent to Argentina, to be used in the legendary IKA Torino, where it eventually made up to 300 hp.

Jim Klein was captivated by its lovely scalloped alloy cylinder head cover, and was determined to add it to his growing collection of junk yard finds. That turned out to be easier said than done, because the engine was not supported at its rear, so the head and its cover were bearing on the firewall, with considerable force.

I determined that the solution was to raise the engine from below, and scrounged for the proper lever. The first piece of well-aged wood broke, but I found a stouter post and managed to raise the back of the engine just barely enought for Jim to wrest loose his prize.

There it is! I felt very slightly ambivalent about taking it off, as these are quite rare now, but then this is a dump, and it’s unlikely anyone is ever going to want this motor to fix up.

It’s a lovely piece of automotive sculpture.

 

Removing it did allow me to get a good look at a somewhat unusual configuration: the intake and exhaust rockers for each cylinder share the same cam lobe, meaning that they also have the same valve duration. Seems like it worked, but not quite typical.

Time to pack up and hit the road. Andrea must have gotten a bit bored waiting for us. But what a spot this was; the best junkyard view ever.

We spotted this on the way out through town.

Back in the saddle and out on the open range.

The sky was a never-ending show.

The only other human we encountered the rest of that day was this cowboy moving this herd.

Our campsite was at the edge of another reservoir.

We drove down to explore, and everyone except me took the rocky, steep way back up. Time to put four wheel drive to some good use.

Setting up camp.

 

Since I didn’t have any setting up to do, I scrambled up the rocky hill nearby, and got this shot from up there.

 

Ted’s smoked salmon made another superb dinner.

There was a brief shower.

 

And then we sat in our front row seats for the daily feature light show.

But there were two, as only minutes later the full moon rose on the opposite horizon.

A double feature.

 

All photos and videos by the various participants.

 

EXBRO5 Day 1: Alkali Flat Hot Springs to Pine Springs

EXBRO5 Day 2: Pine Creek to Toiyabe Range – The xB Gets Stuck

EXBRO5 Day 3 & 4