I know you guys were talking about firechickens when you mentioned the fact you like 70-73 then 78 and 9. How do you feel about the the 74-77 camaro front. The reason I ask is that i have a 76 and made my own bumper brackets and tucked the bumber back up to the body where it belongs. It totally changed the look. I'd love to send you a pic of the front and get your honest opinion on it. Especially since you do all your own fab work. if you're like me and hate those Gov. mandated bumber shocks that stuck them out 3in more than they should be, and required a filler pannel to complete it without a gap. If you happened to not like it tucked up, I wouldn't be offended at all because I like the outcome. It doesn't mean everyone would or you will. Just let me know how to get the pic to you if you're interested. A lot of people miss the year on it because of this simple mod. Obviously, they didn't check out the tail lights, which I would love to change out and may get to 1 day to the round tail light panel. It's still a work in progress. But it's slowly moving forward.
Finnegan, I was watching this with my 77 year old mother who has dementia. It was really cool to see her light up when you'd go by certain vehicles especially the PINTOs. (She had one when she married dad back in 1974). Just wanted to thank you for making mom's day awesome.
I'll be honest that places like this actually piss me off. So many great cars that could be saved and back on the road for more generations to appreciate. Instead they are left to rot.
I agree, it seems pointless. And then the guy who started it all dies and does nothing with any of the shit he was "gonna do something with someday"... 😡
i bet he would sell them if they offered a good price... i have a few gems rotting in my yard i wont sell. id rather watch them rot and have people keep asking than give them away for cheap. .if you want something pay up
Bros got a billboard called "Old car City" so obviously he needs old cars.... Asking a collector to sell his best collection is like asking a church lady to sell her first born child into sex slavery....... These comments are not smart ...
Reminds me of the AMMO NYC channel where Larry found a guy with a massive collection of rare cars, just sitting in a warehouse, left to rot. I was a sad sight to see all those classics just left derelict.
Here’s what’s going to happen. He won’t sell any of his 4000 cars. He will die someday. Assuming he has family, they will be overwhelmed by it and scrap probably 9/10ths of what’s there and sell the rest immediately and probably get rinsed because they don’t know what cars are special or are not. So while he could be selling now for what they are worth and leave his family a small fortune he’s going to leave them a problem. Sad.
Or he's just enjoying having his own theme park, they're just cars still plenty of the around. Now there is a place for people to come wander round and explore
This man did this to piss all of us old classic car owners off. Did a great job of it too. Taint Ticklers had me rolling. Made up for the fact I’m aggravated about this old car city joint.
One of the greatest episodes I’ve ever seen. Thank you. Most of us have only seen this kind of stuff in pictures, or the collectors edition ones in car shows. So happy that someone allows people to view things that usually got crushed and recycled into Toyotas, Fords, Teslas, and light duty pickups. Thumbs up to Old Car City. I guess the older I get the more I enjoy history.
Freiburger and steve magnante are absolute gurus when it comes to junkyard crawling! I love seeing places like this, its rad to wander around and just admire all the engineering ideas over the years. We had one local to us, had about 400 cars in it and the owners recently had a mass sale.. guy wanted auction prices for them though 😂
Thats just depressing........But it is also amazing. That somebody collected all those cars. I cant even imagine what that place is worth. I have to make that trip. Its worth the 2 1/2 hours drive. Thanks for the tour Mike.
I cry and enjoy this car every time I see it. My second car was a 72 El Camino. I put a Muncie 4 speed in it. I loved that car, then life happened. Wish I still had it.
Been there 3 times, the Old guy that ran it was an interesting guy, his dads tow truck with a gear reduction hand crank was so cool. He wanted future kids to know what a junk yard was like because they where all disappearing. He was painting coffee mugs when I was there he talked for a couple hours.
There’s something about the El Co that’s just wholesome. I’d go as far to say that’s the best car you co-own. But, yes - you probably need to lose the racepak - go to a retro-modded gauge cluster, a la OG Ramp Truck.
Mike, Mike, Mike... you walked straight past that '58/'59 Plymouth (36.19) without a mention. That's a potential Christine clone if I ever saw it. 😆 🤣 😂 Yeah, I know the rules. Dream, but don't touch.
I've often wondered how many of the cars in these collections belong to a long forgotten missing persons cold case. VW bus graveyards really give me that vibe cause you gotta wonder who would report or bother looking for a missing hippy back when the signs read "hippies use the back door!"
This place is great. I've been planning on going back but just haven't had time, so thanks for the current tour. I love the fact that he just parked them, and people can check them out. He could have easily crushed them like we did. They weren't worth anything, so we crushed hundreds of them.
Beautiful elco in your family. It's awesome that you actually did something other than letting them rot. People and places like that really pisses me off. There's so many of us that want to put them back on the road and not get swallowed up in the dirt. I've been after this 64 malibu ss for almost 20 years now and the only thing that changes is how much further it's into the ground. It's now almost halfway up the frame and you can't see any of the suspension anymore. It's not even a good parts car anymore. Tags and title is about it. Such a sad waste of a beautiful car... 😭😭😭
More money than brains. It’s proof here that wealth and hoarding power, don’t equal intelligences. Let some of the best cars go so they can be saved and go to people who will actually use and appreciate them.
One of the commenters said why. The old man that used to run it wanted to make sure all kids got to see what auto's used to be like. He was a visionary. Think about the future, 100 years from now we will be grateful. 🤞
@@laughingatlife7100 Well he failed then... The least he could have done was managing the landscape and that alone would have increased the longevity of them. Do you really think they'd be anything but dust in 100 years? When you care about something you manage it in some form or another... Could have laid down gravel or silt, hell even some simple weed pulling! When its to the point of being consumed by tree and brush, that's outright abandoned and neglected lol. Doesn't sound like he had the future in mind at all really, probably just what he tells people to get them off his back about it being a waste. I'd bet he had bylaw or whatever up his ass for basically having 4000 abandoned vehicles laying around. But you don't want to let any of it go, so what do you do? Slap up a couple signs and call it a museum. Now it's a business and an attraction, he gets to keep his junk, gets people off his case, and makes a buck or two for it.
I've been visiting Old Car City for nearly 25 years. Great place to see some sad sights, but still cool things to see. I always wanted the '57 Ford panel truck that they used as their sign to match my '57 F100 that I drove in High School.
Can’t save, but really neat in it’s own right. A person gets to see what things were like before these became collectible. Another trip back in time. 👍🙂
God dang it I despise people like this who hoard this stuff and let it rot just sell a few and you could retire comfortably especially the Old mopars and other muscle cars it damn near makes a tear come to my eye
and they despise you more.. thats why he has a bunch of gems and you are the one btching about it. i bet they would sell for a good price but not low balls by people who despise them.. kinda easy to understand
@@CoPaVolvo It's wild that you assume he doesn't sell them because he only gets low ball offers. Mopar guys will literally pay thousands for a hood over a code, you're telling me they wouldn't nut up for a real deal unmolested original? Much less something sought after? Yeah, you're high if you believe that. Real deal enthusiasts / collectors will pay tens of thousands for vehicles even in this condition.
I usually go every few years with my kids. It's usually a Father's Day or Birthday Day deal with lunch somewhere. Things will make you shake your head and question why. Eventually, you learn to just enjoy the time and look for new stuff, which is easily found. My still favorite/would like to buy/find one and make a project is the Studebaker Champ pickup (it's right in the front lot). It's worth your time and the fee to see/take pictures.
I haven’t been to Lisbon, Ohio in almost 10 years. Behind Mary’s Pizza there’s an open pole building/garage. In that garage sits a navy blue Bronco (late 60s maybe early 70s). It’s covered with objects to the point I couldn’t tell the year, and if you didn’t know what you were looking at, you’d have no idea it was even a Bronco
I get the fact that if you own it do what you want with it but we need to keep old iron on the street or strip running and driving. We need to get the next generation into these cars as well
Many old junk yards are gone now. I know of several in SW TN and NW MS that had old cars that I shopped for parts in. For several reasons, one of which is "environmental" (with emphasis on the MENTAL) they were cleaned out. All the cars crushed and now just a memory. In that regard, this IS a museum. And if you think about it, there's no upkeep. No waxing, no engine oil changes, no (huge) electricity bills. So, yeah, it's heart breaking to see some of these cars rotting away but on the other hand they ARE still there to look at. --- The differences in 150, 210, Bel-Air, Biscayne, etc. etc. is trim levels. This is why you see many 57 Bel Airs that were 210s that someone got the trim off another car and made it a Bel Air. Depending on the year, the lower level may have one tail light, the next up 2 and the top level with 3 (on each side). The manufacturers were crazy with options back then. The 57 with the cut off top and "roll bar" was likely a parade vehicle. Imagine the 1962 Homecoming parade with the Homecoming Queen and King standing up holding onto that bar with "most likely to succeed" boy and girl waving at the onlookers lined up on each side of the downtown Main Street in smalltown USA. The high school marching band playing John Phillip Souza marching tunes (a little off-key) leading the parade. The varsity cheerleaders jumping, cheering waving their pom-poms, doing "cartwheels" while the one girl drops her baton over and over as the school mascot (either a live animal or some unfortunate individual in a goofy costume) follows behind. Then, the "new" convertibles from both car dealers in town, idling by with the Mayor and his wife in one and the School principal and wife in the other. And of course, the local police on Harleys rumbling behind. All while the "least likely to succeed" boys are squealing tires and thundering up and down Second street, one block over. Oh! The halcyon days of youth...LOL Sorry, I don't know how to make short comments...
I don't live far from this location and it saddens me each time I drive by it. There are so many cool rides rotting away and I wish each one of them could be saved.
in the 70s my dad towed his sandrail to glamis with his '71 Boss 351 mustang, the pictures are epic. he bought it new when he got out of the air force and still owns it to this day. 👍
Biscayne was base, followed by BelAir, then Impala, and at the top of the heap was the Caprice. My first car was a ‘67 Caprice- 327, 192 double hump heads, 400 long tail, 12 bolt rear end.
A neighbor had a 39 Ford pickup that sat behind a barn for as long as I could remember. I approached him about selling it one time and he told me no, it was his dads truck and he was going to restore it. That was almost 40 years ago and its still sitting in the exact same spot with considerably more rust than it had then.
My 71 Mach 1 with a 460 runs regular with 11 to 1 at 35 timing. The 68 cc heads with the pistons .030 above deck makes the quench area .015 with a .045 head gasket. The small quench prevents pinging/ knocking but limits rpm to 5000. With 500 ft/lb to the ground at 3000 it does just fine. Your 45 timing as you mentioned is helped with small CC's and little place for carbon to build up. And High quality fuel.
I owned a 71 torino for about 15 years with a Cleveland and when I had gotten tired of running InstaLead because it didn't work good. Finally tried running 1 part TurboBlue to 3 part 87 and it ran like a raped ape. I eventually sold it for several reasons 1 being the gas station by my house stopped carrying race fuel, but it's a solid solution for anyone with an older regular fuel engine not wanting to redo everything.
I learned how to recognise different cars at an early age back in the 1960's. When we would go on trips my mom would keep us kids occupied by playing auto bingo and as we got older and more knowledgeable we would make it even harder by looking for specific years of cars. Of course we would throw in "slug bug" too.
My uncle had a El Camino that color that he bought new, sold it, and then bought it back from the widow of the man he sold it to probably 20 plus years later. Then sold it again. Man, I’d love to have that truck now…
Stubborn yard owners and reclusive rich collectors can P!$$ off in my book. I don't care for their motives, reasons, but letting historic cars rot is a crime in my book. There's no difference between the rich doucheflap that keeps cars in a bunker (here in Europe it's a trend) and the NA guy who keeps a yard and lets the cars rot. Different type of rot, but it's the same damage. And before anyone thinks that rich flaps would take care of their cars (as investments) ... wrong. It gets bad. It's like a rotten egg. The shell looks good, but then you crack it open and you never get rid of the stink.
I'm in Haywood county North Carolina and there's an old guy near Cruso with a bunch of old cars rotting into the ground. Dude has a friggin deLorean! With the frame laying in the dirt. I haven't driven by there since the floods but I got a feeling he's got nothing left. Should've sold them when he had the chance.
love a 69 charger rt ford pinto if rear ended gas tank would explode yikes id have a field day taking in some great wonderful old memories of times and days gone by love it keep up the great work mike and thankyou for a great trip down memory lane ❤
We recently had a local old car junk yard sold after the old owner died. Mobile crusher brought in and thousands of old vehicles crashed on the spot. They did have a few pulled out. Some day the same will happen there.
26:50 the coolest car in my high school parking lot was my car, a 1970 442 which i still own. There were some decent rides but i still hear about it to this day about my 442 back then. Now go back just 2 years from my 1987 graduation and i was just junior, there were more cool musclecars than you could count. I can't even name them all here but trust me the parking lot received an asphalt rubber sealer on top of the entire surface that year. The next year after that i was a sophomore and could drive to school but couldn't park in the senior lot, had to park next door at the community center hockey rink. Only a small fence seperated the two lots, and we had a few cool cars over next door, including my 442, but i didn't take it to school as much that year. I did take dads 1976 trans am with a 455 and 4 speed, headers and straight thru thrush mufflers. I kinda did some burnouts in front of some houses for homecoming float building and i kinda ended up pissing off a dude who got blamed for it so the trans am did get egged in the sophomore lot. I also got the trans am banned from the entire property because one day when leaving school, i dont know what got into me, but decided the following was a good idea.... I come out of that secondary lot when clear and dumped the clutch and just spun around in circles about 4 times...all the school buses were stopped waiting for me, traffic both directions waiting for me to do the donuts. I pointed it in the direction i was going in first place, sat in traffic till the light changed and casually drove home. Man did i get in trouble the next day! I was a quiet kid and kept to myself generally speaking, got good grades and all that, but was a gearhead at heart. The principal called me to his office and grilled me, the auto shop teacher and i really got along good and he asked what in the world got into me? I simply answered "a big block and 4 speed sir"
The Isabella is a Borgward. Pretty cool story behind the car, the designers wife wanted a Karman Ghia, but he didn't like VW's or rear engines so he built a similar looking car that was front engine. I had one years ago and when I sold it it went from Washington state to like the Netherlands
29:45 Yep, Firebird Formula. Nice. Goofy color though. 30:34 Not a Chevelle front clip. That is a MOPAR ... Dodge or Plymouth?? I'm leaning towards Plymouth. 41:07 WOW Nice Galaxie convertible! 41:21 No, not a "Bubble Top" Chevy. Bubble Top GM cars are ALL hardtops. That big Chevy is clearly a "post car". 47:13 That Bonneville needs to be on the road! Same for the Lincoln Mk shown right before it. Damn aggravating, shameful & wasteful collection. The dude that owns that place needs an intervention or something LOL Thanks for taking us all along for the ride, guys!
Cool place! 68 Chevelle has slot type/ rectangle tail lights and the 69 has more square ones. So, how old is the owner of all this? How's his health? What will his family do with it after he's gone?
I just sold my 396 SS 69 Chevelle last December. It was a AC power windows fully loaded option car from the factory. All original. Only issue was that someone changed from the original light blue outside with dark blue interior to white with black interior.
Growing up in Bartow County Georgia, I've known this family all my life (I love seeing when you travel around there), went to and graduated High School with his son....he's always been eccentric. I remember when parts could be bought from that junk yard but his prices were astronomical. I also remember when those woods were packed with cars. I am curious though, your shop is 15 miles tops from Old Car City, why did you drive almost to Chattanooga to get there? I love all your content, keep up the great work.
I cant understand is why the guy who owns that deal would want to let these cars rot back into the earth and not sell. The potential in that yard is incredible But its sad that a lot of those cars are way too far gone
This is a mausoleum built by the widows of those with more ambition than ability. The place is really well kept. I wonder if they have someone who does all the mowing and weed-whacking full time.
