Junkyard desert delight: 1951 Ford F100, more classic pickup trucks

Sand, sun and slow-rusting classic trucks can be found in the desert junkyards of the United States. What was left of decades old paint on this 1951 Ford pickup truck has been burned away by the blistering sun. The dry, desert air has preserved the F100's bare sheet metal. Wear items, such as interior pieces and rubber weather stripping have not held up as well to the sun’s abuse.  

These photos are from Hal Lee's search for a rust-free hot rod project along the Colorado and New Mexico border. Lee came away with tons of photos and one old car during his adventure. It looks like there are plenty of vintage trucks ready to be plucked from the desert. 

You might want to check out Desert Classics for more western junkyard inspiration. They have hundreds of restorable classic and vintage vehicles and tractors for sale in Butte, Montana.
 
Comment below or send your photos and stories to junkyardlife.com

Cars in Yards: 1977 Pontiac Trans Am draws crowd, not east bound and down

A black 1977 Pontiac Trans Am tossed in the weeds like a used beer can? The car, that made Burt Reynolds and Sally Field famous in “Smokey and the Bandit,” has been parked in the same spot for more than a decade. Forgotten, neglected and hopefully for sale and cheap. I took the bait and stopped to get a closer look.


Look, it's Bandit!
From busy highway in north Alabama, this second generation Firebird Trans Am didn't look like a cream puff. But I cringed when I saw the condition of the sheet metal on the right side. The Rallye II wheels on the T/A's right side were sunk into the earth, bringing the rocker panel and damp ground close enough to kiss. Evidence of rust along the lower edge of the quarter panel meant the trunk seal or rear window rubber gave up long ago. A lack of T-tops may have left the floor pans in good shape - 10 years ago. This ’Bird is in bad shape but still tempts flocks of motorists.

Is it for sale? Multiply by 1,000
“It was my son's first car. The Trans Am is not for sale,” said the man on the four-wheeler. He offered the answer quickly. A stranger asking about the car is a common occurrence. “I guess a thousand people have stopped to ask about that car. The more popular these cars get, the more I get asked about it." I didn't question the man as to why his son was keeping it. He pointed down the road and said, "that's my sons place." Good enough for me. They want it, it's not going anywhere, so be it.

More would-be buyers will stop by
The popularity of these Bandit-era Trans Ams will continue to expand as new generations watch "Smokey and the Bandit" for the first time. The movie grossed over $126 million and helped Pontiac sell a record numbers of Trans Ams. A ton of them were painted black and their owners all dreamed of being cool and fast like Burt. Covering this once proud, black Trans Am with a tarp might save these owners a bit of trouble in the future.


"Smokey and the Bandit" 1977

Comment below and send your photos and stories to junkyardlife.com

Junkyard tour: King's Auto Parts in Birmingham, Alabama

Call it King’s Auto Parts in Birmingham, Alabama or the location of Job’s Junkyard Salvation for a family that has been dealt tragic loss. Lonnie King and his wife raised three sons and a daughter among a hodgepodge of buildings and vehicles that surround their homeplace. Decades of honest, hard work building a business was destroyed and became meaningless in 1998. One of King’s sons was murdered. Then an F-5 tornado ripped through their home and wrecked the junkyard in a span of two months that year. 

Lonnie King, owner of King's Auto Parts in Birmingham, AL.

King almost didn’t recover from the pain of 1998. “Daddy didn’t want to get out of bed or leave the house,” said King’s daughter, Lottie Green. The family worked together and pulled King’s Auto Parts from despair. “Mom and I started the junkyard back up. We ran it and got daddy motivated again.” The King family suffered through three murder trials while keeping the junkyard in business.

A 1970 Chevrolet is King's junkyard wrecker.

Starting from scratch

King has been buying junk since 1970 but started the junkyard after being laid off from his welding job in 1979. “I used to buy and sell cars and parts. Pull engines, you name it,” King says. “I had a real job and started doing this out of necessity.” After King was laid off, the family was down to its last $800 when he saw a truck for sale. King bought it for $750, built it into a wrecker and went to work hauling cars to his yard. Eventually, he got a business license so the local authorities would quit harassing him about the number of cars parked at his house. “I worked for a long time before anybody knew what I was doing. Sometimes, the police would sit out here and watch the place.”

Bread and butter years

King remembers years in the 1980s and 1990s when buyers from Ohio and Canada would buy cars from him and resell them up north. “In those days you could sell them a 1970 Chevelle SS or any other muscle car for top dollar,” King said. “Loads of rust-free, southern cars found new homes.” 

King's Auto Parts has tons of junkyard character. 

Can you find the Dale Earnhardt Wrangler model car in this photo?

Junkyard thieves

King’s business, like most junkyards, has been victimized by crime. One day while King was working alone, he was robbed at gunpoint by two men who left him tied up. On another occassion he caught a burglar in the act of stealing. King managed to fire a few warning shots at the would-be robber as he fled on foot. “There’s no telling what’s been stolen that I don’t even know about,” King said.

Lonnie King raised a family and operated a junkyard on this property.

Looks can be deceiving

At 10 a.m. on a recent summer day, the temperature was rising fast. Lonnie King, 66, stood on the porch of his house in the center of the automotive compound he rebuilt after the tornado. King, sporting a sleeveless t-shirt and Dale Jr. belt buckle, looks tough but has the heart of a true southern gentleman. King went out of his way to show me around what remains of his junkyard in western Birmingham. King’s Auto Parts unofficially closed in 2006 but it still looks like a junkyard, as dozens of cars remain. King leases a back lot to a towing company and the few vehicles that litter the red, clay hillside are for sale.

What’s for sale?

A couple of late 1970s Chevrolet Malibu Classics, a 1977 Nova along with some 1968-1972 pick-up trucks that can be bought. A 1975 Camaro and a destroyed, demolition derby car round out King’s upper yard. The older, collectible parts have all but disappeared but he does have a rare 1968 Chevy 302 engine and a 350 4-bolt main engine for sale as well. 

Junkyard vegetable garden

King now operates a produce stand called “Job’s Vegetable Garden” near the main road. In the Bible, Job’s faith was tested when he lost everything and remained faithful. The Lord restored all the things Job lost. It seems faith has not been lost at King’s. “Jesus loves you” and a dozen similar religious messages decorate the fence and front gate of King’s junkyard. Directly across the street from the junkyard is a church. If you make it out to King’s you may get a lesson in faith, the junkyard business and a basket of vegetables.

A first gen Camaro fender sporting vintage war paint at King's.

An old round-tracker, junkyard eye candy at King's.

A 1975 aluminum-bumpered Camaro bides time at King' junkyard.

King's 1966 Mustang convertible is for sale, read more.

1990 Mustang GT with parts to spare at Kings Auto Parts.

What? Where? Hours?

King’s Auto Parts
1432 Huron Pl N
Birmingham, AL 35224
Hours - Closed in 2006 but King still has cars and parts he will sell. You might catch him in person or call, (205) 786-3256

Know of a junkyard I need to visit? Send me an email here.

View Larger Map to King's Auto Parts

Griswold's "Vacation" station wagon completes third Hot Rod Power Tour

The Griswold's Wagon Queen Family Truckster, a tribute to the station wagon made famous in the "National Lampoon's Vacation" movie, completed its third Hot Rod Power Tour this year. The car's builder, Eric Wise of Independence, Missouri, was spotted taking a break from the heat inside the modified, green 1985 Ford LTD Country Squire station wagon. It's hard to look cool in a replica of inarguably the ugliest vehicle to grace a movie screen. Camera-happy onlookers peppered Wise with questions, giving him little chance to rest inside the back of the distinctive station wagon.

Why ask why?
Building a quality, custom station wagon is no easy task. Wise removed sheet metal from a donor station wagon and welded it to the top edge of rear quarter panels on his Truckster. This created smaller side windows and a place for the snazzy Wagon Queen crown emblem. The movie wagon also had the gasoline filler door in an odd place – on top of the hood! Not to be outdone, Wise crafted a mock gas door on the hood of his wagon and placed the "real" gas door behind a custom-built, swing-out driver's side tail light. The factory gas door was located on the driver's side quarter panel. Wise welded it up and smoothed it out. Leaving no trace. Some guys love challenges to test their skills.

Crown hood ornament, nice woodgrain.

Griswold wagon gets better every year
Wise completed the Truckster in time for the 2008 Hot Rod Power Tour and posted his progress on ls1tech.com. That exposure garnered rave reviews as well as some helpful suggestions. Wise added green wall tires, "honky lips" graffiti and "Dinky's" dog leash now hangs from the rear bumper. To top it off, the correct luggage ensemble rides on top of the super-long luggage rack. "There are three of these wagon replicas in the U.S. that are close to this quality," Wise said proudly. "But, a lot of them don't have this much attention to detail." Power Tour crowds loved Wise's wagon. The spot-on movie car clone was like seeing a Hollywood celebrity in person. 

Ouch! Not Ford powered, a GM 5.3L LS engine is under this Truckster's hood.

What makes it run?

Wise, a true hot rod enthusiast, installed a 5.3L GM LS engine in the Truckster. He's managed to get more power and better gas mileage, 22.4 mpg on the highway, with the updated drivetrain. That fuel economy dropped a bit on the Power Tour. "It's hard to keep your foot out of it when there's so many other people haulin' ass!," Wise said. Despite the modern engine, Wise claims he hasn't spent much money on the wagon. "I don't have that much in it really, it's a $700 car. I sold the 302-V8 and automatic overdrive transmission for $300, and I do all my own work," says Wise.

When 4 headlights won't do, a Truckster has twice the light!

Truckster history

The original Griswold wagon was designed by custom car guru, George Barris for the 1983 "Vacation" film. Barris was famous for creating the original "Batmobile," "Munster Koach," "The General Lee," "KITT" and many other iconic  vehicles for television and movies. Legend has it that the three Trucksters used in filming "Vacation" were destroyed and/or parted out several years ago. Recreations like Wise's keep the movie's memories alive and on the road for all to see.

What's a Wagon Queen Truckster without a crown molded from the original movie emblem?

Why do we like it so much?
Crowds laugh out loud as the Truckster draws attention away from show cars costing ten times as much. Families crowd around it for photos. Everyone wants to get a look at the over-the-top, goofiness and excess of the dare-to-be different Truckster. Viewers knew Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, could be suckered into a bad deal, just like anyone else. He was imperfect, the everyman, who could smile through it all and we could laugh with him and at ourselves. Ride on Griswolds, everywhere.

FYI – In the "Vacation" movie the hubcaps were stolen.

Aunt Edna and Dinky were not harmed during the building of Wise's wagon.

Wise placed a Lou Glutz window sticker in the back seat of his Truckster.

(In the movie Eugene Levy sold the wagon to Chevy Chase at Lou Glutz Motors)

Comment below and send your photos and stories, Griswold-mobiles welcome also, to junkyardlife.com