In an earlier post, I hinted at a visit to an ancient salvage yard that was soon to be closing its doors. These two Bullet Birds were sitting side by side that day, and their days are numbered. There are few usable parts left on any of the scrapped vehicles, but there could have been with a little careful planning, oh, let’s say 40 years ago.
Nevertheless, these cars are passing time together as they await the inevitable awful on the other side of the crusher. This generation of Thunderbird is my favorite, making this an especially melancholy image. Sharp-eyed viewers may notice the ’60 T-Bird on the right, and the ’65 on the left. It’s a veritable Thunderbird cornucopia, worthy of Thunderbird week.
Going the way of all pressed metal. It’s a shame that they look as though they’ll be taking most of their trim with them to the inferno. What a waste.
Pix like these are always sad. At one time these cars had proud owners, probably had the kids out there washing them every weekend. And there is probably someone out there that still needs one of those bumpers, grill mesh or piece of glass.
There’s still lots of usable stuff on those Birds if you’re “picky” enough!
Up close, most of the trim/grilles/bumpers on all the cars at that junkyard were pretty weathered and beaten up. It’s too bad…
Are they salvageable with a little elbow grease? If these cars have no more useable parts then I have no problem with them hitting the squeeze press. But if all it would take is some work to make those pieces serviceable, then they should definitely be stripped and sold off. A bumper with a little rust and a few dings beats none at all, especially if its a daily driver or rat rod.
So sad .
As I often say : junkyard owners are most often jerkoffs who don’t want to sell , in time they have to settle for scrap value .
What a waste .
I know there’s tons of good parts on these cars as I scavenge hard parts off rigs like this all the time .
I bet the dash boards are nice too .
-Nate
Here’s the dash from the ’65 to the left…
These things have been poorly stored for (in some cases) over 40 years. Any parts you pull will need significant refurbishment to use. I wanted some beltline trim from a ’53 Special Riviera (one of TWO at this yard), and the cars were either boxed in by trees or the window mechanisms were frozen solid, ensuring I couldn’t even get to the trim. Those were almost literally the only usable parts I could find. Aside from that, the cars were so mold and moss ridden that my throat started swelling when I’d get inside. My allergies are bad, but I can usually take that stuff for awhile…
Not to mention, nobody’s stealing things as far as prices are concerned. I didn’t ask, but I’ll bet I would have paid three figures for the above mentioned beltline trim, and I would have had to remove it.
The glass looks good.
59 Galaxie wagon behind?
Yep, a ’59!
I grew up Down East so I am sadly familiar with the moss , mould and mouse nets in the seats , dashboards etc.
Never the less I see lots of good parts there and whenever I need a door latch , window lift or glass , I buy the entire door , who cares if it’s rusted out or dented , I get it home and can take my time stripping it , the ‘ Just So ‘ correct hard ware and usually little used lock cylinders etc. are all priceless if you like to do good works and whole doors are usually cheaper in any case .
I always find someone who wants any left over door parts , once I held on to a convertible driver’s door for years but in time , someone needed it .
Anyways , THANK YOU for the interior shots and detailing the Wagon ~ I was wondering what it was , thought a Ford product but wasn’t certain .
-Nate
I think you might clean up in that case; however, it might not be economically feasible due to the prices they were asking. You’d be lucky to get a door for under $50, and there isn’t a lot of room for making any money there…it would have to be “pro bono” for sure.
Correct ;
I no longer work on other’s vehicles for $ .
A friend of mine in Minnesota was resurrecting a ’62 ‘Bird and told me both his exhaust manifolds were kaput ~ I bet the ones on those ‘Birds are just fine , snap ff a few studs and install correct new ones with nickle , good to go .
-Nate
Scenic in a strange way, though it’s sad to know their days are numbered. While ideally they’d still be on the road, or second to that giving any parts that could be used by others, there is a picturesque quality in an old car returning to the earth. Sadly, between scrap prices and environmental regulations, scenes like this are becoming uncommon indeed.