Hot Rods Scrap Drive

War years 1942-5 brought a much needed supply of iron and rubber. Unfortunately it devoured many junk yard cars we would give our eye teeth for now. The Chev. Sedan is a good example and the one next to it.

 

Cool! Got anymore pics?????

 

Given the wartime scrap drive, post war ‘junk yards and stock car racing, it’s amazing how many old cars have survived. And, most of the pics I have seen of that era, plus the cars I saw in junk yards in the ‘50s and ‘60s, most of those cars weren’t rust buckets at the time, just ‘old’ and unwanted by the average driver.

Ray

 

They went to a very good cause. Just think if we would of lost. Our town had more people die fighting that war per capita than any other town in America.

 

This one sure takes the cake. Titled Platt School scrap drive. Ann Arbor News, Oct. 1942. Notice what they used for a cart.

 

Bantam? on the far right.

 

Good cause but what a shame. Noticed the kid's were a LOT slimmer in those days!

 

I see a 59 up Anglia in the background of this shot.

 

Yeah, everyone was slimmer. Manual labor, no fast food or video games.

U of Mich.:

 

'33 Duesenberg donated by the "wealthiest woman" in America at the time. She would not allow it to be used for anything other than the war effort. How do you think rationing or scrap drives would go in today's world?

 

The plate on the Chrysler(?) indicates this is a UK pic as do the cars in the background, and it's almost certainly mid/late sixties. Post war UK life didn't get the colour switched on until about that time so it could easily pass for WWII USA. The wartime scrap drive in the UK involved amongst other things mass removal of ornamental railings, either just the tips or the whole thing.

Chris

 

Thanks guys, very interesting!

 

One thing I can't figure out.... Most bodies have been removed from the chassis.
You would think that if they were junk, the body, chassis and running gear would all go to the crusher together?

 

The bodies were probably separated from the chassis by the scrap yards. The frame, axles, motor & trans were heavier and turned into more cash for the scrap yard then the tin (and wood) bodies did. The heavier metal could be melted down and used for recasting heavy components. The sheet metal bodies had to have the wood & interior removed or burned out, then were melted down into lighter metal objects. Gene

 

That image (of a 1936 Canadian McLaughlin-Buick) comes from a 1965 British short film titled Look at Life: Down in the Dumps; here's the before shot:

(from IMCDb.org) Whole movie here, if you're a masochist.

 

The cars in many of those pictures (except for the Duesenberg) were mostly pretty derelict or wrecked by the time they were scrapped. Remember almost nobody could get new cars for the duration of the war, so if you had a halfway decent one you would have nursed it as long as possible.

 

Correct! I found this interesting info on the process. In the lead photo, you see one vehicle on fire to start the process;

http://theoldmotor.com/?p=164345

 

ya gotta do what ya gotta do

 

.......and we won!

 

That first pic is just HEART BREAKING!!............

Ray

 

Wow!!

 

What is that convertible coupe in the center right of the photo? Whatever it is, it's a fine looking car.

 

old timer here said they used to burn em first to get rid of all the cloth and rubber

 

Really amazing how everyone rallied together and gave up a lot of their material goods for the effort.
Yeah, sad to see the cars gone, but better than losing and who knows what going on here instead.
Makes ya wonder, in our me me me society what would happen in the drives today.

 

Postwar shot? Seems odd to see that wrecked Dodge Army command car in there.

 

Ouch!!!

 

Motor Pool collateral damage