Madhatr on a salvage mission

Hello Everyone!

I thought I would share this with you guys... mostly because I thought you might like to see the pictures. Because who doesn't like pictures?

Background: a couple weeks ago I got word of an old junkyard that was being bought out by a metal recycler. The scrapers were running a sale 'by the pound' for 3 weeks, and afterwards everything left will be crushed.

Looking at the picks posted on the book of faces, I saw an opportunity to get a donor roof for my 53 chevy for my top chop. The yard was about 3 hours from home, I took Friday the 18th off work and picked my mother up along the way (sounds odd I know, but she wanted to go to look for things to weld together for 'metal art' so she was happy). The weather was perfect, and the yard was AMAZING!

here my Mom is down in the grove with one of the hub caps she found

Mind you this was the third to last day, and there was this much left!

After wondering for about an hour, I final settled on my victim, a 1953 BelAir two door sedan

Unfortunately I had come not completely prepared for the task at hand, I had 3 cordless sawzalls and 6 batteries and burned thru all of them just getting the roof itself off.

I wanted more, but had to leave her like this for lack of power.

On Saturday I met up with one of my friends back home and told him about the yard and what was out there. I also told him that I really hated leaving the dash and door tops behind. My wife was finally like "why don't you guys just go back tomorrow and get the rest?" So I rented a generator and my Buddy Duane, his wife Saundra and I all piled into his truck and headed out on the road!

this was the sunrise on Sunday morning

after some more hard work Duane and I got the dash and door tops cut out...

All in all I pulled out about 260 pounds of parts, I cut he door posts out of another 53 just to make sure I have enough metal, some single barrel carbs, some hubcaps/parts to make a few art projects and I got some other treasures as well...

I was also very, very tempted to cut the roof off this SC/rambler, just to hang it on the wall, but I don't have the wall space for it... so I let it go

This is just an nice picture with the light, and texture:

Sad to see all this stuff just be crushed, and all of the people pulling parts had the same feelings.. but you can't save it all. We just took advantage of what was available and got a ton of really cool photos. I heard rumor that this company might be cleaning out another yard in the spring... if it is interesting I know what to do next time!

Wow, sad day!

There was (still is) a yard in kankakee, IL that looked Like that but all the stuff was in the woods. I went on one day and they had cut down the woods and laid all the stuff out in rows, good stuff was gone in a week. Can't believe how much good stuff is still in those pics.

There is one of those "forgotten" yards near my best friend's house. It has a lot of post-war through early sixties commercial trucks. Some of them literally look like they will "buff out". Well, except for the trees growing out of them.

Wow. I've never seen a yard like that. Never!

What is this:

And this:

DrBoost wrote: What is this:

Datsun

DrBoost wrote: What is this:

Datsun F10

DrBoost wrote: What is this:

Datsun, missing the hatch.

Woohoo, I got in first!

Edit: besides the foolish soul on Ratsun trying to fix one up that's the first sighting for me in ten years.

HappyAndy wrote:

DrBoost wrote: What is this:

Datsun, missing the hatch.

Kinda liiks like a Ute, non?

In reply to mad_machine:

Datsun Utes were a thing

Next time post before you go to something like this, i needed so much off that 53. I'd have driven to Iowa.

chandlerGTi wrote:

DrBoost wrote: What is this:

Datsun

Thank you, I was looking at Citroens trying to figure it out. Looks like a Japanese SM from the rear.

DrBoost wrote: And this:

51/ 52 Buick portholes. The other side of the car was wrecked, but I was thinking of putting them down the center if the hood of my ratrod woody project because I like the asymmetry. Around here they go for about 15-20 bucks each at the swap meets

To be honest the Datsun had me alittle stumped too, but I new GRM would have my back! Lol.

The rear hatch came from this Studebaker and in the corner is the other 53 I cut the other b-pillars out of.

In reply to patgizz:

If I had only known.... but really it was a very spur of the moment trip for me. I had no idea what I would find, but thre was about six 53/54 chevys down there including two hard tops.

It was very unsettling after years of scrounging and saving every little bolt and bit, to do a 'smash and grab' like that.

I have more pics if people would like to see them as well....

HappyAndy wrote: In reply to mad_machine: Datsun Utes were a thing

Yes, but let's offset tht ugly Datsun ute with an awesome one

Meanwhile, its so very sad knowing they are just going to crush all that awesomeness

Madhatr wrote: I have more pics if people would like to see them as well....

I think it goes without saying that everyone would very much like to see more pics

cmcgregor wrote:

Madhatr wrote: I have more pics if people would like to see them as well....

I think it goes without saying that everyone would very much like to see more pics

Heck yes!

And you win for taking your mom to a junk yard.

That is just cool!

Oohhh, that stude wagon! That hurts!

chandlerGTi wrote:

DrBoost wrote: What is this:

Datsun

To the left I spy what must be one of the last Fiat Stradas left in the US

Sad they won't sell complete cars, wonder why? Title issues?

Gearheadotaku wrote: Sad they won't sell complete cars, wonder why? Title issues?

Pretty common for salvage yards, the cars either don't have titles or they've been marked as scrap and can't be returned to the road.

stuart in mn wrote:

Gearheadotaku wrote: Sad they won't sell complete cars, wonder why? Title issues?

Pretty common for salvage yards, the cars either don't have titles or they've been marked as scrap and can't be returned to the road.

There was also discussion, that maybe the scrap dealer might not have the appropriate legal license to resell the cars. Plus getting trucks and trailers in and out would be a nightmare. Oh and they were pretty much 'printing money' campared to selling/scraping them out write

Where was the yard? Looks like one of the ones in the Mississippi River bottom.

In reply to chandlerGTi:

Winner, winner! It was in Burlington Ia.

I am working on uploading somemore pics today between tending to the Turkey in the smoker.