The ‘CC Graveyard’ Is Being Liquidated – Care To Save Any Of Them From The Crusher?

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It had to happen, sooner or later. The “Official CC Graveyard“, which became widely known after my posts on them went viral, is going to be liquidated. The first ten cars are on the block, and are struggling to find buyers willing to bid more than scrap value. Which doesn’t bode well for the rest of them. So if one of these cars is calling out to you, know is the time to take action.

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Here’s a little back story first, before we plunge into the particulars. This was Scott  & Sons Auto Wrecking, which closed in 2005. Obviously, Mr. Scott made a habit to save the cars that either had a particular interest to him, or thought would one day be valuable. So they’re arranged, mostly by brand and models. If I remember, Mr. Scott died at the time the yard was closed, or thereabouts. In any case, his daughter is now eager to liquidate the whole kit and caboodle.

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Since the yard is on Airport Road, we’d driven by it for years, before I finally decided to stop in 2010 and look over the fence. I could tell there were some interesting cars in there from the little gaps in the fence when driving by, but looking out over the collected multitude was quite the eye-opener.

I wrote up and posted that initial over-the-fence shooting session back at the old site. The in 2011 I rode my bike out, stashed it behind a tree, and hopped the (tall) fence, relying on long-dormant skills honed in my youth. I walked around for a couple of hours, in a daze, and shot hundreds of pictures.

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I wrote up my tour in five parts, the links to which are at the bottom of this post. And I may re-run them again here soon.

Anyway, the sale is being handled by Rogar Alvey at Copart, who is trying a mix of on-line auctions through Copart.com and Ebay, whichever seems to result in the best bids. Or by any other means, like a direct contact and negotiation.You can reach Roger at roger.alvey@Copart.com or call Copart Eugene at (541)689-3533.

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All bids have to be approved by the current owner, and it appears her expectations for her father’s former field of dreams may be unrealistic. Not surprising, really. Which means none of the first ten have sold, at least as of my conversation with him on Tuesday. The bids were all at or below scrap value.

But these cars ended up here in the first place because they were being wrecked, and their condition hasn’t exactly improved over the decades.

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I went out to Copart’s Eugene facility to look at the first ten cars that had been pulled out, transported and pressure washed. Here’s what I saw, a rather random sampling of cars that were most accessible at the junkyard. Few things are more depressing than seeing cars facing a possibly dismal future on a wet, gray Oregon late-fall day.

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First up: A VW 1600 Squareback, and a pretty early one at that (1967 or earlier), given the lack of side marker lights.

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A mildly-customized Beetle. Like all too many of these cars, the interior has been exposed to the elements, which alone is going to make these cars more challenging, never mind the unknown mechanical condition.

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A genuine US-import Sunbeam (Hillman) Imp, and a car I wrote up in a full-on CC, since I was rather unlikely to ever see one on the street. This one tugs at me; I can’t bear to think of it getting crushed. Given how light it is, it wouldn’t take much to top its scrap value. Surely there’s someone out there willing to save an Imp?

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A Flair-bird Thunderbird. Interior not hermetically sealed.

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Another heart-strings tugger: a 1963 white Corvair Monza four-door, just like my first car, except for the Powerglide. Good thing, because if it had had the four speed, I might have done something irrational.

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Plenty of rust, but the Oregon kind, which forms on the surface from rain and condensation.

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Plenty back here too. A bit too much for my taste.

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But anything can be fixed, for a price. What’s yours?

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This ’66 Chrysler Newport was by far the best of this first batch. I suspect it may likely have been stored in one of the sheds.

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This was the only one I could bear to shoot the interior. In relative terms, not bad.

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What a handsome car.

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A pink ’58 Edsel hardtop coupe, and one of the big-body 124″ wheelbase ones at that.

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The body looks pretty solid, and most of the trim is still there. Gotta’ be worth well more than scrap. Of course, it does weigh a bit!

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No Edsel, but then these early Zs aren’t exactly getting more common.

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A Willys wagon, with four wheel drive too. I bet it had a hard life before it had its long rest.

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Finally, a ’58 Chevrolet Biscayne, My brother once had one just like it, but his was a six. This has the big V on the back.

Well, there they are, the first of hundreds of cars that will be moving to their next plane of existence soon, one way or another. Perhaps I should have called it the ‘CC Purgatory’. They’ve certainly atoned for their sins long enough; now will they go to car heaven or hell?

If the former, here’s the man to contact: Roger Alvey at roger.alvey@Copart.com or Copart Eugene at (541)689-3533.

 

The CC GraveYard Tour: Part One  Part Two  Part Three  Part Four  Part Five

CC: Sunbeam/Hillman Imp: The British Corvair