Does anybody have a time machine?

[JFranklin]

Check out this junkyard!

 

http://www.shorpy.com/node/23793?size=_original#caption

[R Walling]

 Why do people always leave the hood's and doors open in a junkyard??  Don't they know that car will be worth thousands in the future?

 OOops, I didn't notice the date of the pic.? Oh well...

[Curti]

Great pix ! I'll take that Auburn on the far right.

[John_S_in_Penna]

Collectors have usually focused on the roadsters,

convertibles, phaetons, and other models considered sporty.

Looking at today's car shows, you'd think that those models

were more common than they were.

 

This picture, though, gives a good glimpse back to 1941,

and we can see that almost all the cars visible are

2-door sedans and 4-door sedans.  Thanks for sharing

this window into history!

[auburnseeker]

Actually proportionately the photos is probably pretty accurate as there were alot  more sedans produced.  I see some open cars if you look close,  they just have the tops up.  Even back then the sportier cars were probably saved at a greater rate. 

[keiser31]

Got my machine....see you in a while.....

[joe_padavano]

If you had a time machine, why go to that junkyard? Just go back a few more years and buy a new one.

[auburnseeker]

You would probably crash yours Keiser trying to get a photo of the Delorean that just sped by.  

[60FlatTop]

I came here from the future to invest in fresh water futures and his guy offered me such a good deal on my time machine I couldn't resist.

 

Now I'm stuck!

Bernie

Edited September 14, 2018 by 60FlatTop (see edit history)

[Buffalowed Bill]

Great picture! I'm struck by the fact at there seems to be little body damage on any of the cars. Slower speeds, less traffic and fewer miles driven maybe led to less accidents? I guess contrived obsolescence did survive throughout the Depression.  I also notice that in addition to no open cars, there are no business coupes. I guess that could be expected since they were probably the lowest produced closed body style. Maybe saved for hot rods or for use as stock cars. 

[capngrog]

12 minutes ago, Buffalowed Bill said:

Great picture! I'm struck by the fact at there seems to be little body damage on any of the cars. Slower speeds, less traffic and fewer miles driven maybe led to less accidents? . 

 

Not much (if any) visible rust either.  When did we start salting the roadways during winter?

 

The photo was taken in 1941, and we went to war in December, 1941.  I wonder how many of the cars in this junkyard went to war, repurposed into bombs, guns, tanks etc.?  My guess would be: "Most of them".

 

Great photo, by the way!

 

Cheers,

Grog

Edited September 14, 2018 by capngrog
add some information (see edit history)

[1937hd45]

The gem in that collection is the 1934 Ford Victoria. Bob

[Curti]

I don't see the Vicky, but there are 2 Auburns. The obvious and a 34 sedan by  the tree .  2 roadsters in the middle and  upper left .  

[keiser31]

I would like that DeSoto Airflow just to the left of the PLYMOUTH sign, please. Or any of those 1931 and 1932 Chryslers.

[1937hd45]

37 minutes ago, Curti said:

 I don't see the Vicky, but there are 2 Auburns. The obvious and a 34 sedan by  the tree .  2 roadsters in the middle and  upper left .  

Right on top of the GRAHAM sigh, note the open trunk that hinged on the bottom. If you look to the left of the Ford row I think there are two 1932 Victorias. Bob

Edited September 14, 2018 by 1937hd45 (see edit history)

[keiser31]

That 1931-32 Plymouth PA two door sedan behind the Auburn looks pretty darn nice!

[Rusty_OToole]

Where's Waldo's car? I count 7 coupes, all on the right side of the picture, and 2 or 3 convertibles or roadsters.

[Xander Wildeisen]

The guy pulling parts from the Ford is photo evidence of early parts picking.

[Rusty_OToole]

Forget the junkyard, go to town and buy a good car. This is when guys like A K Miller were buying Stutzes off the back row of used car lots and out of classified ads for $50 - $200.

 

Big expensive orphan cars like Stutz, Pierce Arrow, Marmon and Franklin were a drug on the market and could be bought for the same money as a good Model A.

Edited September 14, 2018 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[Rusty_OToole]

I'm curious about the big bus lying on its side in the foreground with the rear axle missing. I thought it might be a truck but look at the spare tire peeking out by the back bumper.

 

Front suspension is Dubonnet type as used on some GM cars in 1934 and for a short time thereafter. What is that V grille? Could it be a 34 Pontiac?

Edited September 14, 2018 by Rusty_OToole (see edit history)

[CarNucopia]

I had a time machine, but mistakenly left it in the future. 

[Graham Man]

Lots of cars were repossessed during the Great Depression.  I am guessing the banks sold them off to the highest bidder, but nobody had any money.  It would explain why these mostly under 10 year old cars are in a parts yard.

[Rusty_OToole]

Cars had a short life back then, shorter than today. The cars in the junk yard look to be 5 - 10 years old and that would be typical. I have an old MoToR trade magazine from 1937. It has an article on how to sell ring and valve jobs which every car needs at 20,000 - 30,000 miles. There are also lots of ads for special piston rings for worn cylinders, and piston skirt expanders to reduce piston slap. In those days if a car made 100,000 miles it was a miracle.

[Curti]

1 hour ago, Rusty_OToole said:

I'm curious about the big bus lying on its side in the foreground with the rear axle missing. I thought it might be a truck but look at the spare tire peeking out by the back bumper.

 

Front suspension is Dubonnet type as used on some GM cars in 1934 and for a short time thereafter. What is that V grille? Could it be a 34 Pontiac?

 I think 34 Pontiac is a very good guess !  But I don't see why you think it is a bus.  Looks to be a sedan to me.  

 

I would look at this pix all day long compared to the 70's to 90's car show pix.   

[auburnseeker]

I came up with atleast 10 coupes.  One looks to be 33 or 34 ford 5 window and a similar 33-34 Mopar.  Looks like a Buick Vicky maybe center toward the left .I only see 4 open cars and all seem to be 2 door roadsters or convertibles.  No tourings or convertible sedans. I didn't see any woodies either.  Looks like maybe a 33 or 34 Desoto coupe not far from the Chryselr Airflow.  

Leads one to wonder what they put in the barn?  

[46 woodie]

I would go back and purchase Apple stock and buy my own junk yard.

[auburnseeker]

I would skip the junkyard and buy a high end used car lot.  (just to get a little variety) 

[Mike36]

My first trip to a junk yard was in 1950 or 1951. I was with Dad. It was Ott Conley’s, in Lincoln, Illinois. It looked just like that picture. I have often wondered what treasures I walked by, as I knew nothing about cars at that young age. Why can I remember that day of so long ago, but have no idea what I ate for breakfast? 

[1937hd45]

They state the photo is from around 1941, many of these cars may have been the last ones guys owned before going off to fight WWIII, I always hope the made it home. Bob 

[46 woodie]

As Bill points out, most of these cars look to be in fairly nice shape. The other issue is that with WW11 on its way, most people held on their cars. They might have had inside information from the Government that war was coming and traded in these cars knowing that they would not be able to get a new one soon.

[Dave Henderson]

Did any one notice that Model A's weren't well represented here?   With WWII coming on, a larger proportion were kept rather than junked because of, among other reasons, their utility, simplicity, and ease of getting parts.  Except for tires that is, hence so many were refitted with 16" '35 Ford wheels, tires for which, though rationed continued in production.   During the war the A's popularity really began showing.   Previously with a worth in the 35 to 50 dollar range, the price escalated.  The Office of Price Administration, established to curb inflation because there was too much money chasing too few goods, set a ceiling price at $225.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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450 cars

Edited September 16, 2018 by Dave Henderson (see edit history)

[Graham Man]

My Grandfather's 1933 Graham was the newest car in town during the pre WW2 days (population 2500 in WI).  When someone needed to go to the hospital or make a long trip they would barrow his Graham.  Everyone else in town drove Model Ts or horses, rural town during the depression.  I have a pile of great first hand stories between 1935 and 1954 when he sold the Graham.  He never used anti freeze,  just a alcohol mix when it started to get cold (my Mom remembers the bottle in the back seat), almost everyone parked their cars in the winter when it got cold.  The Graham had 30,000 miles on it when he sold it, it was 21 years old, he said "it was old enough to vote" when he sold it.  My Grandma would complain he loved the Graham more than her....

 

The Graham looks just like the one in the lower left hand corner, wish I had that one just for parts.

[Buffalowed Bill]

Yards like these were destined to disappear quickly as the WWII scrap drives went into high gear.

[Buffalowed Bill]

"I see said the blind man," all I had to do was look at the whole picture to see the coupes, duh! Another thing how the hell did they get anything into the yard. Every time I try to follow a possible aisle it seems to be blocked by another car. Obviously the Studebaker sign has very little relationship to the cars that are staged in it's vicinity. 

[JACK M]

So I told my computer to set this pic as my background.

It looks pretty good however is a bit to big and I didn't get it all.

Me being computer and photo stupid it will have to do.

[1937hd45]

Just think 10-20 years in the future that yard in the  photo would be filled with 1932-1940 Ford Coupes. They would come out for a career in Stock Car Racing, then return a crumbled wreck. 

 

 

Bob 

[Mike36]

15 hours ago, 1937hd45 said:

Just think 10-20 years in the future that yard in the  photo would be filled with 1932-1940 Ford Coupes. They would come out for a career in Stock Car Racing, then return a crumbled wreck. 

 

 

Bob 

Stop it !!!  You’re making me cry !!!

[60FlatTop]

A friend of mine and his brother ran a Plymouth and Desoto dealership during the 1930's not far from my house. At the time most manufacturers saw the used car as a threat to new car sales. There was a factory allowance to the dealership for trades plus junk price. The "factory man" made his route to disable trade in's. He carried a sledge hammer in his car. He would use it to damage the radiator and crack the block on the trades. The cost of repair pretty much made them junk and, in the corporate mind, maintained new car sales.

My friend said that when a particularly nice used car came in there were times when a few dollars would lighten the blow, not often, but on special occasions.

 

Alfred P. Sloan did a lot to change that policy at GM. He promoted a better relationship with dealers and encouraged the marketing of used cars to ad dealer profit. Harley Earl did things to improve GM used car value along with Sloan. Change comes slow and even when I was a kid a ten year old car was an exception. Geologically I am in a bad survival location, anyway. Back in the last century we felt fortunate to have NAPA stores with national distribution and parts could be sourced from areas with greater longevity.

 

Those junkyards had more cars than you think; for many reasons.

Bernie