Back in January, Ralf K shared the first batch of his photos from Hidden Valley Auto Parts in Maricopa, AZ. he’s uploaded some more at the Cohort, so let’s go back and poke around some more. This top shot of a bathtub Nash is superb; it looks like it’s about to launch into space. Airflyte!
Both cool and sad.
i second that…………would love that greenbrier.
Very.
I do love that Nash trying to take flyte.
These are very attractive. Don (Ralf K) uses Photoshop very effectively for his work.
Interesting how the nearby tiny Firenza and Triumph Spitfire both make the Fiat 500 look reasonably larger.
I wonder how the Firenza ended up there? A Canadian driving to LA or Vegas broke down in front of the junkyard ages ago?
Wasn’t the Firenza sold here briefly? Or maybe I was reading so many U.K. car magazines in the late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s that I’ve forgotten what I saw in print vs on the road.
The HC range was sold in Canada under the Firenza name from early 1971 to January ’73. In the UK only the coupe used the Firenza name, the saloons and estate were Viva.
They were definitely sold in Canada. Not sure about the US. It is possible it was briefly sold in the US or at least planned. I know when I owned a Triumph Spitfire the (US based) parts interchange listed the Firenza as a source for the carbon canister.
CC effect…I was there yesterday, they wanted $1500 for the Hemi
IMO a better place in southern AZ is Desert Valley Auto Parts in Casa Grande, probably 4 times the size of Hidden Valley
Hey i know it has nothing to do with this article………but i felt the need to share this. i read that the Lincoln continental may be discontinued. That is sad as it is a very beautiful car, You have to see it on the street to really appreciate it’s look. i am a major cadillac fan and loyal to boot, but as i read the article………….i felt like going out and buying one(even looked it up online)It’s not a pretentious car,it’s a luxury car in the pure american sence. it’s not trying to be a BMW or a benz. it truly harkens back to the 1961 Lincoln.
Saw my first of the new Continentals just the other day, black and chrome, still had the dealer plates. Very nice looking car in person, but the fellow driving it was a white haired guy well into his retirement years. That’s possibly a problem eh?
I drove one of the new Continental sedans a few months ago, it is a class act.
So, but I’ve seen several Continentals parked on the street in my neighborhood. Turns out I was right. Nice, but not enough. In person I realized that they look like they could be the next generation Chrysler 300. The door handles on the window base chrome strip are nice – very old school Rolls.
But despite the gloried distant past, unlike a Rolls in 1970 the current Continental has to prove itself now. Ford had turned the name into representing mediocrity over the years since 1961.
The car may be fine but the design does not make a statement. It could have. They could have taken a lot more inspiration from the 1956 Mark II and the 1961 (which did take a lot from the Mark II), and maybe spent some time looking at the original 1940. They could have taken the heritage and worked it into something unique and modern like the 1961 did. But they didn’t.
The rest of Ford designs, although mostly aging at this point, are uniformally very well done. But they didn’t really cut it with the Continental, the one time when they were called on to really reach out and do something.
It is always sad to see those legendary American brands going away but I believe Lincoln as a whole should be discontinued.
It’s kinda sad to see these beautiful machines returning to the Earth. At one point, most of them were someone’s brand new pride and joy, with future memories of honeymoons, bringing a new baby home from the hospital, going to see the Grand Canyon, driving thru the redwood trees or cresting the continental divide flat out in low gear. Then they were demoted to second or even third car after five years or maybe a decade if they were well built and went thru the line on a Wednesday. The teenage son made his own memories then, or had an accident and the car found itself here.
Perhaps they became fodder for hot rodders or demo derbies or were recovered after being stolen. They were flogged and repo’d over and over from those buy-here, pay-here lots with the orange triangle flags flapping in the wind, still having experiences and dreams impressed upon them by those who are not well off enough to be the first or even third owner. Make-do solutions to impending woes like sawdust in the transmission, daily infusions of used oil and oatmeal in the radiator became the norm
Then the last stop here. Maybe they were sold in a fit of pique after that upteenth minor breakdown or to pay an impending bill, or abandoned after a death in the family. Now they help other cars make memories or get their owner to work on time.
Give these cars their due, my friends. They helped make us who we are.
Well written! I often find myself musing similar thoughts when I prowl a self serve junkyard, pondering the hulks that where once someone’s pride and joy.
I could easily make this yard a vacation destination and spend a full day poking about. Probably end up doing something stupid like buying that hemi…
Put the Hemi in that 52 Dodge that was featured here a couple of days ago. Muffle it so it sounds like a six. The ultimate sleeper.
I don’t think I would have the balls to “shut up” a Hemi… that think sounds beautifully…
I don’t think I would have the balls to muffle a Hemi…
Hey! Thats my first motorcycle! Well, if you could call a 90 cc Honda a Motorcycle! Mine was the Trail 90 from likely ’67 ish with the two speed high / low range, lots of fun on a budget!
My first “motorcycle” was a 75cc Honda XL-75. My choice was either a Trail 90 or the XL, I went with the XL since my best friend was riding a XL-125 at the time.
Beautiful photos.
I love the super cub& Datsun 210B.
As a teen, I never thought much about the previous lives/owners of the cars; such considerations can’t escape me today.
Plus, I grew up with Great Lakes salt-rust being what led cars to their demise. My first western boneyard was a revelation; the sun- and wind-burn seeming to be the biggest enemy (such as it is).
With 50s Ford/Chevy trucks feeling like a bit of a cliché today; somehow I wanna give the ’59 Ford a second chance…thanks for sharing!
I don’t see a single Divco milk truck in the bunch, as that’s about the only vehicle that’s missing!
Ahhh, HVAP! I went there about 26 years ago and frolicked happily amongst the desert-dry ’60-’62 Valiants and Lancers (of which there were a great many). Found a ’60 with a chromed factory valve cover, bought that. I have little doubt whatever remains of that same ’60 Valiant is still there.
The Leach Painting and Drywall truck reminds me of numerous hand-signpainted vintage service trucks (TV repair, appliance repair, etc) that used to exist at Svigel’s, the many-generation family-owned new-and-used-parts business outside of Denver, just up the hill from Colorado Auto and Parts (I mentioned Svigel’s passingly in my big CA&P piece here). Svigel’s closed in 2016 or so after 87 years in business, and their new parts got bought by Ray of Old Car Parts Northwest in Renton, WA. Their used parts and 8 acres of old cars? Donno. I hate to guess they’ve all been scrapped by now and condo towers built, but.
Wow! I would love to wander around in there for a day…
Many years ago, while traveling with my cousin through Arizona, I managed to find time to spend about half a day rummaging through this fascinating place. This was back in the day when one could get a pass to look, along with a strict warning not to remove any parts yourself. I was looking for a center emblem for the steering wheel of the Tilt-a-Scope column in my ’66 New Yorker, but quickly realized any that may have been there weathered away long ago. Rummaging through the cars brought about another horror – Bark Scorpions were rampant! For a day or so afterwards, I felt like something was crawling on me…
Oh, can one no longer walk through…?