(first posted 9/3/2011) Now that I’ve been to the Allure of the Automobile Exhibition, I’m even more motivated to keep this guided tour of the Allure Of Junkers on track, so we can get too their perfectly-preserved (and somewhat less common) counterparts. We’ll just pick up from where we left off, with pickups. Here’s a nice sampling of Fords spanning half a century. The keeper of this yard had a soft spot for Ford trucks, but as we’ll find out a bit further down the line, he also found room for a few exotic foreigners. But the first one was not an easy find.
Ford F-1s, and F-100s, but no F-10. Why did Ford skip the tens?
I particularly like the oval-grilled one, a ’36, I believe.
Someone spotted this Rebel SST in Part Two; here’s the tail end of it along with some mixed GM iron.
Yes, this section is mostly GM territory, and I admit I didn’t try to crawl through the blackberries to shoot them all. But here’s a nice row of my favorite American trucks. Is it my imagination, but they seem to be aging a bit better than many of the other cars here. This blue one is just getting a nice coat of patina, before someone starts it up and puts it back to work.
The rear ends of them, and all their beds full of valuable cargo. One of the advantages of collecting pickups.
The Dodge section as not quite as amply stocked, but this Dodge; shoot, what did Dodge call their Suburban? Oh, right; CarryAll. Ironically, they used the Suburban name for station wagons, but these were CarryAlls. I think.
No proper CC collection would be complete without Beetles. Nice wheels on the first one; very vintage indeed. Someone out there wants those.
As I swing my camera back to the left, I see something hiding in the bushes. What’s that? Not American, for sure.
That rear window is rather unique and distinctive. There’s no pillar between the door and its movable glass, and the fixed quarter pane it buts up against. A semi-hardtop.
A Sunbeam Talbot 90! An upscale “sporty” saloon of the British Rootes firm, from 1948 – 1954.
Here’s how it looked in its prime. Cars like the Sunbeam were not uncommon imports in their day, as England exported everything possible to help repay its war debts.
And a parting shot of its handsome radiator grille badge. Supreme indeed.
Apparently this ’71 T-Bird didn’t rate a spot with its older brethren in the T-Bird section. Just as well.
Looks like I’ve stumbled into a mating in progress. And what would their offspring be? A VW Thing? But I think the Beetle is approaching this from the wrong end.
This Pacer is in the “unclassified” section in the back. I bet it gets toasty in there on sunny days.
A couple of LUVs in love, who can’t stop kissing while sporting a nice array of seventies’ pastels.
This Jeep Wagon is really working on a colorful suntan.
The back end here is the true bone yard, where the hulks await their imminent day with the crusher. When I first looked into this junkyard a year ago, there was a whole semi-trailer full of them getting ready to be hauled off. This Regal looks like it’s in line for the next load.
But let’s end this part on a more upbeat note, with a couple of shots of the sports car section. A 924, and a couple of fiat X 1/9s are in view here.
And a Mazda RX-7 to round out the collection. Next time: vintage Japanese bikes, and another exotic, as well more mundane fare. See you soon!
Continue to Part 4 of the Tour
I believe CarryAll was associated with the International Harvester vehicle of similar size and shape (and mission in life) to the Dodge (Suburban) at the beginning of this article.
This has been a terrific series of articles. Please, more!
The Internationals were TravelAlls. And there are two more parts to come, Sunday and Monday.
Yup the IH is a Travelall, (no capital A) if it has windows and Panel w/o the side windows.
Sunday 4th already here
I’ve heard the term, “carryall,” used by various manufacturers to represent a particular bodystyle, a station wagon built on a truck chassis, or sometimes, less commonly, a panel truck with windows built into the upper panels. I’ve seen some references made to the “Chevrolet Suburban Carryall.”
Allure of Junkers, LOL!
What a strange beast is that Sunbeam. Distinctive indeed. Attractive shapes by themselves, but all together, yikes. Wide window on narrow door. The whole greenhouse is a foot too far back. Long hood, limousine rear compartment on short wheelbase. Truly bizarre.
These cars were still sitting on essentially pre-war chassis, which helps explain their proportions. Like a Model A, with updated bodywork.
Raymond Loewy did the interior and fine tuned the 2door drop head Alpine model.
The first model of that shape (’48-’50) still had the solid axle front end! But at least the put the valves upstairs on that prewar engine. Fascinating cars.
I believe the Dodges were called the “Town Panel” and “Town Wagon” (the one with windows).
I believe you are correct.
With immense amounts of joy I “wandered” the aisles of the colorful collection of conveyances.
Sniff.
I kinda miss perusing the incoming cars when involved with the friendly-to-owners but unmindful of vital employees dismantling industry (some but too few exceptions).
Peeking under back seats and garnering lost change and various items of varying financial value; trunks too… and spare tire wells, etc.
All-the-while having to be wary of lurking black widow arachnids so common in northern California.
I feel like there should be a photography exibit at GM headquarters called (something like) “Never Forget” with shots of rusting stripped hulks of long dead name plates and companies that had to leave the North American market.
I think a Chevy LUV CC article is due….loved those trucks
Quite true, and I have a gem of one for it. Very soon, I promise.
Sweet! I know those LUVs well, and have factory shop manuals spanning 73-79 so if you have questions for your article, holler, I will try to help!
Great shots Paul the barrell nose pickup is a 38 those old Sunbeams were used in rally competition prior to the Rapier being introduced vary successful for Rootes group They were a hotrod Hillman minx rare car nowdays in any condition especially the open Alpine version, Seems a shame to be scrapping these cars most look as if they could be resusitated and Id take that Dodge wagon or a Chevy pickup any day though not the Luv those rusted with incredible speed here.
Amazingly the best selling import pior to the beetle were Rootes cars there must be thousands in junkyards in the US
Yes, to us Southerners some of these cars don’t look too bad at all. But who knows what the story is with the mechanicals? My heart would like to save that Sunbeam, but my head is already aching at the thought of getting parts.
Driving between Tirau and Putaruru in New Zealand you will pass the Sunbeam club’s wrecking yard, the parts do exist and helpfully in one place.
That Sunbeam is something; yes, the proportions are off a bit but something about it is alluring.
But am I the only one who thinks its grille badge looks like it should be on a refrigerator door?
Patine: best defined as other people’s dirt.
Regarding the mating VWs, since the engines are in the wrong end, maybe they have it right??? 🙂
So what’s the story on this yard? Elderly gentlemen’s collection? Is this guy the poorer version of (the late) Harold LeMay? Are any of these cars for sale, or are they crusher-bound on the slow boat to China?
Enquiring minds want to know!
This was a junkyard for many years, but everything is for sale as a whole car only. Contact me via Paul Niedermeyer for the owner’s phone number & e-mail address, but their prices are high for what they have, as you’d expect from a place like this…
What an amazing junkyard. I think junkyard is a misnomer in this case, really, more of a treasure trove. The Chevy pickups and the Dodge looks body looks like it’s in very nice shape. Shouldn’t take much more than a crate engine to get those running again! Maybe someone here could rescue those? It’ll be a tragedy if these end up crushed and turned into a Geely or Wuling or whatever.
As with most CCs I experience a twinge of jealousy at how much more attainable genuinely old iron appears to be in the States – Oh to live in a country with laxer roadworthiness laws 😉 – seriously though I can’t imagine ever finding a british equivalent of this treasure trove: back when I used to go junkyard diving (hunting parts for my much loved ’89 FIAT Panda) it was unusual to run across something from as far back as the early 80s… It just seems here that models of a certain age eventually all fail the MOT and drop off the map entirely save a few “garage queen” examples.
I’m hoping to take advantage of France’s more lenient legal strictures next month and bag some euro-gems for the cohort…
That Sunbeam-Talbot’s a hell of a find on any continent though: they can’t have been that common in their heyday (certainly not here, with as you say everything being frantically hawked overseas) handsome car… That said, it’s the two little X 1/9s which tug at my personal heart strings, I’m sure all they need is a little TLC…
Sunbeam Talbots might be rare on the continents but two islands in the south Pacific have quite a lot of them, all versions too not just the sedans, there were 2 open top body styles too.
That Dodge Town Wagon is a rare one. Funny, I saw one of those in traffic yesterday (a Power Wagon Town Wagon, no less) and snapped a windshield shot of it. Unfortunately, I could not follow it. I did a little research and was surprised to find that they sold these up through 1966.
Are any of these vehicles for sale? Seems to me that they’d make good hot rod projects. 🙂
I could get lost there for years and not care! Lots and lots of imagination ….. A really nice man cave…. Pizza… Heaven.
Poor Bunkie Birds get no love 🙁 I’d gladly drive one if I could find a clean one.
In fact, i don’t really mind any of the post-66 pre-77 versions. Maybe I just watched too many Quinn-Martin shows as a kid.
I forgot that Dodge made a Suburban-like vehicle during their “Pilot-House” era, and a little later. Once again Dodge misses out!
I love old school wrecking yards theres really only one left in NZ, Horopito motors or Smash Palace as its also known after the movie that was shot on site.
I was there recently no pics tho my phone and computer refuse to talk to each other but its still an amazing array of cars and you are allowed to wander, I enquired about replacement rear springs for my estate and was told see what you can find, ok then. We found 4 sets two sedans and two estates one estate is a rare and very complete Singer vogue early model with cross ribbed roof the other a MK4 Superminx exactly what I was looking for those springs are now fitted and its a much nicer car to drive and tow with.
Another terrific junkyard post .
There used to be so many scattered across America, not so much any more .
-Nate