Nathan Williams found a rather eclectic collection of cars at Plasmarl Wrecking in Swansea, UK. German, American and French cars, but oddly no British ones.
Cohort Pic(k) of the Day: An Eclectic Collection In Swansea, UK
– Posted on February 18, 2021
Aside from the Renault Megane in the background and the number plates (not just size and shape but the fact they haven’t been removed from the junkers and stashed someplace more theft-proof) this could be anywhere in rural or postindustrial urban North America.
I’ve noticed in photos a lot of old junkers there still have the plates left on.
Guess nobody wants them because they’re nothing special (no interesting letter-number combos), and they have a code letter denoting the year of the vehicle; the T-plate on that Neon would be all kinds of wrong on a recent car.
UK plates are registered to the car and stay with them for life. Plates can be transferred if they’re vanity plates but unless you’re cloning a car for illegal uses, a standard plate isn’t much use without the registration documents.
Also, the number cannot be transferred unless the car has a valid MOT certificate – ie it is roadworthy.
This use to cause some debate in UK classic car circles – the sort of people who used lead loading instead of plastic filler and insisted on cellulose paint were horrified if a pre-’63 car lost its original registration, but on the other hand it meant that some people were rescuing 50s cars which would otherwise have gone to the crusher.
It is far from unknown for a UK registered car to have a registration number which is worth several times more than the vehicle itself.
One might see a T plate on a newer car if it was T1TTS for example, but the one on the Neon is obviously undesirable. It is illegal to use a reg number denoting that the car is newer than it is.
I see the Neon’s a right-hooker, was the Fiero ever converted? It would seem fairly simple at least inside the cabin, and with no powertrain to get in the way up front as well.
Both of those visually look in far better condition than any of their ilk that I have seen in at least half a decade (from this very remote viewing angle, that is.)
Neons were sold officially in right hand drive, and even got a unique 1.8 version of the 2.0 for certain markets in Europe.
We got RHD Neons in Australia – they seemed popular for a while, but didn’t seem to last.
Don’t know if the Fiero was ever RHD under any official stamp, but it can be converted. My local mechanic of yore did an early 4-cylinder one back when.
(No, I’ve no idea why either, he always seemed well otherwise).
As far as I’m aware, Fieros were never available in RHD. They were never sold in the UK anyway. The Fiero and Corvette in this picture would have been personal imports. The Neon was sold here in RHD, as a Chrysler in 4 door form only.
I wonder if that Corvette was originally that shade of purple or whether it’s the effect of fade.
It brings to mind a big lottery winner hereabouts, years ago. Either husband or wife was quoted before the drawing as saying that “if they won, they would buy buy a purple Corvette”
Months later, I saw a gaudy purple Corvette parked in front of the package store I haunted in those days; it was the first in that color I’d ever seen. Inside was a woman speaking rather loudly to the clerk about her recent big lootery win; it turns out she was one-half of the quoted couple. IIRC, their sudden windfall did not end well, like so many others.
Corvette: Ran when dropped onto pile of whatever.
Slight T-top leaks.
Redone wood interior and window.
Authentic patina on wheel.
Comes with extra parts from…something.
The Corvette and Beetle look a bit tough. From what I can see of the Fiero it looks pretty decent and with the spoiler might even be a GT model. The Neon does not seem to be afflicted with peeling that a lot of them had.
Dodge/Plymouth Neons were assembled in three different plants. Did the paint process differ among them? Only one was within the USA.
Or this one may have been repainted.
Unfortunately, the British ones were unable to make it even as far as the wreckers….
I think these are a personal collection rather than a wreckers. The C3 probably gave it’s life for parts for this one:
I blow hot and cold on those bubble rear windows (I owned a ’79 with one). At the time it seemed like a stylish update on a car that had not changed in forever and it also promised more luggage room. However, that was partly an empty promise given the fact it did not open. I think that omission may have been fixed in the C3’s final year.
However, if I were to buy a C3 now (which is about as likely as me signing up for Mars) it would be one of the earlier flying buttress models.