Junkyard Discoveries from Ron’s Auto Salvage in Allison, Iowa

We’re going to assume it was taken at least 30 years ago, because while the cars are still there, the field has since transformed into a forest.  We spent an enjoyable September afternoon exploring this wonderful place, unearthing classics ranging in age from the 1930s to the 2000s.

This 1938/1939 Ford truck, which doubles up as a fine garden ornament, is visible from the roadside, and is the only clue as to what treasures are lurking in the foliage behind the property.

While there’s a real mix of marques at Ron’s Auto Salvage, there seems to be a higher concentration of Fords than anything else. We spotted an entire herd of wild Mustangs grazing in the undergrowth, including this early example. It’s not looking very healthy, and it’s galloping days are long past.

In 1965 the Mercury Park Lane was given distinctive slab sides, aping the Lincoln Continental of the same era. The styling continued into 1966, as featured on this example. It’s a four-door hardtop sedan, which had a list price of $3460, and with 19,204 finding buyers, was easily the best-selling body style in the Parklane line-up.

Parking cars under trees is never advisable. Wet leaves accumulate in the crevasses, and with the sun unable to break through the canopy of foliage above, they remain damp and act as a breeding ground for dreaded rust. So far, this 1967 Ford Fairlane has managed to avoid too much rot, but it’s only a matter of time.

The Electra, which replaced the Roadmaster in 1959 as Buick’s flagship model, had a long production run. In total there were six generations, which took it right through to 1990.

This is a 1969 (third generation) Electra 225, which demonstrated crisp new side styling. It also featured ventless front windows for the first time. Almost 16,000 of these four-door hardtop sedans were built, but few remain in junkyards today. This one has plenty of great parts on offer.

This 1953 Cadillac is looking pretty good for a 70-plus-year-old junkyard resident, and is still relatively rust-free. It’s rare to find these with intact taillights and look how that rear bumper gleams. Helping its longevity is its location in the yard. Like the Buick, it’s parked in a field at the edge of the forest, meaning it gets to dry-out in the Iowa sunshine.

Going into production in 1968, the Lincoln Continental Mark III was Ford Motor Company’s flagship car, and a direct competitor to the Cadillac Eldorado. These two-door hardtop coupes were the height of luxury, and proudly wore Rolls-Royce-type grilles to stress their importance. This is a 1969 example, one of 23,088 built that year. The Mark III was replaced by the Mark IV in 1972.

Ford is well represented at Ron’s Auto Salvage by commercial vehicles too. We unearthed several trucks in the undergrowth, including this 1956 F-Series. It’s a F-500, which was previously known as an F-5. The F-Series has survived from 1948 to the present day, spanning 14 generations.

Considering that it was such a massive sales flop, it’s surprising how many Edsels still exist in junkyards. Ron’s Auto Salvage has at least three of them, including this 1958 Ranger.

1958 was the marque’s best year, with 68,045 of them rolling off the line. But it was a far cry from the 200,000 projected sales. Ford announced the abandonment of its Edsel misadventure in November 1959.

Here’s one of the more youthful and colorful residents of Ron’s Auto Salvage. It’s a facelifted third generation Chrysler LeBaron convertible, which dates it to between 1993 and 1995. These cars are easily identified by their flush headlamps, which replaced the retractable hidden lights of the earlier cars.

Hiding in the undergrowth is a rare, and rather tatty, Lincoln Versailles.

These midsize luxury cars, which were basically posh Granadas, were only offered between 1977 and 1980. They weren’t particularly popular and were consistently outsold by their Cadillac Seville rivals at a rate of three to one. This is a 1980 example, the rarest of the lot, and one of just 4785 built.

The Mazda RX-4 was imported into the US between 1974 and 1978. Offered in three body styles (hardtop coupe, sedan, and station wagon), it was powered by a rotary engine. They were luxurious, and relatively sporty too, and this 1976 station wagon would have managed 60mph in just over 10sec back in the day. Not bad. Although it’s a rare car, on this occasion scarcity and value have next to no correlation.

Considering that it’s been sat in a forest for decades, this 1949 Chevrolet is in remarkably good condition. Although the rear fenders are suffering from severe corrosion, the rest of the body panels appear to be remarkably sound. Look at the straight edge on the base of the passenger door.

If you see any parts on this car, or indeed any of the others featured here, be sure to get in touch with Ron’s Auto Salvage before heading to Iowa. The yard is accessed strictly by appointment only.

This is an extremely rare car and deserves to be saved. It’s a 1964 Mercury Park Lane and features the breezeway roofline and retractable rear window. Mercury only sold 18,764 Park Lanes in 1964, and just 1786 of them were the $3359 two-door breezeway hardtop coupes.

The fifth generation (1978 to 1987) Pontiac Grand Prix was downsized, both in terms of dimensions and engine. It was 1ft shorter, 600lb lighter, and for the first time in the model’s 17-year history, it didn’t have a V8 as standard. The car-buying public seemed happy enough with these changes, at least initially anyway, and this example is one of a cool 228,444 sold in 1978. However, by the mid-1980s, sales had slumped to around 50,000 per annum.

This 1973 Ford Thunderbird is modelling the 5mph bumpers that became mandatory that year. It’s also providing us with a great view of the egg crate grille and fender edge-mounted turn signals which identified this model year.

Of all the years that the sixth generation (1972 to 1976) cars were sold, 1973 was the best in terms of volume, with 87,269 finding buyers.

The Edsel range was drastically slimmed down in 1959. Previously there had been 18 different models and body styles to choose from, but now buyers were limited to a choice of just 10. This appears to be a Corsair two-door hardtop, one of only 2468 built. The Corsair would be dropped altogether in 1960, the Edsel’s final year of production.

Although this AMC Javelin would have rolled off the line in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the model was built under licence in a total of six countries: the others being, Mexico, Venezuela, Germany, Philippines, and Australia. AMC's answer to the Mustang was in production between 1967 and 1974, and this is an early example.

The Ford Pinto was the subject of the largest-ever recall in automotive history, when 1.5 million of them had work carried out to reduce the chances of catching fire in the case of a rear end collision. But this only affected sedans and hatchbacks, and not station wagons. This is a late example, and was likely built in 1980, the model’s final year of production.

Here's a car that needs very little introduction. After all, with a 65-year production run, the Volkswagen Beetle is one of the most successful and iconic cars ever built. Out of 21.5 million examples produced, the better part of 5 million of them were exported to the US.

It has beaten the odds and survived for well over 70 years, but now this 1951 Chevrolet Deluxe’s days are numbered. It’s part of a collection of cars ready to be crushed, and considering its awful condition, we aren’t surprised. It’s the only classic in this unfortunate pile.

In contrast to the Chevrolet, this 1951 Ford lives to see another day. Although its body panels are a lot straighter than the Chevy’s, a closer inspection reveals some serious corrosion issues. It has clearly been missing its windows for decades. The interior has rotted away, and now the seats are just exposed metal. 

This 1964 Chevrolet Impala two-door hardtop seems to have been propped up on a pair of wheels, likely in an effort to preserve its undercarriage from the ravages of dirt and decay. Unfortunately, this measure came too late, as the floor has already succumbed to extensive rot. With little hope of restoration, it's only a matter of time before this car meets its fate in the yard’s crushing pile.

Station wagons were undoubtedly in vogue in the late 1950s, with nearly 90,000 individuals opting for new Ford Country Sedans in 1958 alone. One can only imagine the tales this particular example could tell  - from family vacations and lengthy road trips to memories of kids getting sick on the backseat, accidentally spilling milkshakes on the upholstery, and the timeless question ‘Are we nearly there yet?’

Much like the children who once rode within, this car’s appearance has evolved significantly over the decades.

The third generation of Mercury Cougar (1974 to 1976) was a strong seller, and while it didn’t come close to the original car’s success, it consistently sold 50% more than the second generation. The model line was slimmed down to just the two-door coupe, with the convertible being dropped, and everything now being offered with XR-7 trim as standard. This example, perched precariously on a pile of tires, is one of 91,670 sold in 1974. 

It's fascinating how cars quietly fade from our roads without much notice. Not too long ago, Buick Centuries from this era seemed ubiquitous, adorning every street corner. Yet, in a blink, they've nearly vanished. Despite 2.2 million fifth generation (1982 to 1996) models being built, only a fraction endures today. This one is among the 269,000 Limited Sedans produced in 1986.

1983 marked the swan song for the fourth generation Malibu, marking the end of an era. However the model’s name resurfaced on a Chevrolet in the late 1990s. Despite its impeccable condition, there's a notable absence of enthusiasts clamoring to purchase rust-free parts from this station wagon. Perhaps this reluctance reflects the model's lack of popularity.

We wonder what used to be under this 1960 Plymouth Belvedere’s badly misshapen hood. The car was offered with a choice of optional V8s, but it was probably fitted with the standard inline six-cylinder engine. The 3.7-liter unit, which generated 145hp, took the car to 60mph in 14.4sec.

Although second generation Ford Thunderbirds (aka Squarebirds) get some criticism for the U-turn they did on the car’s original two-door concept, let’s not forget that this is what the public wanted. Ford conducted extensive surveys before adding two additional seats and upping the creature comforts.

And this was reflected in the sales, which were roughly four times greater than first generation cars. This is one of 93,000 sold in 1960.

This 1963 Rambler Classic 660 Cross Country station wagon probably once had the standard six-cylinder, 127hp engine under its hood. Matched to a three-speed automatic transmission, it would have rambled up to 60mph in a leisurely 15sec and continued to a top speed of 96mph. It would have been a very different story with the optional 4.7-liter V8 and a manual gearbox, which would have shaved almost 6sec off the 0-60mph time, while topping 112mph.

Let's hope that whatever traumatic event led to this truck's cab looking like it does, occurred while it was at Ron's Auto Salvage, rather than out on the road. It’s a 1964 Ford F100 Styleside, one of 152,272 built that year. As of 2023 the F-Series has been the US’s best-selling vehicle for 42 consecutive years.

Look at the state of that C-pillar. It was probably rotting away under the vinyl for years, without detection. It’s a 1975 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, which like all the other fourth generation cars, was a strong seller. In fact, it was the US’s second-best selling car that year, behind the Chevrolet Impala. However, by the following year, it would claim the top position, maintaining its reign well into the 1980s.

Despite being restyled versions of their 1953 counterparts, Ford's 1954 models garnered immense public approval, propelling Ford to the top sales spot, and beating arch-rival Chevrolet. It was a feat achieved only twice that decade, the other being 1957. It’s hard to see what car buyers liked from this angle…

Although the Plymouth Duster two-door coupe (1970 to 1976) was based on the Valiant, and shared its front end, it only sported a Valiant badge for the first year of production. It was a formidable competitor for several different cars, including AMC’s Hornet, the Chevrolet Nova, and even compact imports like the Volkswagen Beetle. It was a success story, notching up more than 1.3 million sales. This looks like a mid-1970s example, 1974 being our best guess.

It looks like a good polish is all that’s needed to get this Mercury Marquis four-door sedan back on the road. However, this is definitely its best angle. What you can’t see in this picture is the missing front end. It’s a late second-generation car, probably a 1978.

The Marquis, which was Mercury’s version of the Ford LTD, was in production from 1967 to 1986, starting as a full-size car and becoming mid-size for the final four years of its existence.

Of the 12,921 GMC Motorhomes built between 1973 and 1978, it’s estimated that up to 9000 are still in running condition. So, finding one in a salvage yard is unusual.

The vehicle was unique, in that this was the only time that an RV had been built by an auto manufacturer. And by this we mean that GM not only constructed the vehicle’s body but kitted out the interior too. These days RVs are made by specialized producers, nearly all based in the state of Indiana.

Although they’re obscured in this picture, 1985 Pontiac Parisiennes were fitted with rear wheel skirts. They had been eliminated in 1982 but made a return three years later to differentiate the car from its Chevrolet Caprice sibling.

The Parisienne first appeared in Pontiac’s line-up in 1959 and was retired in 1986.

With its 6.7-liter V8 engine working hard, the 1959 Imperial could do the quarter mile in 16.8sec, which is quite some feat considering that the car weighed-in at more than 5000lb. However, achieving respectable fuel economy figures would require an exceedingly gentle touch on the accelerator, with double figures being out of reach for many.

This is a first-generation Geo Tracker, manufactured in Ontario, Canada, by CAMI – a joint venture between Suzuki and General Motors. Geo, a subdivision of Chevrolet, was in existence from 1989 to 1997. The Trakker would outlive the marque though, later wearing a Chevrolet badge on its grille.  With a decent set of tires, these were very capable off-roaders.

It looks like someone has tried to force this 1969 Ford Fairlane’s trunk open, destroying it in the meantime. However, it still has plenty of other useable parts on offer, ensuring its survival for now.

Some 233,688 Fairlanes were sold in 1969, contributing to Ford’s total production of 1.83 million units. But it wasn’t enough for the car maker to take the top spot from rival Chevrolet.

"More than a car! More than a truck!" was how Ford described the Ranchero upon its 1957 debut. From its inception until the final example rolled off the line in 1979, over half a million found buyers. This is a sixth-generation example, which was built in 1975.

This is part 1 of our feature from this yard; we’ll publish part 2 soon