The crack staff at Cars & Parts magazine takes the reader on a whirlwind tour of the nation's best salvage yards. Uncover the rare automotive treasures that are available any enthusiast with a few bucks in their pocket and a couple of hours to kill -- all without even getting mud on your shoes. Included are photographs from salvage yards that have never before been open to the general public.
The material appeal of the automobile junkyard goes beyond the search for second-hand parts. What happens to automobiles after they are retired but before they are processed as scrap? In this fascinating history, David N. Lucsko takes readers on a tour of salvage yards and wrecked or otherwise out-of-service cars in the United States from the point of view of gearheads—the hot rodders, restoration hobbyists, street rodders, and classic car devotees who reuse, repurpose, and restore junked cars. Junkyards, Gearheads, and Rust is a nuanced exploration of the business of dismantling wrecks and selling second-hand parts. It examines the reinterpretation of these cars and parts by artists as well as their restoration by enthusiasts. It also surveys the origin and evolution of gearhead-oriented yards that specialize in specific types of automobiles; dissects the material and emotional appeal of the salvage yard and its contents among enthusiasts; and examines how zoning and nuisance ordinances have affected both salvage businesses and hobbyists. Lucsko concludes with an analysis of efforts during the last twenty-five years to hasten vehicular obsolescence at the expense of salvage yards, mechanics, and enthusiasts. By examining how cars are salvaged, repurposed, and restored, this book demonstrates that the history of the automobile is much more than a running catalog of showroom novelties.
Junkyard offers the only known photographic documentation of car collector Rudi Klein’s famed stockpile of distraught—but rare and valuable—vehicles from Porsche, Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Maserati, and more. In 1967, Rudi Klein began quietly buying up wrecked, damaged, and worn-out high-end European cars under the business moniker “Foreign Auto Wrecking.” Over time, he amassed a stunning collection of treasures. Among the stash is a one-of-one 1935 Mercedes-Benz 500K built for pre-war Mercedes racer Rudolf Caracciola. No one is precisely sure what other prizes rest behind the yard’s not-open-to-the-public gates. Some 20 years ago, and after much negotiation, photographer Dieter Rebmann and author Roland Lowisch were permitted rare entrée to the salvage yard’s grounds to document its residents.This record of Klein’s collection is nothing short of amazing for any classic and collector car enthusiast. Sadly, Rudi passed away in 2001, but the collection remains under the care of his sons, who operate it as elusively as their father, maintaining its decades-long air of mystery and desirability.
Abandoned junk to some, the rusty old steel shells of vehicles are treasures to others, holding memories of a bygone era, or the promise of a pristinely restored, radically customized automobile. Automotive photographer Will Shiers has captured these dreams on film for over ten years, and this volume collects his images between two covers for the first time. Here are the beautiful husks Shiers has found in the United States fields and barns, shops, and salvage yards across States. Divided into five categories—General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, Independents, and Special Vehicles—these wrecks and relics from 1910 to the 1970s come equipped with all the relevant information: history, model, location. The most comprehensive and beautifully photographed collection of abandoned cars ever published, this volume preserves for all time the exquisite skeletons of American automotive might.
Can you tell which water pump is for pre-1969 applications? Does the complete casting number always appear on all crankshafts? Answers to these questions and many more fill this complete guide to all 1955-93 Chevy V-8s. Coverage includes blocks, heads, crankshafts, intake and exhaust manifolds, carburetors, fuel pumps, water pumps, generator/alternators, and EGR valves.
Enjoy your treasured collections, favorite items, and must-have finds with the help of enchanting full-color photographs, creative tips, display ideas, and plenty of projects. Create crackle and distressed finishes to "age" furniture. Use an old chair as a display stand for a special object. Artfully arrange a collection of interesting bottles. Wrap a small gift in a lovely vintage handkerchief. Recycle broken pieces of treasured china into a china-shard mosaic table. Embellish a basket to make an eye-catching centerpiece, or update a lamp with a fabric cover. An empty portrait frame can become a unique corkboard, and an old fireplace screen gets a new life with a stenciled design. You'll love decorating your home with these inexpensive, easy, and fun schemes and suggestions!
