Spokane Salvage: 200 Cars For Sale
Here is another fantastic junkyard find sent to us by reader Olaf E. The ad is posted here on craigslist in Las Vegas, Nevada, maybe to reach a bigger audience, but this collection of old cars for sale is actually located in Spokane, Washington.
Old style salvage yards that feature the wide variety of old cars we used to see in every town seem to be disappearing at a rapid rate. Suburbanization, property taxes, zoning laws, environmental regulations, and the aging out of junkyard owners all combine to make it more difficult for scrap and salvage yards to stay in business anymore. And for every old collection of tin being auctioned off to anxious collectors and restorers, vast numbers of cars have been crushed over the years instead of being saved for parts or rebuilding.
So it is great to see ads like this one, with a wide array of cars, especially one located in the high desert of inland Washington state, where cars don’t rust away as they do when left outside as these have been.
The seller says he has “many classic cars and trucks that have been stored away but outside away from the public for many yrs.”
This yard includes cars and trucks of a variety of makes and models, some very desirable. It looks like most are from the fifties and sixties, but there are a few older and a some newer cars and trucks as well. The seller says that many are rust free, most being projects, which means they were sent to salvage for a reason, but many are also said to be “complete and intact cars.”
Visiting this yard would be a lot of fun for any gear head. We’ve likely all got fantasies of finding that special rare car to restore and rebuild, or else maybe those elusive parts needed to finish a car we’ve been working on for years.
Salvage yards like this one can be goldmines for parts cars and builders. Just about every picture shown in the ad is of convertibles, station wagons and two door cars. And then there is this massive ’62 Cadillac limo….
While so many old salvage collections consist mainly of pedestrian four door sedans, this one definitely has some interesting cars. In the background of every photo in the ad you can see even more cool finds. It’s an enjoyable challenge to identify them from rooflines and other clues.
200 cars is a lot of metal. With so many cars, it’s like a candy store for car freaks.
Nice (first year?) Dodge Charger, is this rebuildable?
Do you see something you like here? The seller provides phone numbers to call, so you can find out what else they have. As the seller suggests, these photos are just a sample of what is there.
A street rodded Chevy Apache pickup. 1955? Hood gone, motor might be gone too.
’67 Tempest convertible with the 326 engine, another ’60s convertible next to it and is that an Oldsmobile hood on top of it?
There are many more, including this ’53 Chevy wagon and a bunch of other desirable old wagons.
A ’58 Ford two door. I can’t quite make out what is next to it (mid-sixties GM A-body, I think, but what make?). The convertible on the far left looks like it might be a later Corvair.
A ’56 Ford pickup in less than stellar condition, with another one next to it and rows of interesting cars in the background. That guy could be one of us, stunned by the number of cars he is looking at.
1959 Ford convertible. Behind it maybe a ’62 Chevy?
I think is a ’57 Chevy, possibly a 3/4 ton. Is that a T-bird next to it?
Another ’59 Ford, with maybe a ’62 next to it and a ’59 Chevy behind it, and still more cars in that row that look worthwhile.
A bullet nose Studebaker (1951?), Fairlane behind, and a nice F-100 back there too in the row before the school buses. But what is that mystery two door to its left (our right)? If any Barn Finds readers are near enough to Spokane to make the trip, please bring a camera and let us know what you find there. Maybe we could pool our resources and buy the whole lot. Crazier ideas have been floated. This really does look like a great collection of old iron, doesn’t it?
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Comments
Great place to spend an afternoon even if you can’t buy one right now.
Where exactly is it? I’m a young guy that loves classic cars, and also lives in Spokane. I haven’t seen It.
In the background to the left of the pic of the Cutlass looks to be a Vista Cruiser , I too could spend an afternoon or longer just looking at these vehicles the vista, late 60s early 70s ?? Buicks counterpart? .. wouldn’t turn that Cutlass away either.. also that 58 Ford
That’s clearly a T-Bird behind the Cadillac limo!
Give it up Jeff. You can’t tell the difference between a big block and small block MOPAR, just like you can’t see that the hood to that 55 Chevy truck is is laying upside-down in the bed. Some of your posts are getting ridiculous.
Charlie:
Huh? First of all, Jeff did not write this post, I did. Second of all, I have never said anything about Mopar engines.
And that hood in the back of the 55 Chevy might be from that truck, but if it is, does that warrant calling this post “ridiculous”? I’m usually very grateful when people point out errors in my posts. In fact I love hearing from people who know more about the cars I write about than I do.
I just don’t get the point or need for gratuitous insults about this or any other post. We’re just trying to have some fun here. Constructive criticism is always welcome. Whatever I might have done to make you dislike my writing, I apologize and will try to do better in the future.
David (not Jeff, he can speak for himself).
Maybe you would like to start writing up all the MOPARS for us Charlie? As you just proved, it’s easy to get things mixed up sometimes.
It’s okay, Charlie can’t see that the orange Chevy truck is a 59, not a 55, and whatever is in the bed isn’t a 59 (or 55) Chevy truck hood. Doesn’t even look like a hood to me.
HEY! CharlieG,
I hope you’re kidding with Jeff. If not, CHILL out bud.
The “Mystery” 2 dr looks like a ’49 Stude
If you could relocate this yard to Cuba, you would certainly have customers lined up out the door. Now, the question is: do those customers have any money to spend on auto parts? Just askin’…once again, just questions and no answers.
I wonder how many people have noticed such a large contingent of Eastern Washington posts on Barn Finds. Something about that state has a lot of old cars getting posted here.
Having been born and raised in eastern Washington and Northern Idaho…..this type yard is not unusual. I bought my 1955 Porsche Speedster out of one for 100.00 30 some years ago. My brother still owns and operates my dads shop in Spokane. Cars hold up well, little rust compared with other regions. The best high quality old cars came from Montana, it seems there was a lot of money around from mining in the 30’s and the guys bought great cars?
It’s cause there’s a lot there. The high dry arid climate is kind to old tin.
Most of Oregon but especially the eastern, central and southern parts are very dry and arid, Plus we do NOT use salt on the roads. Washington anything East of the Mt Range is all good, and most of Idaho and Nevada are also treasure finding paradises.. Just be careful where you stick your hands. Spiders, snakes and Wasps all will make your visit unpleasant.
Used to be a lot more yards like this around. When I was stationed in Idaho (Mt Home AFB) there was multiple yards like this within 60 miles of the base. (I can think of 9 yards, probably more) that all had a section or predominant amount of early iron and that was in the mid 1980s.
Some interesting finds there. A lot of this stuff shows up at the Portland Swap meet or the collectors have big displays about what they have back home. Pictures and descriptions. That swap is in April and usually 5000 booths making it one of the largest if not THE largest in the western US. We see overseas collectors show up and ship stuff out via containers.
The no salt thing is huge…….and I have crawled under more than one parts car only to be face to face with a rattle snake……….I also think we like our old cars. We still see a lot more of them on the street being used every day than in places like California. My brother services many classics for his Spokane customers.
Just remember that Spokane is not arid desert. There is the Palouse Prairie between there and the Channeled Scablands, which is arid desert. South of Spokane it drops down to desert again.
It abuts North Idaho where the mountains catch the clouds and dump tons of rain and snow, and they do use salt up here (magnesium chloride solution).
This area is unlike southern Idaho where, Mountain Home, is and southeast Wash.
I live east of Couer d’Alene in the Silver Valley and of course it is much wetter than Eastern Wash.
That being said I will try to find the location of this yard and see if I can get pictures.
Well, I have driven thru there many times and looks pretty “Deserty” to me. But I get your point. But its generally dry most of the year enough that stuff lasts out there pretty well.
I know a few people who are in the Spokane area, One of which lost his shop and many vehicles due to a range fire that turned his stuff to crispy ash.
That Silver valley is interesting. I tried going skiing at that ski area there. Worlds longest Gondola ride?? But they closed early for the season. Didint know about the salt, but I suppose with the passes especially that might be true. But still,,,,,,,,,, a lot more old iron out that way than in the rest of the country.
I NEED NEED NEED a passenger door for 1937 Pontiac coupe, hard to find, and others dont fit, (Chevy) but ill even take one that is roughly the same and I can modify it. Rat rod. Dont care too much about condition. I can send you pix and dimensions.
Call Jerry Turner near Fresno…….he will have your door. (Turners Wrecking yard)
Silver Valley is a fancy name for the Kellog-Wallace area. It is a uneque region. There was a huge accident underground in a hard rock mine that killed a lot of miners while I was in Highschool in Spokane…….and they only closed the bordelos in Wallace maby 20 years ago now. Kellog is surrounded by mountains of slag produced by the refining of ore.Kellog union members blew up an Idaho Governor for not living up to an agreement he had made with them.
The Silver Valley was named that because it is the largest silver deposit in North America. When I moved up here 25 years ago they had already mined over 1 billion ounces of silver. The Sunshine mine where 82 miners died, produced more silver than the entire Comstock lode by itself. There is still as much silver underground as has been mined, it’s just getting harder to find.
The Lucky Friday mine just completed a shaft down to 9,700 feet to a pocket that is expected to go another 20 years.
I worked at Silver Mountain ski area for a while. Started out as a liftie, progressed to lift maintenance in the summer and was the snowmaking/grooming supervisor until I left. There have been some real weird snow years up here. Open late close early, or those monster years when we get close to 300 inches.
Ya pays yer money and wait for the snow.
Yes, the FBI came in 1991. Shut down the houses and the gambling. Place was pretty wide open for a long time.
Hey Charlie, look at the pictures and SHUT UP! Critic yourself on your knowledge and find out your are more wrong than correct!
Whats the matter Ron??? Too much coffee??? Try Sanka!
See: http://boingboing.net/2010/09/04/abusive-parenting-br.html
“Sanka: because your old man beats you when he’s got the jitters.”
Or See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLLTkwAJPXA
Im one of the people in charge of selling off these 200 classic cars and trucks, If anyone likes something they see, Please call for more info 509-374-1688 Or you can call or text 509-460-3592
Ive also set up a little website and have tried to upload many of the cars goin up for sale on there, You can see pics hear http://photobucket.com/collectorcars
You have a great yard, Kenny, and so many terrific cars, and there are some very cool photos on your Photobucket. Can you give us an idea of the kind of prices you are asking for these cars? Many of us are interested but far away from your location.
Thanks – David
hello david, best way is to give us a call and we can get you some prices, each car varies but we have some great deals and stuff is moving please call for more info 509-374-1688 or call or text 509-460-3592 thanks
Hi…… .great pictures KENNY — like the Blue Corvette and the Blue Riviera
Is it still there? I live in Spokane, but never seen a place like this. I think if I can I’ll take a bus right on over there and explore myself. That depends on where in Spokane it is and if it’s still there.