History Old Time Junk Yard Photos PIX 1920 to 1970

[jimi'shemi291]

1935 LaFayette

[jimi'shemi291]

Unusual story: This '53 Kaiser was rescued from
a Swedish junkyard and fully restored in Rotterdam,
Holland. Folks in Europe love U.S. VT! Mano Forsman
took this photo.

[jimi'shemi291]

A certain ghostly beauty to it. Sort of like a vintage-tin take on "American Gothic" ! HAMBer LowCat posted this rare shot on another thread, and I felt it surely fits this theme, too!

[jimi'shemi291]

Old Car City (originally Lewis' World of Parts), White, Georgia.
Established in 1933, it's one of the world's oldest continuously
operated junkyards, and all in the hands of a single family!
Wow, wish there were more like this!!!

[jimi'shemi291]

HAMBer LowCat posted these keen VINTAGE shots of a real
old-time junkyard in operation. I really had to make these a
permanent part of this junkyard-dedicated thread, because
these don't turn up often and are the original theme of the
thread, which quickly branched out to include any old pre-1966
cars in survivng junkyrads, as well. Check out the cars getting
scrapped! They weren't so "vintage" tin back then! LowCat
posted 'em on the thread, "Vintage Shots From Days Gone
by." * If you've never visited that great thread, you'll get
a jolt of nostalgia that won't quit! Highly recommeded.




Post #8018 *

[jimi'shemi291]

UNREAL! When was the last time you found a second-year 'Vette
in a boneyard? This pic was posted at www.autofinds.com.
For more of a Corvette graveyard, see Post #569!

[jimi'shemi291]

For HAMBers who live anywhere near Maricopa, Arizona, it
may be well worth your while to visit Hidden Valley Auto Parts.
It's a family-owned business, founded in 1961 by the Hoctor
family. Centering on cars older than 20 years, their earliest
start in the 1930s. They seem to be very customer friendly,
allowing free roaming to brouse the 600-acre yard. And they're
full-service, so you don't have to bring your own tools. Easy
to locate; click on their website, and directions and contact info
are the first things to come up, to wit: www.hiddenvalleyautoparts.com.
Here are a few pix of some DRY Arizona VT, just to lend a feel
of Hidden Valley.

[jimi'shemi291]

A few more from Hidden Valley









Not somethin' ya see any ol' day in a boneyard, eh?
Looks like a one-of-a-kind creation!

[SUNROOFCORD]

Briscoe Scrap: It’s NOT a salvage yard

August 24, 2010
.

Add air to the tires, and this 1955 Packard Clipper Super Panama hardtop appears nice enough to drive away. Only 7,016 Panama hardtops were produced in ’55, and just 14,633 over the three years (1954, ’55 and ’56) the model was offered.

By Ron Kowalke

Let’s play the name game. How many different ways can a business that buys and sells damaged and/or dilapidated automobiles and their parts be described? My list includes: salvage yard, recycler or automotive dismantler, scrap yard and (the one that redlines my blood pressure) junk yard. All would seem appropriate to generally define the buying and selling of worn automobiles and being a supplier of donor-quality parts.

But, after spending the better part of an afternoon with Ronald Briscoe of Quapaw, Okla., owner of Briscoe Scrap in that far northeastern Oklahoma town, I’ve had to reconsider my thinking on this subject.

At first glance, Briscoe Scrap appears much like many salvage yards that cater to the collector vehicle enthusiast. Rows of restorable front the property and more are staged in an orderly manner within the business’ borders. But that’s where the similarity ends.

Stacks of cars — both vintage and modern — destined to be crushed and shredded to make new steel dot the landscape of Briscoe Scrap. While this is a common sight in many salvage yards, here those piles of cars have an extremely short lifespan, quickly reduced in size and stacked on trucks destined for the foundry, only to be replaced by similarly sized piles of different cars.


Another rare and restorable Packard in the Briscoe Scrap inventory includes this 1952 Mayfair hardtop from the 250 Series. Needing cosmetic care, the Mayfair is otherwise roadworthy. Only 4,068 were built.

Briscoe explained to Old Cars Weekly that the core of his business is metal recycling, not salvage. Being an old car enthusiast himself, Briscoe comes across many vintage vehicles in his day-to-day search for scrap metal to process that he understands have value to fellow hobbyists. He crushes those old that he deems are too far gone to restore or supply parts and finds a spot on his property to store those he wants to sell to old car hobbyists.

Being from the Midwest and seeing the ravages of winter road salt on the salvage cars in the north central states, it was a bit alarming to me to see some of the more solid southern cars that were deemed “unworthy” to save and relegated to the crush lot. But the examples that Briscoe has saved for resale are, for the most part, prime candidates for restoration based either on their good condition, rarity or both.


One of several piles of cars to be scrapped is visible behind this 1955 Studebaker Commander Deluxe sedan. While the Studebaker has some rust-through on its lower panels, the white Oldsmobile Toronado near the top of the crush pile was rust free and full of donor-quality parts.

“We mainly buy out [salvage] yards and crush the hulks and keep the whole cars,” Briscoe explained. He stressed to Old Cars Weekly that he will only sell whole cars, not parts. He added that he has titles for some of his vintage inventory and for those he doesn’t, Briscoe will sell on a bill of sale.

There is no computerized inventory of the hundreds of cars Briscoe has for sale, but seeing the collection in person is recommended. Old Cars Weekly asked Briscoe about customers possibly obtaining parts from the vintage vehicles that are stacked on any of the crush piles. While he cautioned that the piles are refreshed regularly and vehicles don’t hang around too long, he didn’t say “no.” As a courtesy, permission first is a must, and having a yard employee obtain the part(s) is recommended for safety reasons.

Briscoe’s personal collection of cars includes an original 1947 Studebaker convertible and a ’32 Ford hot rod. The latter elicits a painful memory from Briscoe: “I crushed a ’32 Ford once, but it was rough.”

Briscoe Scrap is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon.

To contact the business, call 918-674-3090 (or toll free: 888-674-3090), or use e-mail address: briscoescrap@att.net or use postal mailing address: Briscoe Scrap, 4631 S. 620 Rd., Quapaw, OK 74363.


The B-O-P divisions of are well represented among the offered for sale at Briscoe Scrap. Two examples are this (above) 1957Chieftain Catalina four-door hardtop sporting Starlight two-tone paint and (below) ’63 Buick Riviera hardtop. Both are complete and solid and could be returned to the road.

[jimi'shemi291]

Jim, thanks for a good article. I wish all yard owners had such a clear -- and stated -- philosophy and policies. Refreshing.

I do prefer old-time "junk"yards, wherein customers can brouse to their hearts' content. But I understand why certain people have turned owners off to the extent that they will only sell whole cars -- divorcing themselves from the piecemeal business of parting out cars. Some people only see one side of that issue; I have been a near lifelong parts customer AND have had multiple friends in the auto-recycling and scrap-metal business. SO, there really are TWO sides to every coin.

If I may: HAMB member RustyNewYorker is both an enthusiast AND sells stuff occasionally too. He is as close to eloquent on the subject as us car guys get (maybe I should just say "straight forward").

[SUNROOFCORD]

Found these over at Rusted Hot Rods by Rod And Custom Magazine

http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/techarticles/0606rc_rusted_hot_rods/photo_25.html

[dutch deuce]

Originally Posted by jimi'shemi291

Unusual story: This '53 Kaiser was rescued from
a Swedish junkyard and fully restored in Rotterdam,
Holland. Folks in Europe love U.S. VT! Mano Forsman

took this photo.

I'm pretty sure it was one of the few Kaisers that was build in the NEKAF (Netherlands Kaiser Factory) and later exported to Sweden and returned at home in Holland.
From the passenger model Kaisers only a few survived.
They build the Henry J and the Manhattan (they only called it the Kaiser Rotterdam).
The Jeep models called NEKAF Jeeps are still plenty in Holland, because they were used by the Dutch army upto the late 80's if i'm correct.

[jimi'shemi291]

Hiya, DutchDeuce! It is well known that the love of fast, rare and customized cars is worldwide. So now someone from Holland joins those from Finland, Sweden, Britain, France, Germany, Canada, Russia, So. Africa, Australia, Italy, Slovenia, Mexico, et.al. in affirming that. So, WELCOME to this thread!

I was aware Kaiser nurtured foreign markets for its vehicles, but i had little education on the European market. If i understand correctly, Kaiser simply renamed its Manhattan the "Carabela" for Argentina, and "Rotterdam" for Holland and nearby nations.

[jimi'shemi291]

Yow-ee, Jimmy! A 3-window!!! I'd give it a home in a heartbeat, man. What in the world would possess someone to leave it outside, even if the engine were blown? If I'm correct that it's a Ford, only around 500 of the three-windows were sold in '32. WAY COOL! Jack Dempsey had one.

[jimi'shemi291]

Whether this pic was shot in 1939 or 1959, I don't know.
It has a timeless, classic quality! Dog 429 of West Chester,
PA, posted it over on the excellent thread, "Sitting and Rotting."
If you live rusting VT and have never visited that thread, it can
soak up HOURS of your time!

[Kool66]

Looks like an Oakie's ride broke down!The bones are already pretty picked over.Interesting road it's on,out west New Mexico or Arizona maybe.

[Just Jones]

Originally Posted by jimi'shemi291

Yow-ee, Jimmy! A 3-window!!! I'd give it a home in a heartbeat, man. What in the world would possess someone to leave it outside, even if the engine were blown? If I'm correct that it's a Ford, only around 500 of the three-windows were sold in '32. WAY COOL! Jack Dempsey had one.

The story behind this deuce is that it was an old rod/race car that was found (thus the picture) and "restored" to original condition and put back on the road. When I say restored, I mean mechanically. The owner left the paint original, and everything else they could.

The story was in a magazine a few years back . . . whatever that Rat Rod one is called. Can't remember. Cool article though; that one was worth reading.

[jimi'shemi291]

Man, ya just have to love well-framed, well-lighted detail
shots like this. Newer HAMBer mt4ss in Washington state
posted it (and more) over on the always-GREAT thread,
"Sitting and Rotting." If you love junkyards with possible
project cars, it's a good place to spend hours and hours!

[Jeff J]

Coming back from Bonneville last year came acroos this old yard 1 Went in town and asked about it and the local said how you get that close with out getting shot at ? Geuss we where luucky

[jimi'shemi291]

TazHog, thanks for the post, man. This is about the fourth time I've heard of this place, and the story is basically always the same, so there must be some truth to it. What state is this actually in?

Having myself had two vehicles stolen (including one with a Ky. State Police 440 pursuit engine in it), I am NOT without a measure of sympathy for the guy who owns the place. BUT, shooting to warn people away (I've had to do that, twice) and actually shooting AT people are two different things (though, I think, some judges might see them as the same thing). If it's taken as common knowledge around there that he shoots at people to run 'em off, he could be playing with fire. He should be careful, 'cause I'd hate to see him on the inside looking out -- through bars -- basically, for trying to defend his property rights.

But somebody getting shot, or some property owner going to prison, isn't going to do anybody any good, That's not why we're all into old cars & parts.

There's NO way to guarantee keeping people (especially intentional thieves) off your property. But first, the guy has to realize that all those cars and trucks in plain view are like a MAGNET, for good guys AND bad guys, right? We see cars sitting, and automatically wanna go LOOK up close! But, legal issues aside for a second, he might do well to be PRACTICAL (instead of reaching for the shotgun) and, first, put up a couple of plainly worded signs. If (as it appears) he's CLOSED the yard as a business, how about:

"Yard CLOSED.
NOTHIN For Sale.
Absolutely NO visitors."
(???)

On the other hand, if he still wants to sell cars/trucks but hates hassles, maybe he could word the sign(s):

"ONLY whole vehicles sold,
NO parting out.
By APPOINTMENT ONLY.
Call BR549."

Yeah, I know old people can be cranky, irrational (and even armed!), but the signs could keep many, not all, unwanted gawkers/etc. away and/or let people know his basic ground rules for dealing any vehicles. I'm just trying to suggest at least a partial, practical solution for situations anything like this.



Here's a "sign" (Jasper, Georgia) that makes it obvious that vehicles
are for sale, and the medium even suggests the owners are friendly.

Anybody got examples of well-worded ways to say: "KEEP OUT!
THIS MEANS YOU!" types of signs??? The best sign I've seen in this neck of the woods (not on a junkyard, though) reads:

"No Hunting,
No Fishing,
No Trespassing,
No Soliciting,
NO EXCUSES."

Even a thick-head like me knows I'm not supposed to go in there (though I sure would like to get close enough to get a good pic of the sign. It's a classic!).