Maine Junkyard Recon

1973 Oldsmobile Cutlass Daily Driver 

One of the cars I saw upon entering the yard was this '73 Cutlass.  The paint was rough, but the metal was still solid.  The owner told me he got it back in November of 2021, and he even moved it around at one point when I was down in the yard.  It's currently tagged and on the road.  

Willys Jeepster Wagon 

The entrance to the yard had a small side lot filled with complete (or mostly complete) cars for sale.  Amongst them was this Willys Jeepster wagon.  I don't know much more about it than that, and I wasn't able to get a closer look because of the weeds.  

1969 Pontiac GTO

Another GTO, this one a bit newer than the other two.  I can't remember if there was a motor in this one or not, but there was a big block Chevy sitting up against the wall near it.  

Cut-Up 1968-69 Ford Torino Fastback

Moving out further into the yard, I came across about 20 or so wrecks, shells, and dead carcasses.  I'd been beforehand that most of the cars were stripped, but there were still some small pieces left.  Here we have a hacked-up Ford Torino that's been recycled into a license plate storage bin.  That's one way to repurpose a car, I guess.  I had to rely on David to ID this one because I had no clue.  

David: I could be very wrong, but I'm fairly certain this is a '68 or a '69 Torino. Without the dental records, this was hard to ID. 

1967 Chevy Camaro

Moving on further into the yard, I came across the shell of what once was a Camaro.  It was stripped, other than the glass, so I didn't pay too much attention to it.  The cowl's sitting on top of the roof, along with some other metal pieces.  

1965 Pontiac Tempest Behind Some Hoods 

Here's a stripped '65 Tempest.  The rear taillights along with a few radios were sitting inside the trunk, which had long since lost its decklid.  Most of the interior was still present, although it was in rough shape.  I think the red hood leaning up against the car belongs to the Camaro.  The hood behind it might actually be the one that goes with the car.  I think the doors stacked up also go with the Camaro.  

1964-65 Ford Thunderbird

One of several gen 4 T-Birds in the yard.  This one looked to be fairly complete and possible salvageable.  The chrome bumper on the front indicates it to be either a '64 or '65.  The '66s had a horizontal bumper and mesh grille, as opposed to the chrome outlining the grille on the '64s and '65s.  

First Gen Saab 9-3 Convertible

And of course, I had to add the ubiquitous Saab shot.  This battered 9-3 convertible was hanging out near the part of the yard filled with the older cars, so it was no trouble for me to snap a quick pic of it.  David identified this one since I have very little knowledge of Saabs, especially the newer ones.  

David: Yup! It's a first gen Saab 9-3 'Vert, produced from 1999 to 2003. I'm a little sad to see that this one bit the dust, but hopefully it will be used to bring another Saab back to life. 

Ford Mustang II with a '67 Tempest Behind it 

Here's a rather complete (and rather rotted) Mustang II with a '67 Tempest hanging out behind it.  This part of the yard was hard to traverse because of the weeds and debris littering the space in-between cars.  I had to avoid bees, fenders, core supports, busted doors, and plenty of other sharp metal objects when walking between each car.  As a result, I didn't take too many pictures here.  I even forgot to photograph the Tempest.  From the photo, it looks to be only missing the decklid.  I think the quarters and trunk pan were rotted, though.  If you look closely, you can see one of the Mustang taillights in the middle of the foreground to the right of the beige fender.  

Plymouth Volare and a 1964-66 Ford T-Bird

Dodging the yard detritus, I moved further on into the yard.  Here we have a tired Plymouth Volare and another 4th gen T-Bird.  I've expressed my intense dislike for the Valiant's successor previously, so I'll spare you all the details.  The T-Bird looks slightly less complete than the previous one, with the rear bumper missing.  I didn't poke around it too much so I don't know what else was gone.  And no, that's not a real GT350 door on the ground.  As far as I know, the GT350 badging was never applied on the door, being relegated to the fenders instead.  

1964 Pontiac Lemans Sedan 

At this point, I was trying to find a lock linkage and a couple other parts for my car (like a bumper jack).  I decided to check out the 4-door A-bodies in the hopes that some of the parts might interchange.  Here's a very hacked up LeMans sedan.  Someone cut the back end of the car off (frame included) and also stole the front clip.  It's too bad this car had to end up like this because it had an interesting combo of options.  This particular car was ordered with a straight six and AC.  Talk about a weird combo!  I bet the car barely got out of its own way with that installed.  My dad manage to photobomb this shot (he tends to do that alot!).  

VW Karman Ghia on a 4x4 Frame

This was someone's custom creation: a 4x4-swapped Karman Ghia.  I wonder what this thing was like when it was on the road.  Or maybe that's why it ended up in here.  Someone's uncompleted project that got junked.  I don't know if the body of the car was even connected to anything or if it was just placed on the truck frame as a joke.  I didn't really get to photograph the 80s Oldsmobile next to it (the cream-colored car on the left), but it was a victim of rot.  It still wore its tags from '08 when it finally succumbed to the road salt and snow it had been facing all of its life.  

Mid '70s Chevy Monte Carlo

This Monte was next to the Karman Ghia.  It looks to be fairly complete and untouched, but something funky is going on with the roof.  I didn't see it when I took the photo, but it looks like some of the roof skin has rusted through and sunk down.  I don't know what the bumpers on top of the car go to.  

A Bashed 1968 Dodge Coronet and a Doodlebug Ford Model A 

I had to stand on the hood of the Monte to take this shot.  I was initially interested in climbing all the way over the car because I thought the Coronet was a GM product.  However, I stopped when I saw the Coronet script on the quarter panel.  I also found this Model A doodlebug hanging out between the two boats.  I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this rig could be made to run again.  The Model A engines were so simple that repairing them is a fairly simple task.  

1964 Pontiac Tempest/Lemans

Here we have another LeMans (or Tempest, I forget which it was).  This car was less butchered than the blue one seen previously.  The front clip was actually sitting out near the entrance to the yard, and I briefly mistook it for a full car when walking in.  Some of the doors were stuck on this car and I wasn't able to find anything I could use on this car, so I moved on.  

A Shell of a Chevy Nova

Can you believe it?  I came across something other than a stripped A-body shell, a stripped X-body shell!  This one is almost completely cleaned out.  Only the passenger door and the body remains.  It looks like the rear floor pans have even been cut out.  

1970 Chevy Chevelle Malibu

This Chevelle was one of the most complete I'd found in the yard.  It was missing its hood and drivetrain, but the front clip was intact.  I think there's a door missing, but I'm sure you could probably scrounge one up off one of the other cars in the yard.  This car actually might still be salvageable, given enough time and money.  I thought I'd found the T3 headlight I needed to complete the set on my car, but a closer inspection revealed it to be burned out.  

1971 Pontiac LeMans 

I wasn't really able to get up close to this car since the area around it was very overgrown and I didn't want to risk impaling myself on a core support or whatever else could be lurking in the weeds.  It looked to be fairly complete, but the front filler panel is cracked just to the right of the "beak".  At this point, I was beginning to think I'd struck out on parts, since most of the A-body versions of what I needed weren't compatible with my car.  

1969 Chevy Impala 4 Door Sedan w/ 327 from Canada

Moving along to the back of the lot, I noticed a couple more cars shoved way in back behind some late-model vehicles.  The glass and chrome of a sedan shone through the weeds and twisted metal of my surroundings, and I thought there was something oddly familiar about it.  Climbing up on a bend truck frame, I now had a clear view of what I had spotted.  And boy, was I in for a surprise!  "What do you know, there's one here after all!"  I remarked, having found what I determined to be a 1969 Chevy Impala 4-door sedan.  This car was fairly complete and in decent shape (aside from the busted windshield and rotted quarters).  This car had a 327 in it, and it actually came from the GM plant in Canada.  I was able to get the windshield washer reservoir cap, a couple windshield washer hoses, and the throttle return spring off this car.  

1966 Plymouth Belvedere Police Car w/ 383 

The car behind the Impala is also a pretty cool find.  Although it had been whacked in various places, I could still see the faint POLICE outline on the kinked decklid and doors.  The badge on the hood revealed a 383 one lay inside (I didn't open the hood so I have no idea if it was still there).  I was looking at a Plymouth Belvedere police car!  After collecting the parts from the Impala and looking over the Plymouth, I decided to do one last lap around the yard just to see what else was there.  

1970 Mustang Fastback Shell

I came across the shell of this Mustang sportsroof near the Impala.  It was so far gone, it took me a year and another trip to the yard to realize it wasn't the 240Z that I'd previously ID'ed it as (yes, I'm bad with foreign cars).This was just about the end of the older stuff in the yard.  There's a squarebody of some sorts to the left of it, hidden in the trees.  

'60s Ford F-Series Cab

Another one of the classics in the late-model area of the yard.  It looks to be just the cab, judging by the way it's sitting.  The hood is missing which leads me to believe the drivetrain is gone as well (it's definitely gone if the frame is gone).  

Camper Caper

There used to be a 1976 Itasca Seafarer camper that sat on the property behind our house and slowly rotted away.  The thing got to be a real eyesore and was always getting vandalized.  Just this past year, the property sold and the camper was gone.  I joked with my dad before going to the salvage yard that we might find the camper there, since it was the nearest junkyard on the Thomaston peninsula.  Well, I was making my last lap of the yard, when an old camper in the back caught my eye.  "He, that looks like, wait a minute, it IS!" I yelled as I ran forward to confirm it was indeed the same camper.  Sure enough, the back window was shattered just like the one behind our house.  The old Itasca had wound up at Firth's.  Mr. Firth later told me that he had been approached by the seller of the property and asked if he would take the camper.  He said he would as long as they brought it there themselves.  They must have had fun pulling it out and getting it down the narrow dirt road by our house.  

Old Tractors

Here's a few old tractors resting in the back of the yard near the 60s Ford cab.  I don't know too much about tractors, but these look to be fairly complete.  Maybe someone would have a use for them and could put them back to work.  I talked with Mr. Firth a bit before I left, and he was nice enough to give me the hoses and spring I'd taken off the '69 Impala.  He said he had some nicer cars in his barn on the property he wanted to show me the next time I stopped by.  I'm hoping to go in October since he had some health problems that prevented me from visiting when I went back up to Maine in August.  With parts in hand, I retreated back to the cabin (but not before I bought a Haynes bodywork manual for $2 at a book store).