Here we go with the barn field cars again. This time it’s from Pownal, Vermont. Once again, the folks at Hemmings have unearthed some super cool stuff. These ones certainly aren’t a collectors dream, though if you’re restoring something you might want to have a look and see if there is some trim you need. You see, most of these cars in in the same sorry state as the bus pictured above. It seems that an old gent named George cast some of his old rides into the woods and over the years they were joined by dead cars from friends and well, who knows where they all came from.
Rather than let George send all these cool cars to the scrap heap, why not scoop some of the trim and glass for that project you’re working on. Head over to Hemmings, where Daniel Strohl will hook you up with the man in the woods.
2 comments ↓
Gary
This story reminds me of a trip a friend and I took to Limestone, Maine to check out rumors of a giant junkyard full of cars, and specifically a 1953 Jaguar XK120 DHC.
When we got to the Maine/New Brunswick border, we told the guard where we going and asked for directions. He laughed, gave us the directions, and said good luck, with another chuckle.
We were going the Calvin West’s junkyard, in which he claimed carried 5000 cars. The guard to us that Mr. West he could be ornery; his business card said, “Where East meets West.”
When we pulled in to the yard, there he was milling about. We asked if we could walk around to see the cars. He said there would be a charge; I countered that we were just students, and that we just wanted to look around. All the while, I kept an eye on his screen door, through which came a constant growl and a glow of sharp teeth belonging to a very large German Shepard.
He said “Go ahead” and we were gone. At the entrance, there was a brush painted black Jaguar Mark 10 sedan that Calvin had “restored”. “Concours” did not come to mind.
We did find the XK120, clothe, leather, rubber, wood and plastic all faded and gone, but the metal wasn’t too bad. The radiator was gone, but engine was present. Faded red with white paint spoke wheels … it still looked nice. Parked nearby was a couple of DKW’s, a Model T Ford and a few early ‘50s Pontiacs.
We entered the junkyard proper, and what we saw was striking. It was mostly American stuff, the vast majority coming from between 1950 and 1970. An REO Speedwagon, a batch of Edsels, a cab-forward Jeep, Dodges, Fords, Chevrolets … acres and acres of them.
A few Studebakers, a neat row of low-roofed early-50’s Hudson Hornets, one MGA with poplars growing through it. All were faded, but very few where rusted, very few had missing trim, and all the chrome was perfect, even polished! Only one car had bullet holes, and this car was in the middle of the junkyard … obviously product of a shootout!
After 3 hours of walking, with still more to see, we left (intact), short on cash but full of dreams of dozens of cool restoration projects. Hopefully some of these treasures made it back to the road.
That’s a cool story Paul. If you head over to Hemmings, one of the commentors was talking about that same place in Limestone.
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