More Junkyard Discoveries from Ron’s Auto Salvage in Allison, Iowa

From the roadside it looks like a very ordinary residential property, but what you can’t see from the front is the Aladdin’s Cave of automotive treasures behind the house. Back there are a maze of tracks through the woodland, where you’ll find hundreds of rare automotive treasures. Join us as we explore some of these unbeaten paths.

The Ford Motor Company is by far the most dominant brand at Ron’s Auto Salvage, whether that be Ford, Mercury, Lincoln, or Edsel. Here’s a Ford Falcon, the blue oval’s first compact, and its attempt to compete with the growing number of fuel-efficient European and Japanese imports.

It was launched in 1959 for the 1960 model year and ran through to 1970. Check out the makeshift repair a previous owner made on the rotten rear fender.

Whereas previously the Monterey had been Mercury’s entry-level sedan, in 1961 both the Park Lane and Montclair were discontinued, immediately elevating it to flagship status.

These early 1960s cars were Mercury’s equivalent of the Ford Galaxie, and were longer, shorter, and lighter than their predecessors. This 1961 four-door sedan still has a lot going for it.

After about 10 years vinyl roofs start to look a bit tatty, but after five decades they look like this. While interiors have a considerably longer shelf life, that isn’t the case when they’re left open to the elements. Look how this 1971 Lincoln Continental’s driver’s seat and door cards have been ravished over the years.

Only 8205 of these luxury two-door hardtop coupes were built, and it’s rare to see a survivor in a salvage yard.

The 1959 Ranger four-door sedan was easily the best-selling Edsel model of all time, but we’re still only talking about 14,063 units. In contrast, slowest out of the showroom was the 1960 Ranger convertible, which attracted just 76 buyers.

This one appears to be relatively intact, so if you’re after parts, get in touch with Ron’s Auto Salvage.

Ford is well represented in this yard by commercial vehicles too, and this colorful F250 certainly grabbed our attention. These sixth generation (1972 to 1979) trucks have a decent following, but not enough of one to make this a viable project. It does however have a few useful parts on it. This grille was introduced in 1973 and remained unchanged for three years.

When was the last time you saw a Pontiac Phoenix on the road? They weren’t strong sellers back in the day, and most have long since been crushed. This is a first-generation car (1977 to 1979), likely a 1978 two-door coupe. 

Whereas this was based on a Chevrolet Nova, the second generation of Phoenix was a rebadged Chevrolet Citation.

Toyota Land Cruisers have a reputation for indestructibility, and we would like to bet that a new battery and some fluids is all it would take for this one to burst back into life.

It’s a 1980s FJ60 and is still in pretty good shape. There’s certainly a lot less rust on it than some of the other similarly aged residents anyway.

The third-generation Pontiac Firebird (1982 to 1992) is widely considered to be the least desirable of the bunch. They don’t command overly high values, and cars like this still regularly end up in junkyards.

Without doubt the best-known example was KITT, the 1982 Firebird Trans Am that starred alongside David Hasselhoff in the NBC TV show Knight Rider.

1970s Trans Ams looked great, but unfortunately didn’t have the performance to match their appearance. The cars were strangled by pollution regulations, and even the most powerful 6.6-liter V8 only mustered up 200hp. However, the car’s popularity was boosted by its starring role in Smokey & the Bandit.

Burt Reynolds drove a 1977 version in the classic movie, which is around the same time that this one rolled off the line.

Here's another car with some silver screen pedigree. It’s a 1966 Ford Thunderbird – the tin-top version of the car that starred in the 1991 movie Thelma and Louise. However, unlike the car in the movie, which got to fly in its  famous final scene, this one has had its wings clipped.

Of the fourth generation (1964 to 1966) Thunderbirds, 1966 was the worst year from a sales perspective, with 69,176 finding buyers.

Many thousands of 1975 and 1976 Ford Gran Torino coupes were painted red, and given a white stripe, to replicate the automotive star of Starsky & Hutch. Had it not been a Brougham two-door hardtop, this one may have undergone a similar transformation and survived.

The downsized Mustang II was met with a mixed reception at its 1974 launch. But despite the lack of a V8 option, it still sold incredibly well. In fact, with 386,000 sales, 1976 would end up being the model’s fourth best year ever.

During the five years it was in production (1974 to 1978), these second-generation cars notched-up a total of 1.1 million sales.

Ignoring the different grille, taillights, hood, and badges, the fifth generation Comet was for all intents and purposes a Ford Maverick. However, a big difference related to its popularity, with the Ford consistently outselling the Mercury by around four-to-one. This two-door sedan has some serious corrosion issues.

In production between 1970 and 1976, the Plymouth Duster was basically a Valiant two-door coupe. In fact, it even wore Valiant badges during the first year it was marketed, before becoming a standalone model from 1971. It would eventually be replaced by the Plymouth Volare.

Why did someone go to the effort of removing this 1954 Mercury Monterey’s trunk lid, only to leave it here? While rough around the edges, the car appears to be 100% complete.

At this early stage in the model’s 22-year history, the Monterey was Mercury’s top-of-the-range offering. Consequently, this one would have had a plethora of luxuries bestowed on it, including full carpet and an electric clock.

This Chevrolet Corvair’s ragtop roof is in tatters, reflecting the dismal state of its interior. When it was launched in 1960, the Corvair defied convention with its unique design, boasting an air-cooled rear-mounted engine and independent suspension all around.

By the end of its production in 1969, a staggering 1.8 million units had been manufactured.

If you’re going to write a book about the world’s worst cars, it’s almost obligatory to include an AMC Gremlin. What’s more, you’ll likely use a brown one to illustrate it.

One of many reasons why the car gets such a bad reputation, is because it was billed a sub-compact import-buster, but it wasn’t. Essentially a shortened Hornet, it suffered from being excessively wide, fuel-inefficient, and overly pricey. Despite an initial surge in sales, disillusioned buyers soon sought alternatives.

This is how to do a cheap sub-compact properly. During its incredibly long production run (1938 to 2003) some 21.5 million original Beetles were sold, with roughly a quarter of them ending up in the US. Of course, the car made a successful return in the late 1990s, and survived for 21 years, the last one rolling off the line in 2019.

Early 1980s Buick Regals aren’t exactly favorites with classic car enthusiasts resulting in a limited following and low survival rates. Not helping this car’s prospects is the fact that it’s as rotten as a pear. 

The Regal featured in Buick’s line-up from 1973 to 2004, and then again from 2011 to 2020. But it’s still alive and well in China today.

There might not be much left of it, but what little remains is easily identified as a Chevrolet Corvette C3 Stingray. The C3 was in production from 1968 to 1982, and we’re going to guess that this is an early 1970s example. The model’s best year was 1979, when 53,807 were sold.

This Buick Riviera must have sat in the same spot for a long time to have sunk up to its axles. Those large side marker lights identify it as a 1968 model, as they shrank the following year. Close to 50,000 of these were sold, which was a new record for Buick’s personal luxury car. The following year sales would rise to 52,872, a record that wouldn’t be beaten until the mid-1980s.

Exploring places like Bob's Auto Salvage offers more than just a treasure trove of vintage cars; it's the stunning backdrop that turns car photography into a true delight. Considering its woodland location, this 1959 Ford is in remarkably good condition, and you can still see your reflection in the sparkling chrome bumper.

Every so often Ron’s Auto Salvage has a cull, clearing out some of the more modern inventory, and a few of the classics that have next to no useful parts left on them. This pile of automotive has-beens doesn’t have a bright future, and by the time you read this, may well have already been crushed and transformed into new kitchen appliances.

Arguably the most interesting vehicle here is the original Plymouth Voyager. Incredibly, Chrysler’s minivan celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2024.

Wouldn’t it be great to know the back story to some of these cars? How long were they on the road, where did they travel, how many owners did they have, and why did they end up in this place? Imagine the original owner of this 1965 Ford, if alive, discovering it still exists six decades later.

Mercedes-Benz manufactured 126,148 of these W115 240D sedans between 1973 and 1976. They were stylish, economical, and relatively luxurious, but with a four-cylinder diesel engine under the hood, they weren’t particularly quick. With your foot planted firmly on the gas pedal, reaching 60mph would take more than 20sec.

Unlike the bulk of the Ron’s Auto Salvage’s cars, which are parked in the woods, this 1954 Ford is one of several cars located in a field at the edge of the property. They see some sunshine, so aren’t permanently damp, and are more likely to have some rot-free body panels.

In 1954, Ford clinched the top sales spot by a narrow margin, outselling Chevrolet by just 22,381 units, a feat it hadn't accomplished since 1949.

The 1958 Oldsmobile 88 earned the moniker 'Chromemobile' due to its abundant brightwork. This one retains most of its chrome, although that grille has seen better days. It doesn’t have a layer of foliage above it, which explains why the brightwork is still gleaming and the bodywork remains in relatively sound condition.

This 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 certainly stands out against the green backdrop. The car appears to have left the factory in white, having received a substandard respray at some point in its life. We’ll never know if it was originally finished in Wimbledon White, Pace Car White, or Colonial White, or why a previous owner decided to make the switch to red.

There are plenty of decent rust-free parts left on this Buick. It appears to be a 1967 Skylark sport coupe, one of 41,000 of this body style built that year. The car was fitted with a 4.9-liter V8 as standard, which would have taken it to 60mph in 10.5sec. However, there’s a big V8-shaped hole under this example’s hood.

The leaves and moss are accumulating around this 1977 Lincoln Continental Town Coupe ’s once-hidden headlights. It’s the same elsewhere on the car, and it won’t do it any favors in the long run.

New for 1977 was a narrower, more upright chrome grille, with just a hint of Rolls-Royce about it. Incidentally, the car had a $9474 price tag, compared with $23,000 for an entry level Silver Shadow.

Here’s one of Ron’s Auto Salvage’s older residents, a 1948 Chevrolet Business Coupe. Long gone is the 3.5-liter six-cylinder engine, that would once have taken the car to 60mph in a stately 22sec, eventually winding its way to a top speed of 74mph.

The Fiero, Pontiac’s mid-engined sportscar, found 370,168 buyers during its five years in production (1984 to 1988). To put this figure into perspective, that’s almost double what Toyota’s MR2 managed during its first five years. That’s not bad for a car that was dogged with performance, reliability, and safety issues.

Chevrolet downsized the Monte Carlo in 1978, chopping 15in off its length, and shedding more than 700lb. The automobile-buying public were clearly happy with the new dimensions, as the third-generation cars sold well. This is one of 317,000 to leave the showrooms in 1979.

Considering that it was made in the late-1940s and has likely spent a few decades parked in the Iowa countryside, this Packard is remarkably solid. It looks to us to be a 1948 Custom Super 8, the streamlined car achieving much critical acclaim at its launch.

When new, the car would have featured a Packard ‘Winged Goddess’ cormorant hood ornament, but it’s long since disappeared from this example. 

Look at the state of this 1967 Ford Ranchero’s rear wheel arches, which gives you a good indication of what the floor is like. In fact, with barely a straight panel, it’s done well to survive at Ron’s Auto Salvage for as long as it has.

For 1967 only, the truck was marketed as a Fairlane Ranchero.

The ‘63’ in the windshield identifies the year of this Plymouth Valiant four-door sedan. Or maybe that should be three-door, seeing as one of them is missing…

The original sales literature listed 33 features that supposedly made the Valiant the best all-round compact car.

One of these was its choice of two six-cylinder engines, the standard 101hp version or the optional 145hp offering. The latter was apparently “hotter than the proverbial hinges of hell”.

This 1962 Chevrolet Impala has been at Ron’s Auto Salvage for a long time and is gradually sinking into the dirt. It appears to be quite a solid car but being that close to the ground won’t do its floorpan any favors in the long run.

1962 was a record year for Chevrolet, with production topping two million units for the first time. Sales would continue to grow for the following three years.

We counted well over a dozen Mustangs at Ron’s Auto Salvage, including this 1969 example. Ford’s iconic pony car packed on some heft that year, stretching by 3.8in and widening by 0.5in. From the overgrown trees framing it, it seems this one has been rooted in the same spot for several years.

With its sleek aerodynamic design, the fourth generation Chevrolet Caprice (1990 to 1996) marked a significant departure from its boxy predecessor. A total of 506,414 units were sold, with 1992 standing out as the model's peak year. We still regard these as modern vehicles, but the most recent ones rolled off the line 28 years ago.

The back of this 1963 Ford Country Sedan has been packed full of spare parts. If there are any bits and pieces on or in this car, or indeed any of the other vehicles featured here, get on the phone to Ron’s Auto Salvage.

But don’t just turn up unannounced, as the yard is open by appointment only.