Auburn, Georgia is home to Collins Auto Salvage, a yard with close to 1000 cars. At this yard, the cars are strewn all over the place instead of being stacked-up neatly on racking, as is the norm these days.
This original Ford Mustang must have been a resident of Collins Auto Salvage for many years to have been so extensively picked over. The wings and boot-lid were rusty, and of little use to anyone, leaving the windscreen as one of the few remaining parts worth saving.
Exploring the Yard
Although the bulk of the inventory dates from the 1990s or newer, they did find a number of 1970s cars too, including this wonderful 1978 Ford LTD Landau. According to the license plate tag, it hadn’t been on the road since 1993, so it’s odd that it still held air in all four of its tyres.
The LTD was 5.18 metres long, and weighed-in at 1764 kg. However, time was quickly running out for cars of these proportions, and the 1978 LTD was 17.8 cm shorter and 318 kg lighter.
Notable Finds
The 1980 Cadillac Seville was certainly eye-catching, thanks to its slant-back styling. The distinctive rear end, which resembled some 1930s saloons, and closely resembled the Daimler DS420 limousine, was actually supposed to appeal to a younger generation who were buying German imports.
Complete with its signature yellow and orange stripes, this 1984 Pace Arrow Recreational Vehicle didn’t look too different to the mobile drug lab that featured in the first series of Breaking Bad.
They never cease to be amazed at how many Chevrolet Corvairs still turn up in salvage yards. Then again, more than 1.8 million of them were built between 1960 and 1969.
Rare Cars
This 1977 El Camino Classic’s bodywork was still in great shape. The 1977 trucks didn’t look a whole lot different to those from the previous year, and featured the same stacked headlights. The key difference was a new grille, with vertical instead of horizontal bars.
This 1959 Ford Fairlane two-door hardtop was one of a handful of 1950s cars they found in the yard. Note all the empty space in the background, which would once have contained a lot more similarly aged classics, now long since crushed.
Unfortunately, 1965 Plymouth Valiants aren’t particularly valuable or desirable when they’re in good condition, and the situation is even worse when they’re as badly abused as this one. However, acting in this example’s favour was its scarcity.
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The automotive industry continues to evolve, it’s likely that they’ll see a shift towards more sustainable and environmentally-friendly practices. This could potentially lead to an increase in the number of cars being recycled and reused, rather than simply being crushed and discarded, as seen with faulty new vehicles.
In 1977 the American automobile industry was downsizing. But while General Motors had already put the Caprice on a diet, the Monte Carlo had another 12 months without having to worry about its weight. A year later it would lose 364 kg and 38 cm in length.
Older Models
In contrast to the Scorpio, here’s a captive import that sold well. Designed in the UK and built in Germany, the Capri and Capri II were marketed by Lincoln-Mercury dealerships between 1970 and 1978.
Ignoring the rotten interior, this 1979 Pontiac Le Mans coupe still had plenty of great parts to offer. Then again, they can’t imagine too many people would have been interested in restoring one, so they suspect it will have probably ended up in the crusher.
Here’s an equally undesirable car from the same era, a Ford Maverick four-door sedan. As well as battling it out with the Chevrolet Nova and Dodge Dart, the Maverick was designed to tackle the growing threat from small Japanese cars, much like the Kia Telluride does today.
It’s hard to imagine that this 1958 Ford Fairlane was new once. For the first few years of its life, its proud owner would have washed and polished it every weekend.
Nothing screams the early 1980s like a brown and gold Ford Econoline day van. Unfortunately it was in a bad way, which is a shame, as it might have made a great restoration project for somebody.
Just like the Ford Mustang, the Toyota Celica was a sportscar based on a boring sedan – in this instance a Carina. This GT is a first generation car, and was probably built in 1975.
They know this isn’t the most exciting car in the world, but Buick Electra Park Avenues of this era are disappearing fast, so they reckon it deserves a place in this collection. It’s a 1982 coupe, and although a bit battered and bruised, it appeared to be mainly rust-free.
This 1962 Chevrolet Bel Air had done well to survive for this long. However, seeing as most of its body panels were riddled with rust, they reckon its days may have been numbered.