A couple of years ago, we showed a handful of pictures of this former Route 66 gas station in Hackberry, AZ that Curtis Perry posted at the Cohort. So it looked mighty familiar as we rolled by it on our recent trip. But I saw a bunch of other cars in the back lot, so I pulled a U turn and got out to document them all for you.
This semi-matched pair of ’55 DeSoto and Chrysler are some of the front line main attractions. So let’s start with them.
The desert sun has created a mighty fine case of patinoma on the DeSoto. Terminal, I’m afraid.
A doctor who lived two doors down from us in Iowa City had one of these, and I used to obsess on that Firedome emblem. And I knew what it stood for too (the hemi head).
It’s interior is showing the ravages of time, and mice.
The Chrysler has managed to hang on to a lot more of its paint.
But its interior is even worse.
Reminds me of the old cars that were put out to pasture on the Mennonite farm I used to visit in the summers. I’d brush the loose stuff away and pretend to drive.
Here’s the other star attraction, a ’59 Mercury wagon. This comes from a time when all their wagons were hardtops.
Not wild about the wheels, but otherwise this is the bomb.
JPC pointed out last time the parallel action wipers.
Love that giant windshield. I did a full CC on the ’59 Mercury recently here.
The dash is wild too.
In a shed there was a lovely young women who shared her extensive knowledge of the Ford flathead V8 with me.
Are mannequins just naturally attracted to flatheads?
I walked out to the back lot, where there were some cars stuck in the sand. That’s a fine ’67 Ford Custom 500 Tudor with the optional bright window trim.
This Rambler American is really bogged down. It must be sitting in something of a wash; the desert soil erodes like mad in a heavy rain.
1967, if I’m not mistaken. About the time they offered this stripped 220 two-door for $1999, or something like thta to compete with the VW Beetle.
It’s a pretty eclectic collection back there, including this Suzuki mini-SUV.
Now we’re talking. An International and a Dodge.
I always liked these bug-eye Dodge trucks.
They look more at home here than any of the others.
That doesn’t exactly apply to this Mercedes. I wonder if these were cars that broke down out here, and never got repaired?
It’s a 250 six. Those were a decidedly more fragile than a 220 Diesel, especially in the brutal heat of summer. Overheat and warped the head, maybe?
A couple of old Chevy pickups.
The luxury cars are over back here. We got us a couple of Caddys, a Country squire, and a T-Bird.
The Country Squire’s “wood” has bleached quite thoroughly.
But the “429” badge is still readable.
The Seville bustle back is now a busted back.
I’m not exactly sure what the structure behind the T-Bird is. A missile silo? Bake oven? Sweat lodge?
A Laundau, no less.
This Thunderbird is grounded for good.
The ubiquitous Ford N9, bur sporting wide front tires. Improves the understeer.
A ’62 Rambler Classic, my sentimental favorite.
Nice two-tone paint job.
Back out front, where a Mopar coupe is snuggling up to a prickly pear cactus.
Its flathead six has had its innards exposed to the elements. Think it’ll still turn over?
In that previous post, I guessed this was a Chevy. And I guessed right; a 1928 at that.
The bowtie is missing.
1928 was the last year for the Chevy four, which would be replaced by the first six the next year. As all Chevys did since 1914, this four has overhead valves.
The sheet metal is separating from its wood framing.
I took these shots to clarify how car bodies used to be built, with steel (or aluminum) over wood framing.
It always kills me when I hear about the Morgan “still being built on a wood frame”. Wood body framing, but a steel frame, thank you.
I’m going to let one of you identify this.
Lots of wood in its body too, and a bit worse for the exposure to the elements.
This ’65 Biscayne keeps patrol on the place.
Although Officer Puss was taking a nap at the time.
And here’s the gas station itself. The inside is jammed full of Route 66 Tee shirts, hats and the like.
A rat rod of sorts to attract the tourists.
And on the other side of the garage sits a lone Model A coupe.
Its wood isn’t faring so well either.
Time to hop back in the van and hit the…route 66.
There have to be thousands of such abandoned cars here in the west. Traveler or local, when your car breathes its last, you will never recoup your tow bill to the junkyard with what the junkyard pays you for the heap. Land is cheap and zoning laws are few, so you just leave that car where it sits, in perpetuity.
In “The Grapes of Wrath”, the Joad’s car dies and they purchase a single connecting rod from a junkyard, fit it to their car by the side of the road, and continue on. I suspect most folks abandoned their car instead, and either stuck their thumb out or found a bus to complete their journey.
Thanks for the pictures and wry writeup, Paul. For all of us, it’s the next best thing to being there (record low temps in upper Midwest as I write).
1928 Chevy: Sadly, I had no idea wood understructure persisted that long in assembly-line Detroit cars.
1959 Mercury wagon: that one reaches out to me—how far gone can it be? (Translation: if no body/frame rot, how many thousands would you have to sink into it to make it a driveable, non-concours hobby car?)
Mystery Car: who knows, though the front fender “lip” might prove to be a distinguishing detail.
Hope the van is working out without disappointment—safe travels!
I am amazed that Mercury is still there – it’s an extremely rare car and deserves better. Some of the others are not common either – the Rambler could make a good basis for a sort off S/C replica and the Ford 500 two door is not something you see every day either.
“I’m going to let one of you identify this.”
Looks like a ’34/35 Olds/Buick (this one didn’t have metal top, so it would be pre-36)
Looks like your Promaster photo-bombing the shot of the Desoto. Nice guest appearance! I see design features in that 1955 Chrysler that provided inspiration for the 2005 iteration of the 300. The eggcrate grille is one example.
That Seville is very much the worse for wear.
Nice shots!
Amazing sheetmetal, out in the desert. Twice- and thrice-baked interiors look like they’ve been through a nuclear blast—which they have, all day and every day—but the metal can stay largely intact even after the paint’s a distant memory.
Wow, that Rambler American is amazingly un-rusty. If not for the headlights it looks like you could put some new tires on it and be driving by the next day!
Or maybe I’ve seen too many episodes of Roadkill. I’m impressed that you had time to take these photos with your busy vacation schedule.
My grandma had a 55 Firedome sedan with that very same black and white interior. I spent hours “driving” that car until it went away. A failed starter was the final straw as the car was twelve years old in 1967 – crazy old back then.
Wow, for those of us who live in rust country, that 59 Mercury wagon looks amazing! I would adopt that one and try to find a rusty one as an interior donor. Something that may be easier said than done.
And I still have a thing for the 67 Ford.
The wide whites make that 65 Biscayne a real pussy magnate as our fine feline freind is demonstrating. The curious thing about the 65 Biscayne is the rear fender top chrome strip. Neither the Impala and Bel-Air got this trim, just the bottom of the ladder Biscayne did. Weird.
Fascinating! Reminds me of Seligman – the businesses loaded with Route 66 paraphernalia, the old cars parked in front of said businesses, the other old cars tucked off in the grass. There must be a lot of historic Route 66 towns like this and they’re a treat to explore when you wander off the interstate.
The presence of an exposed lower mounting bolt on the front hood dogleg and an ‘I-beam’ style front axle pins the Ford tractor down as a 1942-44 model 2N. Although, given interchangeability across years, it could be a mutt and might actually be a 9N. The hat-style rear wheels eliminate it being an 8N.
The decay on some of these is a little depressing, but at least it’s happening in slow motion given the environment.
So are people still LIVING there? Or is it all abandoned?
After looking at the old cars, the white van looks like a space ship that had landed in their midst.
Thank you for the cat picture.
I owned a L model Inter the smaller AL110 Aussie built with split windscreen, nice to see another, Chev four had exposed pushrods on the other side of the block, most of the sheetmetal on these cars is remarkably intact desert air I guess.
Is that a tachometer on the dash of the DeSoto ? If so, it’s either a rare option, or maybe it was added by the owner. Probably worth a few bucks.
If you mean that pod in the center, my memory says that it was the clock.
The pod was a an optional extra cost clock. My Father’s 1955 Firedome, the cheaper series, 2 dr HT did not have one. It may have been standard in the upmarket Fireflight.