This was truly a sad day at a Pick-A-Part near my friend Tom's place in Riverside, CA.

He was there while Pick-A-Part took out a full row of cars and crushed them. Now there will be a new row of old cars comming out.

It's hard to look at these pictures of this Olds comming to it's end. These are rust free California cars!

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Pick-A-Part Auto Dismantling, Inc.

Starting Friday, June 17, 2011 (at Ontario PAP) the following classic vehicles will be available for parts:
68 Chevrolet Impala
63 Ford Thunderbird
65 Ford Mustang
67 Ford Ranchero
73 Ford Torino
54 Hillman Minx
71 MG B
70 Oldsmobile Cutlass
62 Pontiac Tempest
69 Triumph Spitfire
74 Triumph
67 VW Beetle
...plus 2 more
Click here for more details and disclaimer: http://www.pickapartauto.com/oldcp/index.html

Pick-A-Part Auto Dismantling, Inc.
www.pickapartauto.com
Largest Self Serve Yards in Southern California, Over 1500 vehicles, 2025 S Milliken Ave Ontario Ca, 91761 (909)390-5270

F.Y.I.

Jaybird

 

The 4 door is not an Oldsmobile. Its a mid 70s Ford.

 

Yeah but it's ok. They will just make more classic cars. It works out for all of us!

 

I could not do that job of loading those cars in the crusher, or being the one to push the "crush" button.

 

What bothers me most about these u-pull-it yards is the way the move cars around. In the process damaging most body parts.

The workers don't make much and just want to get the job done.

 

That, and the fact that they don't really have any sales, or great deals.
Just a set price list.
How much for the rear end for the one in the middle row?....$250.
How much for the rear end in the one about to be crushed today?....$250.
I also hate it when I find all of the driveshafts still underneath the vehicles folded like tacos.
Pull em, mark em, and toss em in a pile. Not hard.

 

Are you saying a mid 70s 4 door LTD or Marquis is a classic car?

 

What we wouldnt give up here in the northeast for clean metal even a shell and a frame....and they just crush it!

 

Or here in the midwest....!

Everything has rusted away. I think the oldest car I saw at the local PaP was an 80's Camaro....or maybe a late 70's pickup truck ....and both were really ratty....

 

Those cars were not worth the space they took up, and that is why they were crushed. Expecting a salvage yard to treat these cars gently, or to preserve them for the eventual guy who will buy them whole (sure, in the year 2525) is kinda silly. No crime against humanity has occurred. The world will go on.

 

X2.

we do this as a love and a hobby. What they do is a business.

 

Well... It bums me out, seeing good sheet metal being scraped. If they had more land, would they keep the cars for a longer period of time?

jaybird

 

I dunno. I'm on the fence about these things.

Everyone always thinks about these cars in a perspective of "SOMEBODY" could have saved it, or used it to save another one. Well we're ALL somebody and could step up and put the cash on the counter. But if saving a junkyard 74 Marquis isn't your cup of tea, why should it be anyone elses? Now if they're crushing Deloreans while a line of Back to the Future fanboys are outside the yard fence waving wads of $100 bills, that's another story.

The other side of me recognizes that they're never going to make another 74 Marquis or 68 Delta, and in that regard I'm sympathetic to the emotions people are expressing here. But in the end, economics trump feelings.

 

But, but, I thought they were making classics today? You know, like the Camaro and the Challenger. Instant classics as soon as they roll off the assembly line. Bah!

 

Yes... Instant Classics! My friend from work just dropped $52,000.00 plus tax on a new Dodge Challenger SRT8 392. It is one fine car! It has a numbered dash plaque numbered 1 to 392 in Canada. His is something like #306.
I hope for his sake the car keeps it's value.

How many classic Oldsmobiles could we purchase with $52,000.00?

Hmmm... The possibilities!!!

Jaybird

 

I found a 1972 Hurst convertible in that same pick a part 20 years ago. They wouldn't sell me the whole car and finally crushed it after putting it out for parts. I bought what I could off the car. Had an engine fire and needed a new hood, inner fenders and fenders. I have a picture I took of it out for parts. That was sad.

Lee

 

The wrecking yards have bills to pay and paychecks to write, the price for scrap metal is at an all time high - over here people are ripping up live third rails from railroads for the scrap copper - thats why the yards are sending the cars to the crusher.
If all cars were saved the auto industry would collapse, business is business.....

 

I "pushed" the button many times, actually pulled a hydraulic lever.

In the late 70's I worked for two different wrecking yards while going to school. The first one was into scrapping more than parts. We would crush 40's 50's and 60's cars every day. Ever seen what a 55 Belaire looks like after it comes out of the crusher? The guy who owned this yard crushed most of his yard when scrap iron was up in 77 or 78 pulling parts was out of the question. We would also go out to farms and he would buy up all the old machinery and cut and crush old tractors, combines, pick ups, grain trucks etc.... as a 19 year old kid it was kind of fun.

The second yard was parts oriented, but when scrap was up the crusher went into action, 50's and 60's cars were the main crush target.

 

The cars at Ontario were mostly picked clean on the 19th of June but was the most pre 75 cars i have seen at any pick a part yard. The 60 something jag mk II was almost a project car.

 

i guess i have seen this in CA. i remember this the place where me and me went to look for some parts that might can still be used.

 

I found a 85Delta 88 at my local u pull it and I pulled the rear bumper. Went home, made a list, went back 3 days later and the car was gone!!!!!

After I pulled the bumper, I guess they made enough money on the car. The header panel was gone and I took the bumper. The car still had the carb on it

 

I visit wrecking yards all the time and see countless cars destroyed. Many cars are in such sad shape that there isnt too much left that is good. What bothers me is the number of cars that could have been saved, but I guess that is all part of consumerism. Most are there for lack of maintenance on the part of their owners. As a society, we go and buy a car, drive it to death with little maintenance. Then when something goes wrong, we trash it and go into debt to buy another one. Money spent on maintenaance is so much cheaper than another vehicle. Many people go into debt, trash the car way too soon and then go into debt all over again. The cycle never ends.


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So many Oldsmobiles to rescue, so little time!

 

Please remember any car made after 1975 is considered to be not worth salvage in california due to the smog regs. The car folks here are either into tuning the newer cars or moding the older ones just the way it is in this place.

 

Good, rust free fenders for a '68 B-body are hard to come by. There went 2 on that Delmont, plus many other good parts. Can't save em all, I guess. I have actually had to buy 2 parts cars for my '68 convertible that I'm building, one was a 55K mile original with the motor missing. It actually stressed me out to pull that one apart, even though it was a 4-door Delta 88! I hate to see any saveable special interest older vehicle scrapped!

 

I dont get this at all. Not the car crushing portion, that i dont get either but thats another rant. Is the pick-a-part in indy the only REALLY LAME pick-a-part in existance? Ive been there a few times and the oldest ive ever seen is like 86', unless its a truck and then its like 78' and its totally stripped to the bone. It seems like i always read online about how "these 455 motors are getting harder to find in junkyards" and "A-body parts are starting to thin out at pic-a-part" ive never seen anything like this lol, Indy must be seriously lame :/

 

Hi Olds Fans: Since I first posted this, there have been many, many 50'5, 60's and 70's cars parts made available to car restorers and part finders at this particular Pick-A-Part. My Californian old car buddy Tom H. has sent me many pictures of the available vehicles. Sometimes, it has been heart wrenching to see some Oldsmobiles being sent to the crusher.

This place brings out new cars weekly.

Pro... At least they sell parts from the cars, before they hit the crusher.

Con... Too bad they won't sell the whole car.

Oh to live in, "Sunny Southern California!"

Jaybird

 

The u-pull yards here in the Phoenix area are far and few between for 60's & 70's cars, 80's cars are considered old, there are a few but not many, and once they hit the ground they can not be bought. And what few 60-70's cars do land they get stripped quick. I believe the life cycle in the big u-pulls is around 2 weeks. Most of the u-pulls will screen the cars coming in and sell whole a select few that are fairly complete but it is a hassle and you end up with a salvage title, and for the most part are a bit on the spendy side.

A friend of mine bought a complete running and decent condition 63 GMC shortbed PU for around $2000 (VERY LUCKY FIND) and it took 4 months to get a title and possession after paying up front. Some of the decent vehicles are donation cars to non-profits who sell to Ecology auto parts and Arizona auto parts to name a few. We figure the GMC was some guy that died and the truck was donated, had registrations back to the late 60's in the glove box. Price of scrap will keep munching up cars, no matter what they are.

Oh and by the way my 64 F-85 wagon, I drove out of a Phoenix boneyard in 1997 for the sum of $350.00 just hours before an appointment with "da crusha".