I've been checking the big insurance auction sites like SCA and Co-Part for the past couple years and have been impressed by the sheer numbers of totally wrecked old cars that appear each week. For example this 55 Chevy. How do you wreck a car so badly? https://www.copart.com/lot/45848179 or this 55 DeSoto that looks to be the victim of a falling tree. That really sucks! https://www.copart.com/lot/51567589 Or the many, many burned out cars like this 30 Model A. https://www.copart.com/lot/57375319 I started to think about this and I realized I didn't have any real idea of how fast old iron is being lost this way. This way being fire, collision, act of god, foolishness etc. We see old stuff resting in junkyards, barns, garages and pastures and worry that it will rot away or be sent to the big shredder. It's apparent to me that stuff is disappearing at a faster rate than I had thought. Does anyone have a formula to calculate this rate of attrition? I'm not sure how you would do it.
The A looks like it may have been burned in one of those wild fires in the past year or so. Not too much worth saving on it. I'd say you are right on the Chrysler. Something fell on it and probably a tree. The 55 looks like it may have tumbled down a bank after leaving the road at high speed. My 70 Chev truck didn't look a whole lot better after I rolled it a number of years back. I think the witnesses said it rolled 2-1/2 times but I was too busy hanging on to count. But in answer to the question, yup we are going to loose so many every year do to things either within or beyond our control. The photos show that not driving them anywhere doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to keep them safe from damage. I knew a guy a few years back who wouldn't drive his OT "Classic" that he had restored anywhere because he thought it was too valuable to drive. Something happened with the trailer on the way to a show causing it to get out of control and cause tow rig, trailer and car inside the trailer to be totaled. That car was kept in a climate controlled garage under a high dollar car cover and he wouldn't even open the garage door if the sky was cloudy. Basically stuff happens and you can't stress yourself worrying about it or stress out about the availability of old cars.
Not trying to belittle you, but that has to be the dumbest fucking question ever asked. I could go on, but think of the 2013xxx that is totaled, the...etc, etc... Kinda like how did your tire get so flat?...
And the sedan probably had an electric cooling fan short out. That stuff doesn't happen on traditional cooling systems rotflmao!
Well if you believe some of the threads on here then the attrition of people in the hobby is greatly surpassing the loss of vehicles.
On the 55 I don’t see any area of impact. I would guess it was a victim of a rollover inside an enclosed trailer. Back of the trailer was down hill is why the front clip looks so good. Burnt cars can happen easy, electric fuel pump, bad wiring job, backfire, or the shop it was in had a fire and it just happened to be there. I was at a junkyard back in the 70s and the guy there said he would give me $10 if I knew what the wrecked car was he just hauled in. I lost. It was a Mach 1 mustang that lost control and was ran over by 2 tractor trailers. Nothing stood more than 10” off the ground. It was unbelievable. A friend that recently passed use to tell me stories of back in the day dragging cars back to his yard with bodies or survivors still in them so they could tie them off to rip the cars apart to get them out. Before the jaws of life. He bought a deuce and a half just for that. I believe anything. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
Not gone yet in my opinion. A finished, painted, perfect street rod? Maybe not. A fenderless flat black beater hot rod. I think so.
Some folks are adept at ruining things. 56 Fords for example. These are all in stock now. https://www.copart.com/lot/34505309 https://www.copart.com/lot/52995919 https://www.copart.com/lot/53723039
The A burnt it a garage, notice the pile of burnt crap in front of it. I’d still build it, I’ve seen worse rebuilt. Sent from my iPhone using H.A.M.B.
To me that '55 Chevy looks like it got flattened in a building collapse. I would expect some gore on the front seat or some kind of obvious impact area if that was done in a wreck. A tornado comes and knocks a wall into it, could easily do that kind of damage. If it was a rollover into a ditch I'd expect it to be filthy and scratched everywhere, but I could be wrong. The '56 Fords all appear to be crash damage. At least those cars were being driven. It's a chance we all take.
Upsetting and depressing but I expect many shown will live on! The apparent low mileages seem to be a common denominator. Maybe they're just not driven enough? Certainly not enjoyed enough! Chris
the 55 has scrapes on the right fender top and the roof, it was moving right along when it went shiny side down, and skated down the interstate on its roof. The front wheels are pointed different direcions, maybe a steering failure or it planted the right front wheel and launched. The model A is a garage/shop fire. With an engine or electrical fire, you seldom get a complete burn like that. The t-bird was a wild fire, burned HOT, and then the building collapsed on it.
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