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Tuesday, September 26, 2023

VIDEO: 1979 Pontiac Trans Am Totaled by Tree in Alabama

 


Not my Trans Am! A 1979 Pontiac Trans Am totaled by a tree? We had to check this out after we spotted it on FaceBook Marketplace and noticed it was 20 minutes away. The owner, Sean Casey, told his story about the terrible night that his beloved 1979 Trans Am was crushed by a tree at 2 AM in August.


Casey has owned the Pontiac for 30 years. He relocated the black iconic muscle car, with 92,000 miles, to his yard this year. He doesn't know what he will do next with his 403 Olds-powered "Smokey and the Bandit” era dream car. The insurance is processing the paperwork.

We hope it works out and Casey can repair or buy another Trans Am to hand down to the next generation in his family.

Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust


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More pics of the Trans Am tragedy >>




Warning! If your trees have mushrooms growing around the base it could mean the inside of the "green, healthy" tree is rotten. See above.









Do you have a car story?
Send us details and we’re on the way!
  
Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com

Saturday, September 16, 2023

Cars in Yards: 1973 Pontiac Grand Prix, All Red, All Wrong

Red 1973 Pontiac Grand Prix view of headlights and grille.

Big, Red, Dirty, Beauty! I rarely find a Grand Prix of any vintage in my travels, but I did it right this time. A 1973 Pontiac Grand Prix finds me and draws me in with the seductive allure these special cars possess. We Junkyard Life Grand Prix/Grand Am geeks will go to great lengths to look at one. In this case, I pulled over and stepped out of the truck. It may not have been that great of a length. Let’s be honest. You had me at Grand Prix.

    One of my favorite years of my favorite era — personal luxury and performance? Any Grand Prix is a treat for us, but we love the Colonnade era of 1973-1977. All right! The 1973 model year was the Johnnie-come-lately. The new kid in town. Very different from the 1969-1972 GP models, but had every bit of Pontiac styling and impact you could only find in the Grand Prix. 

Rear view of red 1973 Pontiac Grand Prix rotting in yard.
1973-only Grand Prix parts back here.
And cumbersome below bumper gas filler neck behind tag.

All Wrong!
    This red example did have a few options. The push bars on the bumpers were actually an option but not very rare. The color was obviously a repaint in a bright red. That doesn’t sound unusual. It seems I have seen Grand Prixs wearing their sporty red coats. The cowl tag was illegible and the 1973 brochure only sort of verified. “Sort of?” What could that mean? See? The brochure that I have stops right at Buccaneer Red. I feel that Pontiac would have wanted their personal luxury muscle mobile painted that popular color. This had to be correct color, right?

Another option, not present here, would have been the vinyl top. We see no evidence of the sporty roof trim of the 70’s that turned the body into a future crime scene.  Also, notice the steering column and sporty Pontiac spoked steering wheel? Nice try with the PMD horn button, but again—not correct for THIS Pontiac. There was evidence of this Grand Prix being a bucket seat with console model. That steering column has a shifter on it. Also, by 1973, Pontiac had phased the PMD off of center piece trim and horn buttons and transitioned into the 
famous
 red arrowhead emblem.

PMD emblem on 1973 Pontiac Grand Prix horn button?
Should this be PMD? We think horn button is wrong.


Buccaneer Up, Little Soldier
    Under the little red riding hood was a Pontiac 400. Maybe? It was a Pontiac motor and the radiator designation implied the 400 cube version. Wiring was a little confusing. It seems to be more of a spaghetti fest than a wiring job.
    This Prix didn’t have the analog gauges which would have been standard with the SJ package. That means this Grand Prix was probably not an SJ. Still cool though. However, I couldn’t find a “J” designation on the car anywhere either. Well, we know it is a Grand Prix.

Rear view of long red 1973 Pontiac Grand Prix rotting in yard.
Buccaneer Red Paint? The Trans Am made that color famous in 1973.

Future?
    I hope this classic Pontiac falls into the right hands, because it is a coveted 1973 model. 1973 being the first year for that generation Prix would contain several parts indigenous to the ’73. Jody and I (Ron) both have 1973 Pontiacs and we know the struggle is real. As for the fate of saved or scrapped? We hope this car can either be fixed or sacrifice itself to other Grand Prixs for valuable parts. Maybe, even ours?

Ron Kidd
— Junkyard Life: 
The Story Beneath the Rust



So many great angles on this generation Pontiac Grand Prix.


Interior equipped with optional greenhouse package. Lol.


Cheap paint job alert! Overspray on the emblems is a no-no.

Enough gauges to fill your hot rod dreams.

Underhood sticker shows this originally equipped with a Poncho 400 engine.

A lot of room under here and it still has A/C parts attached!


Do 
you have a junkyard or a junky yard?
Send us details and we’re on the way!
  
Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com


Tuesday, August 8, 2023

Junky Yard Crawl 100+ cars PART 4 VIDEO



PART 4 VIDEO: An Alabama Junky Yard Crawl of more than 100 classic cars. Retired coal miner, Steve Posey, decides to liquidate his 100-plus car collection in Walker County, Alabama. But, Junkyard Life toured his yard a week late and a dollar short. My dad, Joe, also joined me to provide knowledge and get a handle on what a good deal on a 1955 Chevy project car looks like these days. We check out a Harley-Davidson Golf Cart and a several tons of trucks during Part 4. Numerous 1969 Mustang Fastbacks, Maverick Grabbers, and a few Camaros are revealed in Parts 1-3 as well. 

Posey spent more than an hour showing us around the property in January 2023. The cars and parts are probably all sold by now.


Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust

Watch more Junkyard Life If you got time, we need your help hiring a cheap camera holder and dog food. Your views, and likes help us. Thanks! 

Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Cars in Yards:1971 Ford Country Squire Wagon

1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994. 

Why the story? Junkyard Life, are the guys who love to bring you the Story Beneath the Rust. Because it is often just as groovy and cool as the car itself. So, I bring you the story beneath this really cool 1971 Ford Country Squire Wagon! Only I failed you. I don’t have the story. Not even a clue. Other than permission to gawk from the property owner, who felt my enthusiasm as a self-proclaimed station wagon geek, I got nothing. 


The Mystery Squire Identity Crisis
This wagon contained no paperwork of any kind. No insurance or registration information that I could chase. Due to a long ago repaint, I could not even tell you what dealership sold it. Jody and Keith have pulled my "Junkyard Life Detective License" due to all their questions being answered via my shoulder shrugs and an “I don’t know.” They even put me in that room with a stool and that lightbulb dangling from an unsafe wire. And I still could not tell them anything. I wish I could. I was even wrong about the year. I told the guys it was a 1970 model. It is a 1971. The shame.
But! I do have cool pictures and a ton of research on this wagon, so here we go!

Driver's seat in 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch…
My research isn’t even conclusive! Besides being initially mistaken about the year model, I am still in a quandary between what it is and what it says it is. That doesn’t make sense, I know. Hence, the mystery. The codes read, “71H,” indicating that it is a 6-passenger, Custom 500, Ranch Wagon. Clearly, it is a Country Squire 8-passenger with dual-facing rear seats. That should be Code “71E.” 

Pretending that we can agree on that, I did learn about the ordering process employed by Ford in that era. How could this wagon be built in both Atlanta, Georgia AND Louisville, Kentucky? Okay, no tug of war in the Southeast in this case. I solved it! The district does not indicate where it was built. That was the district office over the plant where it was built. In this case, like a proper slugger, in Louisville Kentucky. So, it was built in the land of bluegrass, original-recipe chicken, baseball bats, high-dollar horse races and awesome station wagons!  When we think of Louisville, Kentucky…we think of Ford Country Squire Wagons. Well, we do now.

351-V8 engine in 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

Clues!
For fear of redundancy, we really do love the story behind the car. What led it here? Who handed it down and to whom? Why hasn’t this big boat been stripped of useful parts and turned into RC soda cans? Where did it go after it was built in Kentucky? We know it is in Alabama now. It is all of the in-between we want!  We wish we knew…there has to be a story here.

HERE ARE THE CLUES:

  • Optioned very well with power windows, power door locks, power bench seat, air conditioning and a rocking stereo, for better to hear Glen Campbell and Charlie Pride all while drowning out the sounds of four disgruntled grandsons.

  • Actually, cancel out the last part of clue #1 because the interior is in great shape. So much in fact that it showed no signs of seat climbing, scratching and other unspeakable things children do to windows on short trips, much less long ones.

  • Under the hood, a new-for-1971 power plant. The Ford 400. More motor than the standard 351-V8, but with a highway friendly 2.75 ratio non-locking rear end. Someone must have had reasons for this, even if it was Ford themselves by some random option combination.

  • A full-size wagon would have a C6 transmission as this one does. Did they make a 4-speed Country Squire in 1971? How cool would that have been! Junkyard Life Detectives often end a clue with a question.

  • It has a trailer hitch added at some point. But, what did it pull? A boat? A camper? A huge U-Haul? See? Now you are looking at us for answers. We got nothing. Then again, there was an old boat on the property...Now we’re just grasping at straws.

  • It does have the optional dual-facing rear seat, and it was set up. Was that for long term storage or was it ready for the kids we think never rode in it? If you had a wagon such as that and did not intend to carry passengers, then we surmise, the back would be used to carry things. In our Oldsmobile Vista Cruiser’s case (Ron’s), we leave all the seats down for utility and parts chasing. Not in this Squire.

  • White letter tires that you would associate with mag wheels, but alas…this wagon still rolled (when it rolled) on hub caps. We like that actually, despite it having made no sense at the time.

Woodgrain painted over on 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.



And They Got Away With it Too, Despite Us Medlin’ Kidds
So, this 1971 well-preserved Country Squire Wagon is still a mystery. I suppose we will just have to celebrate what we do know.

  • We know the color. Ford simply called it “Light Gold” when Code 8 was selected to add color to your new wagon.

  • Most Country Squires did have the wood grain. Our feature car was repainted at some point and while preserving the exterior metal, it lost something in that translation.

  • The rolling stock was Ford’s famous hub cap (I know ours doesn’t match, but the one I feel is original to the car is still there).

  • Speaking of what is still there…the grill is in fabulous shape.

  • The glass is perfect.

  • Under the hood is mostly stock appearing.

  • The light green interior, though not for everyone, was a perfect match for us station wagon nerds.

  • The year prior to this Mystery Squire (Note to self: Great name for a rock band)* in 1970 was equipped with hide-away headlights. That option made any color look rock and roll.

Rear jump seats on 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

Tailgate of 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.


Nothing but the tail lights
Now we must admit defeat and write a story on a really cool wagon that we know nothing about. No road trip stories. No Yogi the Bear encounters. No baseball mom stories (or hockey mom, if the car was from Canada) Now, we sadly gather our camera, our notebooks and my really cool fedora with a “Press” card in the hat band (Jody loves that hat)** and roll on to find our next car. Maybe even one we can acquire.

Ron Kidd
— Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust

* Editor’s Note: We apologize for Ron’s lame attempt to name a rock band while doing an article on station wagons.

** Editor’s Note: I do not! I thought I ran over that hat with my truck to get him to stop wearing it a long time ago. Hey, Ron…the 1940’s called. They want their hat back.


Hood of 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

351-V8 engine in 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

Door panel in green on 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

Long roof 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

Hubcap on 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

Non-matching hubcap on 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

LTD emblem on 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

Passenger side seat on 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

Power window switch on 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.

Painted over woodgrain on 1971 Ford Country Squire wagon parked since 1994.


Do you have a junkyard or a junky yard?
Send us details and we’re on the way!
  
Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com




Saturday, July 15, 2023

Junky Yard Crawl 100+ cars PART 3


Part 3: Dig in to a Junky Yard Crawl of more than 100 classic cars, including numerous 1969 Mustang Fastbacks, Maverick Grabbers, and a few Camaros.

Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust

Watch more Junkyard Life If you got time, we need your help hiring a cheap camera holder and dog food. Your views, and likes help us. Thanks! 

Thursday, July 13, 2023

Junky Yard Crawl 100+ cars PART 2 VIDEO


Part 2: Retired coal miner, Steve Posey, decides to liquidate his 100-plus car collection in Walker County, Alabama. 1955 Chevys, 1969 Mustang Fastbacks out in the yard, a 1970 Mach 1 in the garage. Impalas, Pintos, and more!

But, just so you know we weren't first in line. Junkyard Life toured his yard a week late and a dollar short. My dad, Joe, also joined me to provide knowledge and get a handle on what a good deal on a 1955 Chevy project car looks like these days. Posey spent more than an hour showing us around the property in January 2023. The cars and parts are probably all sold by now. 

Watch and dream. It's cheaper this way!

Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust

Monday, July 10, 2023

2023 Hot Rod Power Tour: Day 5


The road goes on forever but... the 1,000-mile, five-city, 2023 Hot Rod Power Tour ends in Bristol, Tennessee. Our 1985 Monte Carlo SS with 80k miles, original paint (worn out clear coat), handled the mountains and curves between Concord, North Carolina and Bristol like a champ. Our traveling crew, including a 1966 Impala All-Wheel-Drive, 2001 Trans Am WS6, and a 1966 GTO, left the final hotel early. We lagged behind knowing we were taking a chance missing out on the metal HRPT Long Haul signs that all Long Haulers earn after completing all five stops. Jody Potter managed driving duties, Jeff Beasley grudgingly edited all five days of video clips from the passenger seat. Only a day-or-so behind schedule. Lol

We followed the official route and navigated winding mountain roads. Unfortunately we arrived at Bristol around 1:30 pm and our parking spot was less than optimal. Beasley and Potter trekked more than a mile to grab a metal sign and wait for the Tremec transmission kit giveaway.

We didn't win the transmission but we did learn:
  • You can live on ham and salami
  • People in air conditioned cars don't mind cutting in line
  •  Car people are nice, friendly, and willing to help one another
  •  Beasley deserves a raise 
  •  Next year will be even better! 

Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust


Watch more Junkyard Life If you got time, we need your help hiring a cheap camera holder and dog food. Your views, and likes help us. Thanks!

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

2023 Hot Rod Power Tour: Day 4



A hotel room that smelled like socks and some high-quality H20 led us to Concord, North Carolina and a prime gold parking spot for Junkyard Life's daily sack lunch of ham and salami. We packed our cooler and chairs back into the 1985 Monte Carlo SS's trunk and headed towards the loud hot rods making hot laps down the 1/4-mile zMAX Dragway. Instead of four-wide racing, two-lane racing was the order of the day. Some racers were hammering hard on their shifters and go-pedal, others were avoiding failure in the drivetrain with less than violent launches.

After we got good and warmed up we asked "4 Questions" including "Pro Tips" to several owners and HRPT participants in the parking areas. Their answers and enthusiasm varies but some are off the charts! Hellcat-powered 1970 Challenger, 1985 MCSS, 1961 Willys Sedan Delivery Parkway Conversion, 1966 Chevy Impala All-Wheel-Drive, 1967 Chevrolet Impala 5-speed.

Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust


Watch more Junkyard Life If you got time, we need your help hiring a cheap camera holder and dog food. Your views, and likes help us. Thanks!


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Email Jody Potter at: junkyardbull@gmail.com

Monday, June 26, 2023

2023 Hot Rod Power Tour: Day 3


Monster potholes along dirt backroads couldn’t stop Junkyard Life from Rockingham, North Carolina - the next stop, Day 3, on the 2023 Hot Rod Power Tour. A side stop to Bunky’s Meat Market then a jaunt to Darlington. Our 1985 Chevy Monte Carlo SS didn’t fail us even though the potholes claimed our battery tie down. Thousands of unique vehicles, including an AMC Matador, and 1962 AMC Ambassador, provided great conversations and Power Tour Pro Tips. A trip to the auto cross earned us helmet time and a ride along in a new Camaro ZL1. The 24 second trip around the course was enough to flip my stomach. It was a blast!
Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust

(Apologies for some audio wind noise, it gets better with each day)


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Do you have a car story, junkyard or a junky yard?
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Tuesday, June 20, 2023

2023 Hot Rod Power Tour: Day 2, junkyard jaunt



Junkyard Life tackles day 2 of the 2023 Hot Rod Power Tour. An early morning stop at Temple Auto Parts in Batesburg, South Carolina had us sidestepping rattlesnakes, and watching out for wild foxes. This junkyard tour revealed more than 4,500 vehicles from the 1940s and up. About 80 percent of the yard is older, classic era cars and trucks, according to owner Russell Temple.

Back on the Power Tour route and venue, in Columbia, South Carolina, we covered miles of ground looking at thousands of hot rods from all over the country and made time for fantastic parking lot sandwich meat. Yum!

We closed the day with a hotel parking lot tour after watching some impromptu burnouts from our room.

James, first-time Hot Rod Power Tour participant, from West Virginia told us about his scary encounter with a deer. A deer crossed the path of his 1999 Corvette that was traveling at a highway speed. The Corvette’s windshield was destroyed. The deer collided with the passenger side A-pillar. His passenger was hit by the hind end of the deer. And... pulled a tick off his shoulder. A quick trip to the doc, for the body blow from the deer, passenger was ok. A new windshield was ordered and to be delivered in the parking lot the next day. The tour marches on!

Full videos on Temple’s Auto links below.

TEMPLE'S AUTO 3-PART JUNKYARD TOUR:
Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust

(Apologies for some audio wind noise, it gets better with each day)

Watch more Junkyard Life If you got time, we need your help hiring a cheap camera holder and dog food. Your views, and likes help us. Thanks!

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Do you have a car story, junkyard or a junky yard?
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Email Jody Potter at: junkyardbull@gmail.com

Monday, June 19, 2023

2023 Hot Rod Power Tour: Day 1




Junkyard Life sets out on a five city tour, known as the 2023 Hot Rod Power Tour. Jody Potter and Jeff Beasley load up the 1985 Monte Carlo SS and meet the crew at Jack’s in Pell City before launching into a weeklong adventure on the back roads of America. First stop, Atlanta Motor Speedway. Keep watching for more Junkyard Life. Stay tuned for Day 2!

Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust


Watch more Junkyard Life If you got time, we need your help hiring a cheap camera holder and dog food. Your views, and likes help us. Thanks!

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Do you have a car story, junkyard or a junky yard?
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Email Jody Potter at: junkyardbull@gmail.com

Friday, June 2, 2023

1965 VW Kombi bus takes a turn for the worse; Split-window crash, fail!


We did terrible things to the 1965 VW Kombi bus that we rescued from the Alabama woods. Maybe we should have left it alone? Almost five years have past and we needed to find the Kombi a new owner before we trashed it any further.

For Sale
A buyer from California answered the ad on Facebook Marketplace. Cliff, from Lancaster, California, needed a few parts and glass for his own project VW bus. The remainder of the Alabama Kombi will be made into yard art for Cliff's neighbors to admire.

Now comes the hard part!
Loading the VW bus into the furniture hauling truck. Sounds easy? No at all! Things did not go as planned. The bus fell. Watch the despair unfold.

Jody Potter
– Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust


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1965 VW split-window bus is cut into smaller parts after the bus crashed to the ground when loading it with New Holland tractor.
The VW bus was cut into pieces and loaded onto a truck after it crashed to the ground during a failed attempt at lifting the body up into the air.



Do you have a car story, junkyard or a junky yard?
Send us details and we’re on the way! 
Email Jody Potter at: junkyardbull@gmail.com

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Project Car: 1966 Pontiac Tempest finds new home at Junkyard Life

Jody, Keith and Ron in front of their latest purchase, a 1966 Pontiac Tempest in yellow.
Jody, Keith, and Ron find another Pontiac.  

What is a Tempest?

  • A violent windy storm
  • Story about a storm that turns into a blessing
  • Violent commotion or turmoil 
  • A beautiful girl we went to school with
  • The closest thing a guy could get to a GTO in 1966
  • The newest (and oldest) occupant in Junkyard Life/Keith Lively’s stable

Ten points if you guessed one of the above!

Yellow 1966 Pontiac Tempest has been parked a few years in this garage.
As found in the garage.

Letting go

At times, a car can be more than an old hunk of metal taking up residence in your basement. It can mean something to your family. When life dictates a change and demands hard decisions, your options can be difficult. In those times a good understanding of the character and the intentions of the new owner are paramount. Enter Keith Lively of Junkyard Life and lifelong Pontiac enthusiast. Sometimes the stars align and the right people come along when they are needed. 

Candlelight Cream paint with black interior.


Dibs

Actually Junkyard Life has a lifelong Pontiac passion. We couldn’t hide that if we wanted to. So we were honored when we were trusted to become a candidate to be the next caretakers of this prized 1966 Pontiac Tempest. Keith drew the winning card. The reality is that had Jody or I called dibs, Keith would have beaten us up and stolen our claims to Pontiac fame. He heard violins and angels singing when the car was uncovered.

Mike, the previous owner, unfortunately passed away. This Pontiac was almost his dream car. Mike searched hither and yon for a GTO but he just could not find one. This Tempest Coupe was as close as he could come to a GTO. Mike's wife, Valerie, knew this was the right crew for the car. Valerie explained that once this Tempest was in his garage, Mike treated it as a prized possession. He cared for the preservation and enjoyed the car as much as time would allow. Including ice cream runs and even a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Stacked headlamps and 326 fender emblem.


Hub caps and a post
You didn’t have to be an expert to feel the love we all shared for this post sedan. We could feel it from the time the cover came off to show the Candlelight Cream (code Y) paint over the accents of a black interior. A classy combination indeed. The combination of class and color only continued with the choice of rolling stock. All stock and rolling on all of the original 14-inch Tempest hubcaps. One of us here at Junkyard Life is a hub cap nerd. That guy is really happy…just saying. I will enjoy the hubcaps while I can, for a set of 1973 Pontiac Rally IIs are on the way. I really can’t argue with that.  

Four flat tires were filled with air but the old rubber was in bad shape.


Power train choices aplenty in 1966
This Tempest was fortunate enough to have an upgrade or two under the hood. As much as we love the Sprint 6 as the surprise performer that it was , we are not in the least bit disappointed in this 326 C.I.D V8 we found between the fenders on this Pontiac. This motor had been out of the car, seemingly rebuilt and detailed. The 250 hp power plant has a slightly bigger two barrel carb than it originally did. We detect a cam upgrade and appreciate a very well done exhaust system. It may not take you out to the woodshed and give you a spanking, but it offers decent performance and reliability. Sum it up…it’s a V8 made by Pontiac. We are happy.



Engine bay holds a 326-V8 Pontiac.


No meatball surgery
Inside the car, we were met with nothing but pleasant surprises. The black bench seats are a perfect match to that light exterior. The headliner is in fabulous shape. My favorite part was the next to perfect example of the Tempest steering wheel. We are even happy the 2-speed automatic is present and accounted for. Mike and Valerie took great pride in this car and it shows. He added a tachometer, full gauges and a stereo all while not hacking up the original dash at all. Excellent foresight and much appreciated. You would not believe the meatball surgery we have seen on original dashes. Not in this case! Thank you, Mike!

Aftermarket gauges were added without cutting up the stock dash.


Happy is an understatement
We are ecstatic about Keith becoming the new caretaker for this prized Pontiac. He fully understands the sentimental meaning of this car from Valerie’s family. Mike and Valerie’s daughters Ashley and Bethany are excited to see their Dad’s car go to someone who will feel the same way. In this case, they will actually be able to ride in this car whenever they want or need to with an open invitation from Keith and all of us here at Junkyard Life. We know how much those things can mean to someone. Sometimes the base model Tempest means as much as a GTO ever could.
                             

Ron Kidd
— Junkyard Life:The Story Beneath the Rust 


Dream cars are what you make them.


Tempest Fun Facts: 

  • 326-V8. Or IS it? The V8 found under the bandanna of our feature car is a 326. The 326 was not to be confused with the 327 Chevrolet power plant. GM was serious about this. So much in fact that rumor has it that the 326 Pontiac actually displaced 336 cubic inches. GM had Pontiac advertise it as less motor to protect Chevrolet from any confusion. 


Saturday, April 8, 2023

1970 Chevrolet Impala scrapyard edition

 

Welcome to my Nightmare. I can only liken my drive by the Birmingham, Alabama scrap metal place to those people who continue to go to horror movies despite their inevitable nightmares. I can’t say I enjoy that road, but yet…I continue to travel it even though I know with absolute certainty that I HATE IT!!! No wonder my Grandmother didn’t let me watch gory films. I should have listened.

Meet The Implanter
Tonight’s featured nightmare stars the remains of a 1970 Chevrolet Impala. I did a quick run around before The Scrap Metal Boogie man ran me off. The ghost of this Chevy haunted me for the rest of the week. I have a super power that mentally paints a picture of how these cars looked new before beginning their new life as a Pepsi can. This one was a looker in its day. Behold!

1970 Chevy Impala as it should look in a vintage magazine ad.


Okay, that isn’t it. That one is a figment of my J.L.I. condition (Junkyard Life Imagination)*–but it sure was at one time!!! Our Implanter was moderately optioned as a full-size Chevy before it retired to a life of botany and yard décor. It was not the cheapest of the upscale Impala line. Adorned in Gobi Beige (Code 50) and what I surmise would have been Rally Wheels due to the remains of one still being on the car. Also, when it had a roof…a tastefully placed black vinyl top must have looked dapper indeed. Power wise, under where the hood used to be was a 350 c.i.d. small block Chevy with an automatic transmission. It also had air conditioning, power brakes and power steering. Someone must have cared about those things (or some of them anyway) because they were gone.  Our arch nemesis The Scrap Metal Boogie Man didn’t have a lot of our victim left.

Power brake booster hides under the weeds in this engine-less engine bay on the 1970 Chevy Impala.

Option wise, this crime scene was middle of the road with creature comforts, which we don’t mind. Such as the bench seat, manual windows and locks are pretty much standard issue. Also absent was the extra cost tilt steering column. The Scrap Metal Boogie Man would not have cared. He could have listened to ominous foreboding music on the optional radio, fortunately-Planter Man got to it before it could be crushed. 


No til column on this luxury-ish 1970 Impala?

Roll-your-own windows too?

Rear of 1970 Chevy Impala with roof cut off sitting in fron t of Birmingham Alabama scrap yard.

The moral of this story is do not watch such movies. Prevent this from happening to 1970 Impalas and anything related or not related to them. And by all means…donate to your local Junkyard Life Imagination (JYI) Foundations! Buy a kid a derelict car and save it from fates such as this together. 

Ron Kidd
— Junkyard Life: The Story Beneath the Rust


Editor’s Note: “J.L.I” is a fictional disease Ron made up. We usually scold him and edit such things out, but this time it seems he is on to something. This could be a real thing. 


Impala emblem for all to see on the remaining sides of the roof.

1970 Impala Fun Facts:

  • “Gobi” (The name of the paint on our feature car) means “cabbage”. However in this case it probably refers to the desert regions of Northern China and Southern Mongolia. 

  • 1970 was the last of the fourth generation Chevrolet Impala.

  • The 427 engine was no longer optional and was replaced by the 454. 

  • Right hand drive Impalas were actually manufactured in Canada. Hello? Canada? Steering wheel in the wrong place! They were actually sent to New Zealand and The United Kingdom. 

  • The new vertical taillights in the 1970 models were a big hit.

  • In 1970, a savvy buyer could order a big block, four door with a 4-speed, though debatable among collectors if such a car exist. 

  • Not only did the 454 engine make its debut in 1970, but also a weird new torque motor came on the option list….the small block 400. 

  • 1970 was the first model in two years that did not offer a “Hide-Away Headlight” option as in 1968 and 1969. Buyers were a little disappointed. We think it would have looked awesome. 



350 emblem on fender of 1970 Impala.

Scrap metal boogie man has been waiting on this Impala for some time.

Mangled Chevrolet script emblem in the grill of the 1970 Impala.

Data plate has codes for the 1970 Impala including paint code for Gobi.

Sadder sights than a 53-year-old heirloom facedown in a plate at the buffet? No!

Bad things happen to good cars.


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Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com