Hidden 1,000-vehicle junkyard heading for the crusher?

Just east of Austin, Texas, sits 1,054 old American cars from the '40s, '50s and '60s, rusting in the elements and infested with rattlesnakes. Sometime today, a deal may be struck to crush what's not pure oxidation already.

http://m.jalopnik.com/5775744/hidden-1000+vehicle-junkyard-heading-for-the-crusher

I know this yard, though I've never been in it. About 10 years ago I worked for A/C Authority in Round Rock and we had a 57 Fairlane from Washington State with a cracked block. Need a new block and was told about this place. At the time you called the owner, an older guy, and made an appointment, and he'd walk you out there. From what I understood he was pretty eccentric.

I left messages but never could get the guy to call me back. I need to take a road trim out there and see if I can find this place. Always meant too back then, but eventually forgot about it.

-Mike

Looks like it is south of Taylor off of 95 a few miles.

Map coordinates are: 30.462947,-97.335593

600 County Road 464
Coupland, TX 78615

Man talk about hidden! I looked this up on Google Maps and it looks like this place sits WAYY off the road. You'd have to know it was there to find it.

Really cool how the plowed field goes right up to these. Man I'd love to go out there!

You can see the rust from the sky!

I'd SO love to go look around. Paint burns off here in the sun, and cars get surface rust, but major rot is rare, even in cars left outside for years.

Man-oh-Man!

SOUNDS COOL ! WOULD LOVE TO GO AND GET A 56 F100 !

I visited a yard somewhat similar to this in west virginia a few years back. "Eccentric" is the right way to describe the owners of these places. The guy knew every car's option list, what it needed, and how much cash would put it in your driveway. There were some extremely rare cars in there. I strongly suspect cars in west virgina are slightly more rusty than cars in texas.

I got to walk through a yard like that in North Carolina back in 98-99 too. I was working designing rock drills for Ingersoll Rand out of Roaoke, VA and one of our customers that needed a service call was renting garage space on the same field. We heard about it, made a call, got permission to take a walk through, and me and some other dude ran down there that next Saturday and stomped around through the weeds for about 3-4 hours.

It was surreal. If you get the chance to go - do NOT miss it.

Copied from the Mopar site:

The guy said there were rattlers and to be careful. Mostly Early 50's to late 60's cars. A deal is supposed to be struck Thursday to bring the Mobile car crusher out and destroy most of them. Most of the cars have a lot of rust for being sitting for 30+ years but there was millions of dollars in salvageable parts.

I got the doors from a 79 300 to perform the conversion to power windows on my Magnum.

You need to bring a shotgun and a pistol with you there to pull your parts. Some of the biggest Rattlers I've ever seen, everywhere under cars on that property. went out there to look at a specific car he had, but walked the field. It was almost sickening to see some of the cars that were just ruined.

If you look at the green arrow when you paste in 30.463581,-97.33366 That is two of the Old Thunderbolt Fords like run NSS.

30.462747,-97.335383 Is a 1955 Dodge Royal Lancer Two Door hardtop. That at one time was a beautiful car. It had 1966 License plates on it and came from a dealer in Lockhart Texas.

30.463624,-97.335472 All under these trees were 40"s and 50's trucks Studebaker, Larks, Buicks Pontiacs fords.... All rusted to crap, surface rust that ate to the core. If the guy would have put some of the cars on blocks they could have been saved...

It's just a shame.............My heart would have stopped for a Bubble top Ventura.

The guy showing me around said he had to do the count and they had 1054 Cars back there (he also had another field that was going later)

Anyway 1054 cars at $200.00 in weight wholesale that's $210,000, that's IF he is only getting $200 a car. The guy said they were bringing a mobile crusher to crush them on the spot and then load them up unto 18 wheelers to get the to the metal yard.

There was a yard like that here in Albuquerque. It was closed, and it had chain link fence with strips covering the view. The city had grown until it had surrounded the property. It was mostly cars from the 1940s, 1950s and early 1960s. No rust in the desert. The owner was an eccentric old guy who knew exactly what the market value was, and he had to wait a few years for someone to pay him what he wanted for the whole collection. He didn't mind waiting. He probably sold the land for a lot of money as well, because the street is now a major boulevard leading to a bridge.

That's sad. I'd love to walk the lot! Well, aside from the whole rattlesnake thing.

And it's funny cuz you can tell everything is just a rusty hump from the satellite images!

One of the guys on my Cutlass group that lives in Bastrop drove out and was allowed to look around this place. He's only posted four pics so far, but it gives you a good idea of what the cars look like in person. Will post more as he sends them.






About what I thought, the sun burns off the paint and cars get surface rust, but still stay pretty solid. Would LOVE to go look around myself...it's only 20-mins away!

-Mike

I love that chrome siren on that one truck's fender.

Man he's only getting $200 per car to crush those. That hood on that old Chevy from Watson Feed is worth $200 on Ebay alone. Imagine if you had a was to part those out and ship the stuff up for the Carlisle or Hershey swap meets. You could make a mint!

Look just above the rear end of the gold mustang. I think I'd crush that citation first, slowly. Then crush it again. And post lots of pics of the entire process.

MUA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAAAA!!

Mike your assignment this week end is to go on a photo safari in that yard!

I don't think it's been an actual open business for a long time. I think it's just one corner of a rancher's field now.

And yes, I need to sneak out there.

bring a snake bite kit

In saying this I'll get bit for sure, but in the 19 years I've been back in Texas I've yet to see a snake or scorpion in ANY salvage yard. And I go the yards A LOT.

I'm sure it'll happen sooner or later though!

-Mike

I'd buy some snake proof boots and pull them up to my neck!

Don't be a

UPDATE! Cars SAVED!

Good News! Classic Salvage yard cars saved from the crusher.

Those vehicles are not going to the crusher after all. They're going to auction in Bastrop TX on two seperate dates. 50+ years of collecting vehicles from the 30s to the 80s. Those old trucks are part of the second auction. The first auction will have some really cool stuff too.

The following links are a work in progress so they're missing some info.

Pics of vehicles in first auction on April 30th; https://s1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa379/bastropcarauction/

some pics of the second in May; https://s1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa379/bastropcarauction/second%20auction%20in%20May/

This is the official link with pics of tools, vehicles, parts and other stuff for sale; http://clydeclardy.com/

The first auction has a 79 W30/442 and another cutlass

Not pictured in the second auction are two cutlass's and a 78-79 4door lemans. One of the cutlass's has tinted windows and has excellent interior (for Texas) except for the dash.

-Mike

That's good. Getting those crushed would be so stupid....

These cars look rough, but fixable. But I wonder how solid they are sitting in dirt and grass all these years.

Man I grew up 10 miles from this place....Too bad I didnt know about this when I was younger and looking for a cool first vehicle.