By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I went to the Pull A Part in Tacoma, but it was a fail. While I’m generally up for some leisurely junkyard sightseeing, this time I was on a mission to get some body panels for my diesel Escort project from specific cars that the staff told me were in the yard, but which were nowhere to be found once I got there. So it was basically a wasted trip, apart from the fact that I got to see some derelict gems like this Plymouth Volare wagon, and mourn over a completely demolished AMC Eagle. I should have used our one hour of sunshine for sanding and priming, which I got to spend the rest of the weekend doing indoors. Cough.

How about you? What did you do this weekend?

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Visiting SoCal this week, Chris and I were treated to a bit of junkyard tourism–my favorite vacation activity!–thanks to local auto-recycling aficionado and Editor-in-Chief of Clunkbucket, Mike Bumbeck. One of the coolest sights on the tour Mike gave us was definitely Aalden Bros‘ iconic feature wall, a collection of cars around the yard’s perimeter that are just too cool to crush, a still from which forms Clunkbucket’s header pic. I of course loved the Gremlin and the Plymouth Fire Arrow, but the wall also contained some vastly more obscure imports, many of which you’ll probably never see in person anywhere but here in Sun Valley. Take a look!

Continue reading "Feature Wall At Aalden Bros Junkyard" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

Since I finally got a weekend that wasn’t committed to NASCAR travel, and my friend Shantel who works at the Chilliwack Pick a Part had been tempting me with news of two new AMC Eagles out on their lot, I finally caved and packed up the ‘Vette with Chris to head North for a mini-junkcation at my favorite auto recycler. This isn’t the first time Pick a Part has been in the blog, and for good reason. As self-serve yards go, it’s my hands-down favorite place to be. In an economy where a lot of the Pull A Parts and similar franchises have been ratcheting their prices up–the last time I was at the yard in Tacoma with a few scraps of junk plastic trim in my hands (oh, and a shifter), I didn’t get out of there for under 50 bucks: wait, this is still a junkyard, right?–the Pick has by contrast been keeping their prices low, even while continuing to provide rare-for-a-junkyard creature comforts like free bottled water (on ice), loaner tools (honor system), and running-water wash stations. Continue reading…

Continue reading "Another Fine Day at the Pick" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

I had a very fulfilling weekend: swapped out a tie rod end on my diesel Escort, watched a little NASCAR on TV, made some burritos, and toured the all-new Griot’s Garage facility (more on that in a bit). I also went and checked out a junkyard I’d never been to before: Pull A Part in Tacoma. There was a ton of cars there, with a decent selection of older vehicles. The place was the usual seasonal rowboat-worthy lake, and it seemed a little pricier than some of the other U-Pulls I’ve visited in the area. But I found everything I was looking for there, and will be happy to give them some repeat business.

How about you? What did you do this weekend?

Continue reading "What Did You Do This Weekend?" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

This series of photos over at English Russia demonstrates that scrapyards are sad no matter where you are. Watch obscure Soviet iron go from salvageable to shredded.

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

My buddy Austin tipped me off to this awesome junkyard in Arlee, about 15 miles off the I-90 in Montana. Kelly’s Auto Salvage is a pull-a-part lot, owned by a guy who lives right on the site. Unlike some yards in some of the more over-regulated states, they have no problem selling whole cars, and the prices are fair: the X-11 Citation below the jump can be had for $350, the Renault Dauphine for $200. The place reminds me a bit of All American Classics in Washington, in that there’s a ton of obscure old hulks that have probably been sitting there for decades, as well as some truly freakish specimens–(take a look at the sectioned two-seater Corvair below the jump–wtf?)–but unlike All American, Kelly’s fleet includes bizarro JDM and Euro stuff as well. Still, there’s more than enough Detroit steel to satisfy any red-blooded American, and almost all of it is pre-1980′s. See more pics below the jump, check out the Google view of Kelly’s here, and see the entire album on photobucket!

Continue reading "Acres of Great Junk In Arlee, MT" »

By John Coyle

Deputy Editor

Since I’ve spent a lot—like, a lot—of time watching slow-motion drift videos over on StreetFire, my patience for artsy automotive stuff has been pretty much exhausted. But I still thought these night shots of this Russian junkyard were totally cool, in a spooky kind of way. I guess it helps if you’re fascinated by Soviet-era iron, like I am, but even non-gearheads should be able to appreciate these pictures. Head over to English Russia for the full set.

By Chris Bicknell

Bick66

For those of us who own and work on cars built in the last couple of decades, the question may not seem so meaningful. But when your pride and joy falls a little further back, it’s a rare occurrence to find your car still rusting peacefully at the local junkyard. This weekend, Jen and I were both completely blown away by the inventory at All American Classics, but when I stumbled upon not one but four 1966 Impalas, including this yellow 327 Super Sport, I totally lost it. What amazed me even more was the incredible amount of good useable parts that remained on these cars–I wanted to take everything, and I guess now I understand a little better why the shelves in our garage are lined with enough Ford Escort parts to build a whole ‘nother one of Jen’s cars. Luckily, I’d left my credit card at home–but I still left with a trunk full of really cool stuff and I’m sure it won’t be long before I find myself going back for more.

How about you–ever found your rare or classic car at the junkyard?

Continue reading "Ever Found "Your" Car in the Junkyard?" »

By Jen Dunnaway

Editor

All American Classics in Vancouver, WA, is the kind of junkyard that you can absolutely lose yourself in. I’m not so much talking about the sprawling acreage or the huge number of cars here. It’s more about the kid-in-a-candy-store feel that you get from a yard where each rusting hulk you find is more cool than the last. Read more…

Continue reading "Unbelievably Awesome Junk At All American Classics!" »

By Dan Strohl

Hemmings

When Jim Donnelly cruised the mostly original condition cars at the Tom Mack Auction in Charlotte earlier this year, looking for nameplates from long-lost AMC dealerships, he at least had decent nameplates to read from. Ken Ames had a tougher time reading the nameplates at the recent liquidation of Gary Bennink’s AMC and Mopar collection, but came through with several photos that he’s allowed us to reprint here.

Pallesen’s, above, didn’t seem to stick around long enough to make the 1983 dealership list, so we don’t know where exactly in Drumheller, Alberta, they operated. Ken said he spotted this tag on a Concord, which could very well have been one of the last cars to leave the dealership. Continue reading over at Hemmings.