WATCH: 1934 Ford Racecar Rescue in Alabama woods Part 2

WATCH: Bitchin' 1973 Camaro: Day 1 HRPT 2022

WATCH: 1934 Ford Racecar Rescue in Alabama woods Part 1

Cars in Yards: 1952 Mercury Monterey

 

Did we even have a 1952 in America? Surely, we did. And whoever just said, “Don’t call me Shirley” will get a Honeymooner’s style punch right in the kisser. 1952 was not a memorable year for car guys. The thirties were done. The streamlined design of the forties had turned to square. The enthusiastic car buyer would have to wait until 1953 for historical firsts, such as the iconic Chevrolet Corvette or the stealthy Thunderbird in 1955. So, what was 1952 like? To our forefathers, Mercury was a good way to spend more money for a Ford. But, Ford claimed this was not necessarily the case. Mercury produced beautiful cars and kept up with the space theme… like the B-52’s song said, “It’s a Cosmic Thing”.*

The 1952 question arose when we discovered this Mercury at a vintage speed shop in Kansas. Despite the Korean War, moneywise, the USA was doing rather well. Three-out-of-five families owned a vehicle. Things were definitely looking up. Maybe this Mercury Monterey was to be expected. This example must have led a charmed life, seeing how it has survived. Junkyard Life sadly surmises that most of the surrounding vehicles off the assembly line that day either turned into Pepsi cans or returned to the earth.

Hubcaps are a big deal to many enthusiasts. They went from being highly desired, even often stolen, to not being desired at all. Now, hubcaps are back to being desired. Notice the Mercury on these caps doesn’t refer to the planet. It shows Mercury of Roman Mythology. In Roman belief, he was much like the God of Commerce. In Greek, he was the fast footed messenger of the Gods. With a car like this, no wonder he could deliver flowers so fast!**

Another Junkyard Life Space Race Lesson

Mercury Rising! This may have more trivial value than we thought! 1952 was the first year for the Monterey model. The whole world was caught up in the Great Space Race. Everywhere you looked, from furniture that looked like it was about to fly away, to cars that were named after planets and related space garb. Mercury. Think about what the name implied. It put in mind a different planet that was in our comic books and on NASA’s exploration to do list. Or would be in 1958 when they officially called themselves NASA.

This handsome Mercury was born a four-door sedan. Finished in a classy Lakewood Green, this was as nice of a family car that you could buy in 1952. Solid colors were standard and two-tone paint could be had at extra cost. Notice the dash controls are on levers on the top. This was to give an air craft like flavor to make for a great show off day with your new Mercury. Plus, having no control, it insured passengers to not cook their warm natured driver. Drivers don’t just give up temperature control willy nilly in this car. However, It could go all wrong for the passenger begging for cold air when hot air is all that emerged from the dash panels. “Hot air is better than no air at all.” Once reasoned a roasting passenger’s grandmother in June.

Also noted…a trailer hitch. Could this family car have towed a camper? Perhaps a boat? The 255 cubic inch power plant may have had a job to do! See? The history is always worth telling. In our JYL eyes, this Mercury was in great shape. Sporting the incredible hood ornament and all matching original hub caps. There was no one around to tell the story of this Monterey, but when there is…we bet it will be full of love and history. The important thing is…it is still here!

Ron Kidd
— Junkyard Life

Primitive, but means business bumper hitch is a clue that this car has done something other than school and the market. 

Rocket speed lines or poetry in motion?

The hood ornament is a testimony to class. An ornamental announcement to the presence of your chariot!

The 1952 taillights were all business with a little distinction tossed in. Taillights were often regarded as a signature of the car itself. Fans of this era can relate.

Welch Bros. dealer emblem. Was this a Kansas car dealership?

Editor’s Notes:
* After warnings from the Law Department, Ron has been reduced to only one pop culture reference per story. Our apologies to the B-52s. 

** Even more apologies to the FTD Florist people. He loves hub caps and means well. Ron really does know about florist delivery — that is why he is alive today.

Do you have a car story?
Send us details and we’re on the way!  
Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com
and Ron Kidd at kidd403.rk@gmail.com

VIDEO: Rats! Fire! And the $100 Trans Am GT rescue from junkyard

WATCH: Hunting junkyards, classic cars in Puerto Rico

What did you think? 
Have some junkyard travel advice? Drop us a comment below or on our YouTube channel.

Thanks for watching and commenting!

1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme: A One Hit Wonder

“One Supreme, Please!” That sounds like something one might say at a food truck or certain restaurants. However, that appears to be what a frugal buyer said in late 1973 or into 1974 upon walking into Royal Oldsmobile in Birmingham, Alabama. Let's take a closer look at this smashed Supreme still tucked away in a back lot in Birmingham.

“Supreme” may a bit of a stretch on this 1974 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme. They really didn’t spring for much. Outside of the slightly extra cost Supreme package, this Zodiac Blue example didn’t partake in any tempting luxuries other than air conditioning and top of the line Super Stock wheels. 

Cooler vinyl seat interior color? Nope. Not possible.

I Must Have Music
I grant thee a stereo. Really, that is a stretch. Radio is a better description of the music choice made here. This “FM” thing will never catch on, so a good old fashioned AM radio is what you get. You’re welcome. You should be able to hear it rather well on the bench seat if you are sitting in the middle. Don’t scoff at a bench seat. Drivers of the era made good use of them on date night. If the evening plans were going well, the date would sit right beside the driver in the middle. Not only could the center dash speaker be heard a little better, but the seating location also made a statement about the status of the relationship. Bucket seats were cool looking and cost more, but lost all romance.*

Options
Power steering is about the only time the Olds assisted the operator. Manual windows, locks, and seats are found here. Junkyard Life thinks that the Landau top was part of the Supreme package. Although we all seem to want cars sans the vinyl top** because they survived at a better rate. So…conundrum? 

V-top roof from wreck or forklift? Share your thoughts in comments.

Running Red Light Guy – 1, Forklift – 1, Cutlass – 0
Our feature car seems to have lost a battle with a forklift. Also at some point there was a dispute over who had the right of way. Neither helped the Cutlass to a better place than it is in now. So now lets’ look at the real salmon and potatoes. That somehow means “let us look at the bright side” — all the engine hardware and linkage you could ever need is present! Except for cruise control. That is for rich folks.

15-inch Super Stock wheels

It does have a complete set of 15-inch Super Stock wheels! If you only knew the perils and pit falls of the journey Junkyard Life endured to get those same-sized wheels that are on our Olds wagon. That would be a much bigger deal to you. Most wheels of Super Stock design are 14-inch. Plus, there will always be a following of these round eyed Colonnades. So is there more? Could have been.

I Could Have Had a V8!
Actually you did have a V-8. The famous Oldsmobile Rocket. In this example, it was a 350 c.i.d. Now for the fun stuff…what you could have had! In 1974 a 455 cubic inch power plant was available. Here are some more optional packages:

• In the “Salon” model, Mr. Cool gets bucket seats and a floor-shifted console. 
• In the “S” model, you could get bucket seats that swivel! How cool is that? 
• In the Hurst Edition, you could get all those goodies as well as swivel seats that had reversible cushions. If you didn’t like the color today….well, you had two choices.  
• For some reason unknown to us, they didn’t promote the sporty 442 as much as you would have thought they would. However, it was there. 

The End?
Usually, we wrap up a story with hope for the future. In this case, the Automotive Grim Reaper seems to be driving. Outside of the parts we mentioned (mainly on the front of the Cutlass) this one is done. We do hope something good comes from the parts. We can hope.

Ron Kidd
— Junkyard Life

Instead of Cutlass Fun Facts…
wait for it…

1974 Car Buying Fun!

Let's buy a new 1974 model! We here at Junkyard Life come from the era of “hand me down” vehicles. Cars of this vintage were a realistic option for us driving to high school in the 1980s. We also love, nay, adore the Colonnade body style introduced in 1973. Back then, our parents and grandparents drove these cars by force because they were new and not that treasured by “us” car nerds. However, we all have family that swears there was not a “real” car made after 1972. That school of thinking is rooted in post-1972 government standards were more stringent and other factors such as safety and fuel economy were trying to all but kill anything fun from Detroit. So they got slower and heavier. We see it a different way. What would you do if it was 1974 and you were going to buy a mid-sized vehicle? It would be hard to go wrong. Several beautiful choices were available…Notice how we put our choices first. 

1. 1974 Pontiac Grand Am (Jody’s choice-he'd probable hold onto his 1973 GA)
        2. 1974 Pontiac Grand Prix SJ (Ron's choice)
        3. 1974 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with a big block and swivel seats (Keith’s choice)

        4. 1974 Pontiac Le Mans
        5. 1974 Chevrolet Malibu or Laguna (a popular race fan favorite)

   6. 1974 Hurst Olds Cutlass

7. 1974 Olds Cutlass 442

8. 1974 Buick Regal in it’s second year of production

9. 1974 Mercury Montego

10. 1974 Dodge Charger is heavenly in red with a black top

11. 1974 Plymouth Cuda

12. 1974 Dodge Challenger 

13. 1974 Ford Torino-always a beauty


See? The choices would be hard for many enthusiast. We know what we would pick, other than all of them, if money and storage were no object. Though seen as dark years for the American automobile, maybe it wasn’t as bad as we thought?

Editor’s Notes:

*Ron is not allowed to give relationship advice after that whole lawsuit thing.

** This may be historically the first time Ron has ever spoken against vinyl. 

A huge impact to the side of the Cutlass was enough to take it off the road, but I'm betting it was still drivable (a short distance), despite the damage.

Do you have a car story? Send us details!  Send emails to Jody Potter at junkyardbull@gmail.com & Ron Kidd at Kidd403@bellsouth.net