Last Gasp For Old Wrecking Yard

[JohnD1956]

After the death of the owner, this yard has been sold and is now being cleared. The manager of the clearance operation has opened the yard to folks as a pick and pull while they begin the scrapping operation. At least it's open till "Some A$$hole causes trouble and ruins it for everyone else". I had a chance to get there Monday AM and am going back tomorrow for some obscure parts. I may try to get up there next week for whatever else I can find. Unfortunately most cars are sitting on the ground and have been there for decades. Not much seems salvageable. Maybe some stainless trims, but not much pot metal or steel. Anyway, here is a pictorial of my brief three hour excursion. By the way, I may have covered 1/3rd of this place in those three hours. There are three more large areas I did not even get into yet. Hopefully over the next few days

The place was sealed off to the outside for decades. Not many people have ever been in here. This is the view from the bottom of the hill before walking into the woods:

And here's about a hundred yards into the "back"

Here is about the 2nd hundred yards in:

Off to the left of this wall is a huge lot with several hundred cars that I have not gotten into yet. Many 60's to 70's in there. And off to the right was another few hundred cars three or four rows deep. But I was on a quest as I knew there was supposed to be a few of my wagons in here.

We might have walked as much as a mile all the way to the back, following directions to keep going to the right. We clearly passed a few hundred more cars when we found the wagons and the seeming back end of the "collection. After harvesting a few parts I needed we proceeded to the back and started climbing the hill when we came across this:

And from there our tour revealed the following: Note: Most of this pictorial focus' on two years I almost never see in any yards. You'll catch the drift pretty soon I think. Enjoy.

[JohnD1956]

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Edited September 13, 2013 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

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Edited September 13, 2013 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[JohnD1956]

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[JohnD1956]

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[JohnD1956]

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Here's the last one, for now. So many pictures did not come out for whatever reason. So if you can't tell which years I focused on, it was the 58-59. But I saw at least a dozen 55's, 3 or 4- 56's, and about a dozen 58's. There was another whole field of 50 looking stuff I did not have time to get into Monday. Hoping I can get there tomorrow, with some fresh batteries on that camera.

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Edited September 13, 2013 by JohnD1956 (see edit history)

[jscheib]

John,

And where may as nearby folks find this little slice of Buick heaven?

John

[JohnD1956]

This yard is in the outskirts of Saratoga County John. Glad to share the address with anyone who shoots me a PM. There is no phone number, and the operators are not pulling parts. Also they are not giving stuff away, but you can claim a whole car if you want. I don't know the details of how to do that but I saw cars with people's name on em.

[Earl B.]

John, we now know where old Buicks go to die!!!

[Guest shadetree77]

Wow. Thanks for sharing John. Brings back memories of the yard Lamar took me too. Looks like there are loads of Buicks there too. Seems to be an abundance of '58's. Say, if you spy any '52's out there I would LOVE to have a set of sweep spear trim for an upcoming project of mine. Wish I was closer, I'd join you out there. Have fun and watch out for snakes and angry racoons!!

[retirednow]

Wow, some great old cars there! Sorry to see places like this go, but sadly this is the new norm:(

[MrEarl]

http://photos.aaca.org/files/3/1/8/3/4/tn_img_5252_original.jpg

well I see the ability to copy and paste pics direct is no longer working since the hackers hit. Does that lil estate wagon even have a frame left. If you go back can you please pretty please take a few more shots of it for my files.

Folks, if any of you are close enough to go take in this sight, you really should. And take your kids if they are old enough to appreciate what is happening. My son and I use to hit these type yards when he was in high school and we still talk about them.

It would be nice if they were selling at current salvage prices like the yard in north GA.

Man, wish I was closer, would love to walk it with you JD. THANKS for sharing!!!

Edited September 13, 2013 by MrEarl (see edit history)

[Thriller]

What a mixture of emotions that brings....

It is sad to see what has been allowed to happen to these cars (sinking to the point of no return) mixed with excitement for what is in there, especially considering how much of it you haven't gotten through. It is a shame that there likely isn't time to pull all the good pieces and catalog them and make them available to hobbyists. Oh well, it is what it is.

JD, at least you got to work in the shade :cool:

[Guest BJM]

Many of those trees are "post" car deposit. It will be quite a chore getting those out. Might be a SuperFund site. There isn't much you can do about yards like this, in terms of getting upset at the owner for not selling parts over the years or finding homes. This is America and this sort of activity was (is) OK for decades. That would be fun to walk and observe. There are worse ways to spend an afternoon.

[old-tank]

Old Wrecking Yard? More like a graveyard...sad.

[39BuickEight]

Wow. Like BJM said, I bet it was a field when the cars we left there, now they are under trees. Interesting to say the least.

[JZRIV]

Awesome post - thanks for sharing. Been through a similar yard in NC a few years ago. Its an experience I'll never forget. Too far east for me to go see but if anyone can make it, it will be worth the trip. It takes awhile to begin to wrap ones mind around everything thats there.

See any Rivs?

[GARY F]

great pictures, what a shame

[smithbrother]

What a WELL organized yard, all on a computer, I bet, NOT......

We had one just like that in my hometown of Bloominton, Il. 'Salzmans junk yard'. The owner Ray owned the very first 49 RM SWEEP SPEAR HT I ever saw.

Dale in Indy

[JohnD1956]

Took another turn at the yard today, with Doug ( aka Redwind89). It's been raining hard here just about all week so I was very surprised to see that they were pulling cars that had been claimed. Looks like they grab cars that are not marked and crush em to get to the others. And just as I was saying not much was salvageable, here's the first car we saw when we arrived:

[JohnD1956]

The next car we saw being salvaged wasn't so lucky. It was a 67 Chevelle Convertible, on the forklift, frame crushed underneath and sagging from both ends with only the top mechanism holding it all together. So I guess there are some surprises to be found here. With that we took off back to the Wagons for a few more things I needed.

On the way we passed this: a complete car except the radio and Road Wheels:

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And from there we shot these few pics:

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[JohnD1956]

And here is Doug with one of the two 57 Estate Wagons we ran across:

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Just so there's proof I know other cars exist, I had to get a shot of this one. It's a cruddy picture but I'll still taunt my two Oldsmobile brothers with it:

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I saw so many other Buicks in the same area I was earlier that I could not believe it. I always wondered why there were so few Buicks on the road around here. And Doug was doing just fine with everything til he saw this, one of his personal favorites:

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It's not often you can take a picture of the front and rear of the same car in the same frame. And it's a damn shame.

Oh well I'll be going back next Wednesday for another look see. Today we had just got into the area of the latest acquisitions and the first car we ran across was a 2000 Regal GS, which took a hard front hit. Doug took a look inside for some things for his 2001 Regal when he digs into a box on the front seat and finds a brand new headlight assembly. What a score!

I also learned that the unofficial count for this yard is 5,500 cars. Unbelievable!

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[JohnD1956]

...See any Rivs?...

Saw one today, a 66 or 67 .

[JohnD1956]

... Does that lil estate wagon even have a frame left. If you go back can you please pretty please take a few more shots of it for my files....

It would be nice if they were selling at current salvage prices like the yard in north GA.

Man, wish I was closer, would love to walk it with you JD. THANKS for sharing!!!

It would be great to walk this yard with all of you. Would like nothing better, except my current crop of

Buicks... Barring that I will try to get back there and get some pics of the wagon. As for the current price, whole cars are being sold for 16 cents per pound. I don't know if that the current price or not but a 2 ton car would be going for $640. Of course, there's no telling what one of these will weigh what with all the extra baggage and mice and stuif.

[lrlforfun]

OK Buick People: In reality I bet that many, no, most of the cars that came here might have been a mess to begin with. Add the rough winters and humid summers and the tin worm armies are victorious in all their glory.

I would be in 7th heaven getting rid of this yard. Listen, I get so excited thinking about this sort of thing. So many ways to do it too. It would be expensive just to do the clearing and a skilled forklift operator would be needed. I would have a area where the cars could be hauled out of the woods and line them up neatly. I would do a negotiated "Supermarket Sweep" on all cars. As the cars are lined up and dismantled they would go to the mill making room for another. An 89 Dynasty might go before the 55 Buick and of course anybody that wants a whole car is welcome to it for a market price. As John said, a big challenge is to separate the yahoos from the legit people.

John, I personally appreciate the effort you took going there and taking all the pictures and sharing them with us. For that, Thanks very much. Mitch

[JohnD1956]

You're welcome Mitch and everyone. I had a lot of fun taking them and will be taking more as I get back there to new and interesting finds. But honestly, the way this is going is probably the best way to accomplish the task. There are many areas I can't even see how to get to and there are cars there with names on em. This way the operators know what's of some value amongst all the brands almost immediately. Anything that is not "tagged" is game for parts surgery.

The interesting thing is all the people you meet in here. Everyone is amazed at the size but then everyone is so helpful. Looking for something? I saw one over there behind the bus! It seems everyone is respecting the tagged cars integrity too. There are just some great people in this hobby!

I keep thinking about the guy who passed on. And how this place ended up this way, with seemingly no rhyme or reason. I mean if someone needed a part, how could he even find it? Then how could he ever keep up with the trees and weeds between the cars? As the woods swallowed up the stock, it made it even less likely he could find a part. Unless he really was not interested in hawking parts, in which case this situation is nothing less than a hoarders mentality on steroids I guess.

Then again how can you plan when you don't know what the next piece of stock will be or when it's going to be there?

I have heard that when NYState introduced the Motor Vehicle Inspection laws, lots of people drove their cars to the junkyard because the vehicles could not pass the inspection. That seems to be the case here. For sure there are cars which are crashed and whacked pretty hard. But there are also a lot of cars which look like they were just driven in and parked. And there looks to be several cars which were easily collectible yet brought in in the late 70's. Who was junking collectibles in the 70's?

Anyway, the Ambulance seems like a solid car, the rest still looks like it will fold as soon as they put the forklift under it. And most of the place has been tagged already. So now it's just a walk in the park to go there and find something good for next years Forum Breakfast Flea Market Swap.

[Guest BJM]

John, great comments and photos. This would be a fun "time warp" video, you know the kind they shoot of a building going up from scratch and then it's done. Your comment about all the cars coming in after the inspection law made me think of that. And the trees going up around them. I am glad everyone is getting along, that helps.

[Pete Phillips]

Did you notice that blue '78 LeSabre is a Turbo coupe?! And I know this is the Buick forum, but I nearly fell on the floor when I saw that super rare '62 Plymouth Sport Fury 2-dr. hardtop (gasp!). How many of those can be left, in ANY condition? Thrilller is right--what a mix of emotions this evokes. So many badly needed parts that could have been saved.... I think I would have to try to rescue that red 1958 model 48 2-dr. sedan if I were closer.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

[crazycars]

Have you ever seen those VanDerBrink auctions out west? I'll bet they would come in and auction off every last car, given a chance!

[Guest 75RivGS]

Shocked when I noticed the 71 Estate Wagon there. Must say the photos with that typical light through the trees are beautiful!! Thanks for sharing.

[therios]

A friend just sent me the following link:

In Nebraska, a Field of Low-Mileage Dreams

(http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/15/automobiles/collectibles/in-nebraska-a-field-of-low-mileage-dreams.html?hp&_r=2&)

The article reminded me of this thread about clearing out an old wrecking yard. However, the cars in the article aren't wrecks.

No Buicks -- the guy was a Chevy dealer -- but it's still a fascinating story.

This collection is being auctioned in Pierce, NE, (125 miles northwest of Omaha) on Sept. 28-29.

[JohnD1956]

That is a real treat Therios. I meant to follow up on how that sale is going, but haven't had the time. Went back today for the third visit and got a good Cruise Control Transdeucer for the wagon. It is very nice to have that feature working once again. Afterwards I tried to scout for a spare intake manifold for the 56. I was shocked to discover I could not find one. But I did see these gems.

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Looks like a 78 or 9 Grand Prix with the T tops

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I'm not a pontiac guy but I always liked those. And here's another Buick supporting it's corporate sisters

Don't hate me 57/ 58 guys, I'm just snapping em as I see em:

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[JohnD1956]

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A 51

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And up this path:

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This is the same car and it almost looks salvageable.

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[JohnD1956]

Almost directly across from the 54 was this little sweetheart:

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But directly across from the 55 was it's younger cousin:

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Then in the same row:

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Here's one you don't see often:

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And the last one for today:

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[Bleach]

This one looks down right gruesome.

[summercruiser]

After looking at all the pictures, I must say a lot of those cars still retain their stylish charm, even in their deteriorated state. They never lose their cool. Thanks for posting the pictures, John.

Ed A.

[Guest GRANNYS70SKYLARK]

Did you notice that blue '78 LeSabre is a Turbo coupe?! And I know this is the Buick forum, but I nearly fell on the floor when I saw that super rare '62 Plymouth Sport Fury 2-dr. hardtop (gasp!). How many of those can be left, in ANY condition? Thrilller is right--what a mix of emotions this evokes. So many badly needed parts that could have been saved.... I think I would have to try to rescue that red 1958 model 48 2-dr. sedan if I were closer.

Pete Phillips, BCA #7338

The beautiful blue steering wheel from that Turbo coupe will soon be installed in one of my cars. A little mold removal and I'm good to go.

[60FlatTop]

I guess I am at a point in my life where I can be generous. I'll tell you what, if anyone finds an old car like any of those I will buy it for them. All I would want in return is a valid contract to provide the work and services required to make it a show presentable, reliable driver. Billing for work and materials would be charged monthly, net 10 days. A non-refundable deposit for 30% of the estimated total would be due at signing.

Imagine, a free car. Now that would really be Cash for a Clunker.

Bernie

[JohnD1956]

This one will make even the buick guys cry:

[smithbrother]

OH my gosh......... a high end Caddy.

Great photo's, but many are so sad,

Dale in Indy