By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I was under the illusion that cars don't rust in the South, so with a few hours to kill before my flight out following the races this weekend, I was more than stoked to go stump around in the at the Birmingham Pull A Part for a bit. Overall there was some pretty cool stuff, with 70's and 80's cars surviving in greater numbers than they tend to elsewhere. But over in their pre-70's section, I saw a whole pile of pickups that looked worse than Tow-Mater葉his Ford truck had panels you could literally push your finger through. While I didn't find anything for any of my cars, I did talk with the owner of this survivor first-gen Escort that pulled up in the parking lot as I was leaving, complete with the badass 80's window louvers. The cars here may not be as rust-free as all the mythology led me to believe, but any state where 80's iron is kept in daily service is a great place as far as I'm concerned. See more gems after the jump!

If you love old cars, it's important that you support your local boneyard, because with the price of scrap metal skyrocketing, it's becoming more profitable for the yards to crush their entire inventory than to part out cars individually. Get the parts you need while you still can!

Comments

Nate V.
Apr 30, 2008 8:52:22 PM

Poor Toyota Corona! :(

ken
Apr 30, 2008 1:12:58 PM

I like how all the cars are on "jack stands". I wish they did that in the yards I go to.

GTwildfire
Apr 30, 2008 12:24:44 PM

I always wondered why Tow Mater didn't just get a repaint in Radiator Springs. It's not like there was a lot of business going on there. I guess if there's a sequel he might be spruced up, kinda hope so.

Sakin
Apr 30, 2008 12:00:04 PM

Damn those cars!! i need to go there to save the ass of the RT40!

Corey (aka sasktrini)
Apr 30, 2008 11:54:00 AM

Jen, that pic totally looks like Mater (without the eyes, that is)! Looks like you had fun! Great story!