Will Shiers' DISCOVERIES

Our intrepid salvage yard explorer brings you junkyard jewels from across North America.

1. This Studebaker Transtar was last on the road in 1972, some 16 years after it rolled off the South Bend, Indiana, production line. That said, according to the owner of the tiny New Mexico salvage yard in which it currently resides, it was used on a local ranch until the early 2000s. After finally retiring, the badly abused truck was parked up at the perimeter fence with an optimistic $2500 price tag in its window. With no takers, our man was able to pick it up for a fraction of that. The Transtar name was used by Studebaker from 1956 to 1958, and again from 1960 to 1963, when production stopped permanently.

2. Ignoring some emergency ‘auto-dontics’ treatment, this Dodge is in pretty good condition. I’m going to guess it’s a 1946 model, although that grille remained unchanged for the following two years. It was photographed in Wildcat Auto Wrecking of Sandy, Oregon.

3. The unusually named town of Possum Grape, Arkansas, is home to 10,000 residents and several hundred classic cars. Unfortunately, however, all the cars are located in one junkyard, which was closed for a family bereavement during my visit. I was however able to take a few pictures through the perimeter fence, including one of this 1947 Chrysler Windsor Club Coupe.

4. This 1956 GMC Series 450 ex-school bus has a face that only a mother could love. In fact, imagine seeing this fierce-looking vehicle approaching while you’re waiting for a lift into high school. It would be enough to scare any kid into truancy!

5. Originally part of the Fairlane 500 line-up, the retractable convertible Skyliner was renamed a Galaxie in 1959 in order to reflect its top-ofthe-line status. The ‘hide-away hardtop’ was never as popular as the soft-top, and this 1959 example is one of just 12,915 built that year. It was photographed in Washington’s All American Classics, and is one of a pair of almost identical examples currently being stripped for parts.

6. Cincinnati, Ohio-based Crosley manufactured its pint-sized cars from 1939 to 1952, with a break during the Second World War, when production switched to radio transceivers and gun turrets. This example, which was photographed in Idaho, appears to date from 1948. It was the first year for the station wagon, which quickly became the best-selling model, finding a total of 23,489 buyers. These have a surprisingly high survival rate, presumably due to their novelty value. Like Nash Metropolitans, many have ended their days painted in garish colours and mounted high up on plinths, outside salvage yards.

7. Unfortunately, this 1957 Dodge Coronet’s driving days are well and truly behind it, but it still has plenty of great, hard-to-find parts to offer.

8. Someone appears to have tied down this 1968 Chevrolet convertible’s boot lid, presumably to protect it from the elements. I wonder why the same precautions weren’t made to preserve the weather-beaten interior. Perhaps it was already too far gone when it first arrived at this Denver, Colorado, yard, back in 2012.

9. With half the rear end missing, this 1960 Ford Falcon takes on a very different appearance. Is it just me, or does anyone else think it has a hint of Triumph Dolomite about it? Sadly, it’s even more compact now, as it has since been crushed.

10. This rare 1948 Frazer Standard four-door sedan could be yours for $3500. The bodywork is complete, rust-free and relatively straight, and most of the chrome is intact too. It’s a similar story inside the car, with only a few bits of missing or damaged trim. The six-cylinder engine and three-speed manual column shift transmission are still in place, but it clearly hasn’t been driven in a long time. If you’re interested, call L&L Classic Auto in Idaho on 001 208 536 6606.