I found these videos of the old Jim House Towing property. I visited this place about four years ago when the old guy was still alive. He passed a year or two ago. They're still working on clearing it all out. I'll tell ya the shear amount of stuff stashed everywhere is just crazy! There's a lot of parts to be had, but most of the cars are way too far gone to every see the road again. I wonder what shape these things were in when they first got put out to pasture decades ago. It's sad really.
Cool videos, too bad as lots of these cars could have been saved, some possibly will be/can be. google shows no indication of an auction or sale on these cars
Not much HAMB friendly stuff there, and what is there has been there a long time and pretty well picked over. Still some usable parts I'd think, but not many cars I saw were worth saving, just too far gone and been there too long. Most were probably worn out when placed there, not worth much at the time.
It's located in Clatskanie, Oregon. I think the guy did sell parts off the stuff back when he was in business. I was up there about 4 years ago and it looked pretty much the same as it does in these videos back then. Doesn't look like the clean up is progressing very fast.
Great coverage. Thanks for the video. I have been all around Clatskanie but never ran across this place. I have always wondered why people purchase cars in the NW and then park them in the trees to rot.
I'd say that he put the yard there originally because the land was cheap. The problem is that as one can easily see the cars deteriorate pretty quickly and pretty bad. It's probably been a few years since a lot of the parts on those rigs were worth buying. The guys who buy junk cars out of your yard and haul them straight to the crusher in Portland are advertising that they are buying cars again around here so maybe who ever is doing that is waiting for scrap to go back up. Ten years ago those would have brought about 500 each hauled to the big scrap yard in Portland. It may be that high again in a year.
Thanks for the video - but sad. Your comment at the 10:45 mark probably could apply to every car there.... "This one doesn't look half bad - prolly because I can't see the other half" ( true)
Worked Salvage yards since the early 70's back when the " Will haul off for Free" was the norm and sometimes they would pay you to haul it off. These are sad because I guess of the rainy weather - our east Texas cars are as bad with the pine needles and sandy loam soil. And back when the oil was running - cars were trading in much more frequently and salvaged out just to sit out and sink into the sandy loam - add those pine needles falling so much and it's like the upper east coast states. Sad because more posi's were under those cars due to the climate and curved glass is not so much produced like the side glass. Oh whale much more out there than we could ever use.......
The Jalopy Journal
