1984 Corvette: Intelligent design or bugly?

Corvette sold for parts, goofy, giant dash pad intact. Scoring a cheap Vette at the local car auction is everyones' dream. I had a chance to live the dream when I spotted this 1984 Chevrolet Corvette at a Birmingham, Alabama wrecker company up for bid. The faded silver bullet suffered some front end damage and was minus the 350 cubic inch, 205hp engine that makes early C4s forgettable. One glance at the bulbous, 4-inch thick passenger's side dash pad and I knew this Corvette was doomed. Another eBay parts car, to be resold in bits and pieces, with the remnants sent to the scrap yard or landfill. 

Insert your joke here or leave a comment below. The '84 Corvette dash pad is embarrassing.

Quit your complaining... But its a Corvette!
  Chevrolet completely redesigned the Corvette for the 1984 model year. Forward thinking designers and engineers equipped the car with revolutionary, (for the time), handling, braking and safety features. The dash pad was GM's idea to meet future Federal safety guidelines as a passive restraint system. The restraint proposal was eventually dropped by the Reagan administration but GM, in a hurry to get the 1984 model out the door, went ahead and built the new Corvettes with a safety feature like no other. 

All Corvettes should have round tail lights.

How many 1984 Corvettes were built?
  The new '84 plastic fantastic reached the second highest production total for Corvettes with 51,547. Only the 1979 model topped it in sales at 53,807 built. Buyers were eager to get back into a Vette after the aborted 1983 model year. Drivers rocked out to Van Halen and overlooked the giant dash pad as they gazed deeply into their digital dash. 
  Absence makes the heart grow fonder but in hindsight would you pay the base '84 Vette sticker price of $21,800 again?

– Jody Potter, junkyardlife

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1984 Corvette with 4-speed Automatic transmission.

Where did this '84 Vettes engine go? My guess, this was a theft recovery.

Cars in Yards: Washington reader delivers Model A Fords, 1938 Buick, Austin more

Rusting classic cars and trucks offer glimpse of the past in the Great Northwest. Dave Kennett of Washington State has watched a yard full of vintage iron, from the 1920s through 1940s, slowly morph into the lush, green landscape. Kennett has driven by the acres of farmland, which sits 12 miles south of the Canadian border, for several decades. He finally decided to stop and snap a few photos of some of the antique vehicles that litter the property. 

1920s Model A Ford parked for decades just outside a barn in Deming, Washington.

Parked and forgotten
  "They've been there all my life," Kennett said. "I've never talked to the owners but I'm guessing that the family was into logging, way back when they were cutting down huge trees there." Several complete body shells on frames are scattered beyond the barbed wire fence along Mosquito Lake Road in Deming, Washington. Heavy duty vehicles, including what may be a 1921 Schacht 5-ton truck (top photo), appear to have been parked and forgotten. Most wear period-correct rims and tires. Who knows how many project cars could be started with these mostly complete chassis? How about a parts run for your next rat rod?

A pair of 1920s-era Model A Ford work trucks are posted near a fence line on Mosquito Lake Road in Deming, Washington.

A 1938 Buick, covered by brush and moss, still has air in its skinny, right front tire.

1947 Austin A40 Devon, an import from Great Britain.

Keep the photos coming
  Kennett, no stranger to old cars, has spotted many would-be dream cars on his travels into California and Canada. He didn't have to go far to find these. Sometimes the most interesting finds are in your own backyard. 

  Share car finds from your neighborhood and see your photos and stories on junkyardlife. Email me at junkyardbull@gmail.com. 

– Jody Potter, junkyardlife.com

Uncovering the paint code mystery on a pink patina 1953 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-door post

 

Gang, it looks like we got a mystery on our hands! Look what I found. It’s a pink 1953 Chevrolet in really great shape. Clearly, it has not spent its life in the elements. The owner said it’s a 1953 Business Sedan that he found in northern Birmingham, Alabama. He also revealed that the previous owners’ grandparents dated in the car. Way cool so far, but the current owner wouldn’t provide any further information. A quick walk around led to an interesting clue.  The tail lights indicated that this 2-door Chevrolet was a 1954 model. What gives? It’s not uncommon in automotive history to be fooled by the tail light stamping. Many times the next model year would use the same tail light lenses as the previous. Not the next year! Are we to believe in 1953 this car traveled to the future and used the next model year’s tail lights? So what do we have here? A mystery! We junkyardlife guys can always rely on the trusting cowl tag for information….or can we?

Warner Bros. Television

And I would have gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for you meddling kids

  As I pulled the mask off this pink villain, he turned out to be NOT a Business Coupe, but a once beautiful 1953 Chevrolet 2-door Bel-Air Sedan. From its birth in St. Louis, Missouri to the present, it had evidence of several different paint schemes over the years. We here at junkyardlife love the numbers. That will reveal the original paint color, right? Wrong. It had a paint code of 526 clearly stamped on the cowl tag. I looked very hard and could not find a corresponding color. I was about to re-visit the car and double check for researcher dyslexia when I came across a '53 Chevy forum from 2009 where an enthusiast was restoring an exact copy of the same car I had found. That '53 had the same cowl tag codes as this car and he also could not find paint code 526.

Interior of the 1953 Chevrolet reveals seemingly solid floor pans.

Alright, let’s look for clues. I'll take the hot chicks and go this way.
  The online ’53 Chevrolet forum concluded that the paint code was probably mislabeled 526 instead of the correct 516 when the stampings were entered by hand at some point at the factory.  Paint code 516 was India Ivory and Sun Gold. What a beautiful color combination that was! Two tone paint schemes sold very well and that combination was a very happy color that assured junkyardlife galoots to be in a good mood just glancing at it in a parking lot. The interior (code 247) was a light green ladder pattern that doesn’t exactly harmonize with the yellow and white but was popular in the 1950’s. This ’53 Chevy was born in St. Louis, Missouri. It makes you wonder how many “mistakes” there were. Don’t they make a lot of beer in that same city? That’s something to think about.

Sun Gold Yellow lurks behind thick layers of pink paint on this '53 Chevy.

Bounty of 1953 Bel Airs
  Chevrolet made a lot of Bel-Airs in 1953. So what makes a Bel-Air special? It cost a little more money due to having more trim adorning the car, especially around the windows. Not counting station wagons, 150s, or the most popular 210 models – Chevy built a total of 513,779 Bel-Airs in two-door, four-door, convertible, hard-top and sedan bodies. The numbers reveal that this ‘53 Bel-Air 2-door post sedan is one of 144,401 built. That would indicate that there should be lots of these babies around but that is not the case. Few of the 1953 models have survived the six decades since they were built. Their younger brothers, the Tri-Five Chevys (1955-’57), get all the glory. Even four-door rust buckets of those models get restored, nevertheless 1953 was a special year for Chevrolet. It was the year that the Corvette was introduced to the world and Chevrolet’s Powerglide automatic transmission was making a name for itself. Life was good and only going to get better.

1953 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-door post.

I don’t know how to thank you kids and your funny talking dog enough
  So another interesting car with its mysterious paint code and tail lights from the future. Hopefully this beautiful post car will fall into the right hands and once again grace the highways in some form or another. It’s our job here at junkyardlife to make sure these pieces of American history do not get turned into soda cans or siding. Do what you can to help. Find it, buy it, bring it home, fix it and hit the road. See the USA in your Chevrolet indeed.

– Ron Kidd, junkyardlife

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Original 1953 Delco Model 986668 AM radio fills up a lot of room behind the shiny dash.

Cars in Yards: 1972 Pontiac GTO post coupe

 

Rare 1972 Pontiac a 'post'er child for neglect. Gary K., a 28-year-old fan of classic American muscle cars, from Long Island, New York tried to rescue this 1972 Pontiac GTO that he found languishing in his suburban neighborhood. Gary is a junkyardlife kind of guy. When he finds a classic car sitting outside, he wants to find out the car's story and possibly work a deal to purchase the car and save it from the elements. 

Twin scoops adorn this 1972 Pontiac GTO's hood.

  "From the looks of it, this GTO has been sitting for a very long time and it is almost not worth saving judging by the amount of body rot," said Gary. After a quick glimpse at the neglected, low-production muscle car, Gary jumped into action. "I tried to contact the owner," said Gary. "I left notes in the mailbox and rang the doorbell multiple times but to no avail." Gary came away empty-handed but luckily for us, he took his camera and delivered these photos to junkyardlife.  

Dig the Cragar SS rims on the 1972 Goat!

Rare Poncho post

  Finding a 1972 Pontiac muscle car parked outdoors on four flat tires is a rare site indeed. Pontiac sold 134 ‘post’ coupe GTOs among the 5,807 total GTOs built during the 1972 production year. GTO coupes featured a window frame around the door glass and a post at the leading edge of the rear seat's side window. When the GTO's windows are rolled down a chrome post is visible. Drag racers favored the post cars for their more rigid chassis. Prudent buyers liked the solid seal between the door glass and rear window that the pillared coupes offered.
  In 1971, Pontiac offered the T-37 or GT-37 optioned LeMans, which featured the GTO's performance in a 'sleeper,' coupe body, but by 1972 only the Pontiac LeMans GT in coupe or hardtop was available for buyers to get the GTO power on the cheap. The choices were narrowed but it's anybody's guess as to why 134 GTO buyers opted for the 'cheap' look.

  This rotting Pontiac GTO also features a special order paint color for 1972. The buyer paid an extra $115 for menacing Starlight Black paint. Who's the cheapskate now?

Notice the 1972 GTO's optional passenger's side, chromed rear view mirror?

1972 GTO coupe details

  The VIN # shows the car was built with a 400 engine. Inside an automatic transmission with console shifter is nestled between the bucket seats. The optional formula steering wheel is icing on the cake. 

1970-72 Pontiac GTO's and LeMan's featured these distinctive tail lights.

  Thanks Gary! We may not have seen the last of this ’72 GTO judging by Gary's enthusiasm to save this Pontiac. "This is a SUPER RARE goat from the last days of the muscle car wars and it's just rusting into the ground," Gary said.
  When Gary locates a distressed classic car he usually turns it into a restoration project, then resells it. Sometimes that comes back to bite him. He is still kicking himself for selling his first car. "I worked on my 1971 Chevelle SS convertible all through high school then sold it years later, which I regret dearly," said Gary.
  I hope someone rescues this rare Goat before it's too late.

– Jody Potter, junkyardlife

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Readers ride: 1959 Chevy El Camino, a finished project with junkyard attitude

Don't even think about buying this El Camino. Bruce King, a 54-year-old from Hartselle, Alabama, loves everything about his 1959 Chevrolet El Camino. 25 years ago he traded his '78 Camaro for the keys to the low-slung pickup.  “This car is the most fun to drive of any that I’ve owned,” said King. Custom flames, mag wheels, layers of peeling paint, rust and graffiti surround the enthusiastic owner. King's resourcefulness is evident and necessary in keeping the 52-year-old vehicle road-worthy. This one-of-a-kind, first generation El Camino is a direct reflection of King's personality and it draws a crowd wherever he goes. 

Bruce King behind the wheel of his '59 El Camino.

'It's my daily driver'

  King, who looks like he could play the part of friendly lumberjack in a movie, enjoys seat time in his ’59 Elky. “I guess I’ve put more than 250,000 miles on the El Camino,” said King. “I’ve been all over the country in that car.” 
  Throughout King's ownership the Chevy has continually evolved. “The Chevy had the original 6 cylinder engine and straight shift transmission with column shift when I bought it,” said King. “It was painted in red oxide primer.” People often ask King when he is going to finish the truck. "It is finished!" King has owned scores of ‘50s and ‘60s model cars through the years but his favorite remains this El Camino.

Driving with junk parts
   The winged truck is now on it’s third engine, a 305-cubic inch Chevy V8 with a four-speed in the floor.  A well-used 350-V8 previously lived under the hood before King scored enough freebie parts to build his dirt-cheap 305-V8. “The engine block came out of a flooded car and somebody gave me the heads,” said King. Before he knew it, the conglomeration of parts became his El Camino’s new power plant. “It’s just an assortment of junk parts.”

Beneath the disappearing flat white paint, red oxide primer. King says high speeds in a '59 El Camino will do that.

Elky circles Indy track
  King once drove the El Camino to Indianapolis Motor Speedway for a car show and wound up driving his car around the track with a cameraman hanging off the tailgate. “A production crew was filming some old hot rods making laps around the track for a TV show,” said King. The television guys wanted to film from on board King's El Camino. "Two camera guys were hanging on for dear life.” King pedaled the Chevy around Indy at a pretty good clip in front of a pack of hot rods. Top end-friendly 2.73 gears and tall rear tires helped the El Camino reach ‘Oh crap!’ speed at the flat 2.5-mile track. Luckily the camera guys survived and King’s El Camino even received some screen time.

King's wife does not like the passenger's seat view in the '59 El Camino.

Driver’s side is best 
  King’s wife, Jill, has ridden in the El Camino only a handful of times. “I believe she’s been on 10 or 11 trips in it,” King said with raised eyebrows. His wife, sitting nearby, quickly flashed three fingers.
  “Three times. I’ve been in that thing three times,” said Jill,  King’s wife of 29 years.
  Her reluctance to ride shotgun in the ‘59 Chevy is made obvious when you take a peek through the passenger’s side of the windshield. A spider web of deep cracks covers the shotgun side of the El Camino’s windshield. “She don’t like the view out the window,” King said with a laugh. “Plus, it don’t have air.”

If you see someone riding King's bumper they are just trying to read the graffiti on his El Camino.

Flames were hand-painted by King during his Huntsville Speedway days.

Paint it and forget it 
  King, an unwitting trendsetter at the time, painted the El Camino with flat white paint in 1989. “You see these flat paint jobs all over now,” King said, noting his foresight. A keen eye will also notice the faint hint of red lettering along the bed of the truck. King spent two decades working at Huntsville Speedway, a quarter-mile round track in north Alabama. “I painted ‘Hunstville Speedway’ on the sides when I started working at the track.” Nowadays, car magazines and show vehicles mimic weathered lettered doors of vintage shop trucks. King’s El Camino patina is raw and real. King continues to add character to his ride and doesn’t mind making fun of his El Camino’s less-than-concours condition. “I grabbed a Sharpie and wrote a few things on it,” said King. ‘Body & Paint by Mother Nature’ is scrawled on the tailgate. Just below that in thick and thin strokes of black ink, you will find the words ‘Think Naked.’ They are written small and have an arrow directing your eyes to a rusty splotch. “People pass me, then slow down to take pictures or ask me what it says,” said King.

King has fun not worrying about messing up the paint on his El Camino

Carlos is no cry baby doll 
  King pulled a paper mache doll, named Carlos, out of the El Camino and faced him toward the tire in ‘cry baby doll’ fashion. “My buddy has a rule at his car shows,” King says, trying not to laugh. “No crying baby dolls.” For those not in the know – you may find 2-foot tall, ‘crying baby’ dolls with their heads down, positioned against bumpers at many car shows. The dolls creep out and confuse young kids and have become scorn-worthy by some car show communities. King couldn’t resist using ‘Carlos,’ with a sombrero emblazoned with ‘El Palomo’, as the El Camino’s mascot. “That doll was bought off the street in Mexico and I thought it fit the car.”

King's car show mascot, 'Carlos.'

Til death do us part 
  King lights up when talking about his adventures in the Elky. It’s no wonder he would never consider selling it but it won’t stay in the family after he is gone. “My son’s friend, Brock, has loved this car every since he was little,” King said. “I told him I would leave it to him when I’m gone.” King’s two sons, now 25 and 21 years old, were OK with the idea. The youngster's enthusiasm for King’s rat rod El Camino hasn’t waned. “Brock asks about the ‘59 whenever I see him.” Chances are that King's El Camino will be making road trips around the U.S. for many years to come.

– Jody Potter, junkyardlife

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Essentials for the road: four-speed, tachometer, foil, Duct tape.

King's custom 1959 El Camino is part traditional hot rod and part rat rod. It draws crowds.

King made the rear glass from a sheet of Lexan. He could replace it but the Elky would lose some hard earned character.

King was offered a grand for his wheels in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

'Carlos' is no cry baby, show car doll.

1959 Chevys had distinctive fins and cat eye tail lights.

1959 El Camino's tag spring loaded to be visible when tail gate drops.

Four in the floor and an Impala steering wheel.

1959 was the first year Chevrolet built a steel bed floor in a truck instead of wood.

22,246 Chevrolet El Caminos were built during the 1959 model year, their first year of production.

Look closely for the 'mold' and 'wash me' graffiti.

1959 El Camino gauges and King's box of toothpicks.

Dog under King's hand-made Lexan rear window with braces. The rear window blew out one time, so he made sure it would stay.

Chevrolet El Camino production numbers

Your guide to First Generation El Caminos *

1959 El Camino
  22,246 - 2-door coupe pickup trucks 

1960 El Camino
  14,163 - 2-door pickup trucks  

* Available with 235-cu inch Inline 6, 283 or 348-cu inch V8s

 

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Readers' junk: Willys wagons, Edsels found on Pennsylvania junkyard crawl

 

An ear for music and an eye for old cars. When he's not jamming on blues and rock, 47-year-old Greg Platzer, owner of BCR Music & Sound in Lemoyne, Pennsylvania, is on the lookout for old cars to photograph. Platzer, an avid photographer, once owned a 1973 Dodge Challenger and is naturally drawn to vintage American iron at old junkyards. Platzer shared some of his recent finds with junkyardlife.

– Jody Potter, junkyardlife

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1941 Plymouth Special Deluxe with some Pennsylvania junkyard patina.

 

A distinctive grill bar identifies this as a 1955, 1956 or 1957 Chevy dump truck.

Platzer spotted these junked Edsels while taking his daughter to school. They were not for sale.

Salvaged axles were piled high at this unnamed Pennsylvania junkyard.

This black 1966 Lincoln Continental still sheds its 45-year-old factory paint.

Greg Platzer, guitar guru and junkyardlife rock star.

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