Salvage yard "A"

Merc Cruzer

Merc Cruzer

Well-known member
Had to go to the salvage yard for my 53' Merc today and a guy there bought this "A" from the yard owner.....The yard is in Colorado....they are still out there if you take the time to look!
 

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Very nice for a salvage yard!! I'm surprised that those side aprons aren't crushed from being moved like that with the forklift.
 
It looks like the fork is ahead of the aprons on the front,resting on the radius rods.the other fork looks to be lined up under the running board brackets Most of the weight is probably resting on the torque tube,which is resting on the rear fork.When my grandfather sold A's new,they were unloaded off the flatcars at the sawmill siding.They did that with a big forklift too,but the operator was not too happy about it.His pay was per thousand board feet of lumber he loaded,and he got none for taking the time to unload cars.So,he was none too gentle about it.
 
Certainly looks clean for a salvage yard.Around here they are so nasty you will get a flat if you don't park outside the premises.
 
it does not appear to have been sitting outside to long. i have seen so called barn fresh cars in worst shape. probably a recent donation
 
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Roadster62 said:
Are you early with an April Fools photo?
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I was thinking the same thing. The car looks too complete and too good to be from a junk yard. Maybe the owner died and the widow said "come and get it". I saw that happen to a very nice 1929 Chevy 1 1/2 ton truck that the guy had just restored the running gear and put the very nice original cab back on. He died right after that and the widow told the junk yard to haul it away.
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
I was thinking the same thing. The car looks too complete and too good to be from a junk yard. Maybe the owner died and the widow said "come and get it". I saw that happen to a very nice 1929 Chevy 1 1/2 ton truck that the guy had just restored the running gear and put the very nice original cab back on. He died right after that and the widow told the junk yard to haul it away.
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When you donate a car to a non profit you get credit towards your taxes after it's sold by the non profit. Maybe the widow donated it and it was then sold to the salvage yard.
 
I checked with Charles (970) 686-9391 or cell: (970) 590-5478 and he would not disclose the price on this one, but he did say that he has another 28-29 and 30 sedan coming in shortly...
 
Junkyard owners like Model A's too.Most of the yards around here always had one or two in progress,they never got done,somebody always came along with a pocket full of money before they got to that point.I know of 3 or 4 right now in yards that are not for sale,but,,,for the right price,,,they could be.A woman in the next town over owns a yard,her husband died 15 or so years ago.He had a 31 coupe he had redone over the years.Nice car,but a backyard,driver,junkyard restoration.When she went to sell it she ran off all the rod boys,and looked for a buyer that would keep it as original.She found a buyer that fit her standards.A local boy who used to buy parts from her husband.He was just going to spiff it up,some new tires,touch up the paint,and use it around town to take his kids out for ice cream and evening drives.He never even got the car home,he hauled it to his place of business,and had the body off and being chopped by the end of the first day.I wound up with most of the running gear.She was pretty bent out of shape over it.She had 12 or 14 A and AA trucks still in the yard,all lined up in one spot.She had her yard man run them through the crusher,and made her plan to do it well known first.She even stood there and pulled the lever on the car press and smiled as she did it.Her husband had only saved the good cab trucks,I had counted 8 real nice ones in the lineup.As well as she knew me and knew I was not a rodder,I did not have enough money to save those trucks.$50,000 would not have saved those trucks.Watching nice Model A pickup doors crunching down to nothing for a penny a pound made everybody sick.
 
Keith True said:
Junkyard owners like Model A's too.Most of the yards around here always had one or two in progress,they never got done,somebody always came along with a pocket full of money before they got to that point.I know of 3 or 4 right now in yards that are not for sale,but,,,for the right price,,,they could be.A woman in the next town over owns a yard,her husband died 15 or so years ago.He had a 31 coupe he had redone over the years.Nice car,but a backyard,driver,junkyard restoration.When she went to sell it she ran off all the rod boys,and looked for a buyer that would keep it as original.She found a buyer that fit her standards.A local boy who used to buy parts from her husband.He was just going to spiff it up,some new tires,touch up the paint,and use it around town to take his kids out for ice cream and evening drives.He never even got the car home,he hauled it to his place of business,and had the body off and being chopped by the end of the first day.I wound up with most of the running gear.She was pretty bent out of shape over it.She had 12 or 14 A and AA trucks still in the yard,all lined up in one spot.She had her yard man run them through the crusher,and made her plan to do it well known first.She even stood there and pulled the lever on the car press and smiled as she did it.Her husband had only saved the good cab trucks,I had counted 8 real nice ones in the lineup.As well as she knew me and knew I was not a rodder,I did not have enough money to save those trucks.$50,000 would not have saved those trucks.Watching nice Model A pickup doors crunching down to nothing for a penny a pound made everybody sick.
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Vindictive people are always miserable.Whats the old saying about a woman scorned???
 
I have known Chuck Martin for 40 years, the owner of that junk yard. Like most junk yards here in Colorado, we are always adding more cars. Chuck bought that car a couple weeks ago. Many think that junk yards have what is in them until it is sold. Any good junk yards are always adding more cars all the time. Just my observation.... Steve Becker @Berts Model A center in Colorado
 
She was the easygoing one in the family.Her husband ran off a huge amount of customers because of his political views.Well,not so much his views as his intolerance of others beliefs.Customers would sometimes get tossed out if he found they did not belong to the same party as him.I drove a wrecker for him for a little,he was crabby but OK to me.He gave me a Model A powered Westinghouse welder.He could be comical at times.A man looking for parts had spotted a brand new exhaust system on a wrecked Pinto.This was about 1976 and an exhaust for one of them was about $75.at the time.He told the man that he would not fool with used exhaust parts,but if he wanted to take it off it would be priced right.He did pick the car up with the loader and put tires under it to hold it up a couple of feet.The man spent a couple of hours taking it off,separating all the joints,saving all the clamps and hangers.He lined it all up on the pavement,and the owner drove up in the loader.He looked out and said,5 bucks,you worked to get it.The man said,how about 3 bucks?The owner drove over it with the loader,shut it off,and said that is a $3.exhaust system now.He also had a 32 BB school bus,4 cyl.14 passenger,7 kids on each side.A couple of guys came up from Mass.to look at it,we had a spell when a lot of out-of-state people were pouring in with the attitude they could steal the old iron from us hicks.They crawled all over it,then explained that because it was big iron,it was not really desirable,and was only worth scrap price.He tugged on his beard for a while,agreed,took scrap price,and told them to back their lowbed in his paved yard.They did,and he brought it up with the loader,one fork through the side,and the other had been punched through the grille,radiator,and hood.He set it on their trailer and drove off.His yard guys never let them get more than 10 feet away from their truck.
 
Keith that's a good story. Had a friend like that, he had a 72 chevy truck, real nice, was gonna sell it. Man tried to get it cheaper that what my friend said he would take for it. Needless to say in no uncertain terms the man was told to leave, now.
 
robert shreveport said:
Keith that's a good story. Had a friend like that, he had a 72 chevy truck, real nice, was gonna sell it. Man tried to get it cheaper that what my friend said he would take for it. Needless to say in no uncertain terms the man was told to leave, now.
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I was watching Pawn Stars and a lady come in with a spider broach. He says is was her grandmothers and she wanted something like $300.00 for it.

The owner stated "I hate when I do this but.." and proceded to tell her that it was a Fabergé broach and pointed out all the jewels in it. He then offered her $3000.00. She countered with $5000.00.
 
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