Tag: Junkyard

Hidden Treasure: 1987 Subaru GL 4WD Wagon with 324k Miles in Junkyard

When I’m walking the rows of a car graveyard in search of historically significant subjects for this series, a Toyota or Honda needs at least 400,000 miles showing on the odometer for me to consider photographing it based on final mileage alone; discarded Accords and Previas with better than 300k miles are a dime a…

Hidden Treasure: Classic 1972 Saab 96 in the Junkyard

Scandinavian invaders conquered much of northern England over a thousand years ago, and the Danes came to rule the old Roman city they called Jórvík. The Danelaw is a thing of the past, but during my visit to that city (now known as York) a couple of months ago, I stumbled upon some ancient Scandinavian…

1986 Dodge Ram 50: Unearthed Treasure in the Junkyard

When GM replaced the Isuzu Faster with the S-10 in 1982, the trend of badge-engineered trucks continued. Ford sold Mazda Proceeds with Courier badges until the Ranger replaced it in 1983. Meanwhile, Chrysler turned Omnirizons into trucks by adding truck beds. Since they couldn’t develop their own rear-wheel-drive small pickup, Dodge-badged Mitsubishi Forte pickups were…

Hidden Treasure: 2003 Subaru Baja in the Junkyard

When writing about the 2003 Baja, our reviewer asked, “Remember the Subaru BRAT?” Yes, from the 1978 through 1987 model years, Subaru sold a version of the Leone with a pickup bed in the United States. Memories of the BRAT remained fond even after all the lawsuits over injuries suffered by passengers riding in the…

Hidden Treasure: 1995 Jaguar XJR in the Junkyard

It’s not too difficult to find discarded examples of the supercharged-V8-powered Jaguar XJR of the X308 generation, but the earlier X300-based XJR with its blown straight-six is a much more elusive Junkyard Gem. Here’s one that just turned up in a Denver self-service knacker’s yard. For many years, the Denver Pick Your Part was a…

Junkyard Gem: 2012 Volvo C30 T5 with 6-speed manual

Every year, fewer new vehicles are available in the United States with manual transmissions (though the ancient five-on-the-floor still exists… for now). American Volvo buyers preferred three-pedal setups in their cars later than some, though even they had mostly fallen out of love with manuals by the time the 1990s dawned. Still, some stubborn holdouts…