cars surviving 75 years or more -only to meet the crusher-seems wrong

[arcticbuicks]

some more cars on a farm for sale really cheap first 4 pics -as well as some others ,basically a lot of these cars i come across are near crusher price....i see this situation  hundreds of times.......and still they go to the crusher.......seems wrong after surviving so many decades,and near zero rust,I cant save them all but there must be a better way...these are for sale right now  but the crusher will most likely be the fate very soon.........location is the problem i know for buyers .....10 hour drive north of USA border of North Dakota in Canada........ I can drive the back roads and find more similar to these within each 5 miles drive.....and so on,and as the old farms get cleaned up or come up for sale ......there is little hope besides the crushers to buy them.......how many mercury trucks are left ?.....note the yellow moss [not rust ] as well as the grey moss ....just washes off......these cars sit frozen in time half the year with long cold winters that seem to preserve them half the year,even original seat fabric still complete ,pot metal parts with nice chrome as for no salt,glass not foggy from delamination

Edited October 19, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[Fordy]

Crime for cars to be destroyed as you say. Even as wrecks there are parts on them that you just cannot get anywhere else. 

Alas - too far away and too short on room to keep them.

Steve

[Rusty Heaps]

Save that wagon! Unfortunately it happens with auctions too. People don’t mention it to others in hopes that they will not have to compete with other bidders so they can get a car for a song. Then many possible rescues go to the crusher because there were no bids. 

[arcticbuicks]

I agree the wagon is well worth saving and they are quite rare.........but im saving a spot to drag a 1934 Packard Dietrich home from one of the farms........when i see one i like that is

[Floyd J]

Yes I almost cried when they said they’d crushed that 29 GM truck. I was already excited about all the potential parts I was getting. You said those vehicles are 10 hours north of the border. I’m up in Saskatchewan here, where about are they located.

[arcticbuicks]

awwww......im sorry to hear that on the 29 gmc......i knew of that truck 40 years ago ,it was a one farm owned truck in small town of oak lake manitoba where my close friend lived and it sat right by the trans canada hwy turnoff in plain view for decades beside a stone house.

and i heard that the crusher .....crushed all the several hundred cars we had all asked them to set aside ........hundreds from teens to 60s.

the pictured wagon etc are north east of Humbolt sask..........when i see the Humbolt name .....i get a lump in my throat remembering the most horrific bus crash ever  of all young hockey players....RIP

Edited October 19, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[B Jake Moran]

That is a symbol of the issues in the hobby now.  Too expensive to even go get at “crusher price” of $250. 

[Jack Bennett]

There is an echo to what you are saying that can only be heard by a few people. Some, when they look at these hulks of rusted steel and rotten rubber, see a profit-loss involvement. The very words “Antique, or “Classic”, when used with “Car” are words commonly associated with “expensive”, “collectible, “rare”, “old”, “rich” and “dumb”.

Others see a metallic reminder of their younger days and times when running was actually fun. This is a sentimental journey which usually ends up on the couch, with a cold drink, and the NFL or PGA television schedule handy.

Then the reality strikes that these relics are physical testimony of man’s mechanical ingenuity, and innovation, which propelled him from a time when fire was considered a God, to a time when fire transported food from farm to market and opened up the world to a touch of the gas pedal.

I would like to “save” several of the vehicles from the crusher, and I truly wish that, at least a few, would be claimed by local high school vocational-technical training classes, but neither is possible. Namely because of my age, ability and limited space, and the fact that our school systems no longer recognize a vocation as a productive goal in life.

This echo I speak of is the sound of a mentor, may it be a paid educational professional, a father, a older brother, a uncle or a trusted neighbor, but not a “teacher”, guiding a group of students, not gang bangers or future homeless miscreates, through a process of converting a liquid fuel into a energy capable of hauling immense loads on a Highway, or carry a new mother with her tiny baby home for the first time.

On the side of the parts broker, I’d say send them to the crusher because “rare” and “unobtainium” makes old car parts a virtual gold mine.

Edited October 19, 2023 by Jack Bennett (see edit history)

[Jack Bennett]

One additional question I have in regards to this post is “How did this number of vehicles get into their present condition”?

This level of rust and rot did not happened over a week, a month, or even a year of neglect. 
Rather, it took decades of total neglect, and this neglect was monitored by a great number of “concerned” people over the many years they sat there.

Was there never, not for a single minute, in a decades long period of viewing, anyone who said “Gee…………I have too many cars, and maybe I should sell, or even GIVE AWAY, a couple before they rot away, and have to be advertised as a restoration treasure, or a gold mine of harvestable, and ultra expensive, aka, crusher, prices”!
For sure, medical care and inheritances count for something, and GIVING AWAY something, even if it allows someone to stay in the antique car restoration hobby adds nothing to the family treasury.

But, these cars are a testament to the direction we are going as a society…..better trashed than donated……and the saying….”Don’t blame me…I don’t even care”!

[1912Staver]

In many ways it is the long distances that prolonged these cars this long.  Old farmers rarely parted with any mechanical objects. You just never knew when some part might be of use. All the farms in my family were the same, loads of cars , trucks , farm Eq. sitting at the edge of the yard close to the machinery shed. None of it was worth the time and trouble to even haul in to the area scrap yard, so it just sat for decades.  By the later 1970's ,early 1980's most of my great uncles were retiring and few of my cousins wanted to take over the farms. So they were one by one sold out of the family and " cleaned up ".

 Unfortunately most vehicles in this state are not worth the trip to bring them back home. Lots of leg work to find them in the first place, and often difficult to determine who owns them to see if they might be for sale. Many of these farms don't have anyone living on them anymore, the owner often has retired and moved into whatever town is close by and just rents the land out to someone in the area who is still farming. 

 Unless you need specific parts for a car you already have, buying any of these on spec is a high time input / low probility of success prospect.  People often underestimate just how big the Canadian prairies are.  Many , many square miles of farm fields , with old vehicles dotted here and there in a very hit or miss fashion.

 I am right on the fringes of a reasonably large city { Vancouver B.C. } and during my recent move I was trying to sell my more or less intact , but big project 1929 Model AA Ford flatdeck and 1918 McLaughlin 6-45 Special { also a big project , typical teens bad wood car } with tons of spare parts , and a car that was running and driving in the mid 1980's. The McLaughlin even has B.C. registration and vintage plates, but by the time you restored it you would be 1000 feet under water.. Very low asking prices and very motivated seller, almost no one even asked about them. I expect they will be yard art at the new place until my son has to deal with them some day.

Edited October 19, 2023 by 1912Staver (see edit history)

[joe_padavano]

Sorry, but a car that's been sitting unprotected in a field for 75 years buried up to the hubs in dried mud hasn't exactly "survived".

[Frank DuVal]

It survived to be a parts car if nothing else. You don't see any good parts? 

[arcticbuicks]

I disagree.......not in mud,but well drained and dry solid ground,a lot of these have excellent floors and trunk,and rust free panels and nice stainless etc 

[joe_padavano]

5 hours ago, arcticbuicks said:

I disagree.......not in mud,but well drained and dry solid ground,a lot of these have excellent floors and trunk,and rust free panels and nice stainless etc 

You'll pardon my skepticism.

 

[arcticbuicks]

oh except that one lol....its likely from ontario or rust belt area......or the gravel road stones beat through the fenders........thus why i said "a lot of these ".....not "all"..........are ya'll really that picky to the last word ? not to be rude 

I just sold a Merc tailgate for $600 about the same condition,and that tailgate is quite straight for the condition of the rest of the hulk.

 

Edited October 20, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[8E45E]

I would sure like to see that '58 Fiesta saved, followed by the Mercury truck.  

 

Craig

[arcticbuicks]

if you want a merc truck i know where there is a very straight complete nice one ,and it has the merc flathead engine also,it is the style of this one in pic........as i cant find the pic of the actual truck right now,probably the best year for fancy chrome.

[8E45E]

29 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said:

if you want a merc truck i know where there is a very straight complete nice one ,and it has the merc flathead engine also,it is the style of this one in pic........as i cant find the pic of the actual truck right now,probably the best year for fancy chrome.

Thanks for the 'heads-up', but I'm clearly NOT in the market for another truck.  I'm now in the process of saving a Studebaker truck that was sold where I was born & raised:

 

Craig

[arcticbuicks]

the Studebakers are cool looking trucks,i dont see too many sitting around anymore

[Frank DuVal]

Joe, you posted a Mercury tailgate picture with the idea it is worthless junk due to rust. I don't see your point. ❓

 

And the wood looks fresh, hasn't been there for years.

[B Jake Moran]

13 hours ago, Frank DuVal said:

It survived to be a parts car if nothing else. You don't see any good parts? 

No.  I could bore you with a long story or simply say no 

[B Jake Moran]

4 hours ago, arcticbuicks said:

oh except that one lol....its likely from ontario or rust belt area......or the gravel road stones beat through the fenders........thus why i said "a lot of these ".....not "all"..........are ya'll really that picky to the last word ? not to be rude 

I just sold a Merc tailgate for $600 about the same condition,and that tailgate is quite straight for the condition of the rest of the hulk.

 

Ok good for you.  Go buy this one.  

[B Jake Moran]

There are many examples of western US salvage yards where tons of perfect stainless and chrome was crushed for lack of interest.  Freeman’s in Montana comes to mind.  People have to PAY for the part then PAY for shipping. And many times it was not worth it. We can have this discussion because we are respectful and passionate but in the end the economics don’t line up. Crush them.  Move on.  

[joe_padavano]

1 hour ago, Frank DuVal said:

Joe, you posted a Mercury tailgate picture with the idea it is worthless junk due to rust. I don't see your point. ❓

 

And the wood looks fresh, hasn't been there for years.

I posted that photo because of the gaping holes in the fenders and the fact that either the bed or the frame were rusted to the point that the bed is now at a significant angle to the cab. Of course a Mercury truck is cool, and probably 95% of the parts are repro'd because they are shared with Fords. Still doubtful that saving this will be anywhere close to cost effective. Is there usable stainless on some of these cars? Of course. The pot metal, on the other hand, all looks pretty pitted. Are any of these being parted out? If not, buying one for a couple of pieces of stainless likely isn't economically viable.

[MarkV]

I love my old cars and rescue some pretty far gone cars. But some of these are too far gone and should be gone. They probably should have been scrapped decades ago. 
 

being in a rusty area doesn’t help. All of the cars I’ve saved have been west coast cars out here we have surface rust on frames and parts. Sometimes a little bit of cancer rust in areas that retain moisture (under vinyl tops, etc) but I’ve never seen a frame eaten through or anything like that. 
 

All of the cars I’ve saved had issues like something minor taking them off the road or an incomplete restoration. 

[arcticbuicks]

rusty area ?

[1912Staver]

Northern Manitoba cars won't be as good as one sitting in Arizona for example. But quite rust free compared to many areas of North America. Most British Columbia cars are a lot rustier , Ontario or points East even worse.

[arcticbuicks]

no,central and  southern Saskatchewan and southern Alberta are far better...........as for Manitoba......Winnipeg is much like eastern Canada,whereas south western Manitoba is far dryer and rural [where salt was not used back in the day]..............i have seen dessert cars in pretty rough condition overall due to extreme sun as well .IHC truck from Manitoba all its life sat outside 40 sum years…….. ………Chrysler outside Saskatchewan 45 years , 80 Chev Van from southern Sask original paint …….in general how would these compare to Arizona cars sitting outside roughly 40 years ? I am not trying to say this area is better than Arizona......but it sure is not a rusty area .......and cannot be generalized that the whole of Canada is a rusty car area

Edited October 22, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[8E45E]

45 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said:

rusty area ?

What is known as 'The Salt Belt'.  From Salt Belt states to Sunshine State: How corroded cars are ending up on Florida roads – Action News Jax

 

MAN-MADE, not natural like the Sun Belt.

 

Craig

[nat]

On 10/20/2023 at 11:50 AM, B Jake Moran said:

Crush them.  Move on.  

     Blasphemy.  

     Keep it up and the moderators might just disable your account.

[arcticbuicks]

i am not saying in this article that these are survivor driver cars......or to be restored........just that it seems a shame most go to the crusher ,and little chance to become parts and or donor cars......and yes some to be restored as well.......the merc truck is a very rough truck yes.......and could have been from a rusty area ,i just threw in a few pics good and bad 

Edited October 22, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[joe_padavano]

16 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said:

i am not saying in this article that these are survivor driver cars......or to be restored........just that it seems a shame most go to the crusher ,and little chance to become parts and or donor cars......and yes some to be restored as well.......the merc truck is a very rough truck yes.......and could have been from a rusty area ,i just threw in a few pics good and bad 

Someone needed to invest the time and effort to haul all of them out of there, relocate them to someplace where they could be stored, strip them for usable parts, store these parts until they were sold, advertise the parts, deal with scam buyers, and dispose of the remaining carcasses. Clearly no one thought that was an economically viable endeavor. To make a meaningful return on investment, one has to be able to sell the parts for about 2X the cost to obtain them, including storage, disassembly labor, etc. That would be pretty difficult. Yeah, if one needed a single specific part, it would be great to be able to pull it off of one of those cars. As far as I know the owner wasn't operating a "Pick Your Part" wrecking yard, so that wasn't an option. Like a lot of things, if you thought this was a viable money-making opportunity you could have invested your time and money. Apparently no one did.

Edited October 22, 2023 by joe_padavano (see edit history)

[arcticbuicks]

I am almost 60 years now,I took off to California at 17 .......and soon after was buying California classics and selling them back in several areas of Canada,mostly down east [approx 150 cars]....I think i spent a year of my life driving LA to Vegas Salt lake city Billings Minot route many times.........I was also into old cars in Canada since a young age when we moved down from the arctic......the US cars buying came and went several times do to exchange on the dollar and free trade changes etc.......then I bought these cars pictured for nearly 30 years ......maybe 2000 in total and mostly sold better ones ,mostly inside stored ones.......I have actually never had a job working for anyone........in recent years i was partners in a museum we built for cars and it has about a quarter of my finds.....I kept around 100 cars......now it has all changed with the costs etc  ........and i am glad i did it all when i did.......now i am just in a change of life transition......going to sail the Caribbean for a few years  after i sail to Alaska from Vancouver........My father 84 came last week on boat for a few hundred mile trip.......and he said go !.......do it while you can......worry about when your old later..................so i guess i can say i am someone who did it..................in all the years i see such great parts cars or whatever we call these .....and just seems a shame there is no system to make saving the parts etc worth while 

Edited October 22, 2023 by arcticbuicks (see edit history)

[joe_padavano]

47 minutes ago, arcticbuicks said:

and just seems a shame there is no system to make saving the parts etc worth while 

It will be "worthwhile" to the owner when someone throws enough money at it. Feel free.

[arcticbuicks]

the owners are selling and usually scrapping prices.......the point im making is the cars have survived decades mostly unknown ..... and then off to the crusher........would be nice if there was a way to have a chance for guys looking for parts etc to be able to get them .......and the owners would likely get more money for them too

[arcticbuicks]

I travel different areas and have put on a lot of miles , I usually take toy hauler to stay in a area to scout for old cars and it holds one find to bring home in garage,the poor old flatbed trailer has outlasted 6 trucks now and has maybe half a million miles having hauled hundreds of cars , the cargo trailer is good for more fragile or two smaller cars , but to haul just a parts car I am usually at a $1000 or more cost per trip mostly fuel and just too costly these days for just a parts car 

[Paul Dobbin]

I survived past 75 and will someday be a parts body if any are still usable.  But not yet!