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60 Year Garage Sale: Classic Yard Cleanout

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The ad is pretty simple: “Lots of old cars” is what’s listed here on craigslist in Oregon, where an automotive service shop is closing its doors after 60 years. There’s a wide range of American vehicles available like this Ford Maverick with the Grabber trim package. It, and many of the other vehicles up for grabs, appears free of major rust. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Olaf E. for the find!

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This Hudson Hornet may look like it’s sitting low, but I suspect it could fire up with ease. Its paint is pleasingly sun-bleached and I’m surprised to see the center-mount aerial still attached. Anyone want to take a guess at what year it is? Hudsons made impressive power for the era, but the most desirable versions came with the company’s “Twin H” motors under the hood.

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This Pontiac Ventura Sprint sports a very clean body and what appears to be fatter tires in the rear. Essentially a Nova clone, the badges near the front bumper indicate this example has the Pontiac-built 350 V8 under the hood, which makes this a potentially entertaining driver on the cheap. Unfortunately, no prices are listed so you’ll have to call the seller to see just how realistic their pricing is.

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Perhaps this is the rig that brought these forlorn classics home? I’d love to know the history of an old garage like this. One possibility is these are former customer vehicles that stayed stuck once a bill couldn’t be paid; another scenario is the garage was in the retrieval business and hauled off abandoned cars or illegally parked vehicles. If only this vintage Ford tow rig could talk. The faded paint job is definitely worth preserving.

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This striking Oldsmobile Tornado is my personal favorite of the bunch. That baby blue paint paired with the burnt-on rust is just how I’d leave it. Other than re-polishing the hubcaps to give it some subtle bling, this one looks ready for the road. All of the vehicles seem almost purposefully dispersed throughout the property, or maybe it’s an unintentional mess. Regardless, there appear to be some relatively straight project cars to take home. Flip through the photos and let us know which one you’d choose.

Comments

  1. Avatar Evan Allen

    um.. uh, I know this is a car blog, so I’ll take the hornet or whatever. More importantly, I’ll take the hoover constellation.

    Like 0
    • Avatar packrat

      Evan Allen, our family never owned a Constellation (they tended to be solid, Protestant, GE swivel-top canister vac owning people). Though I’ve seen plenty of parts machines, I could never pull the trigger on one. Nowadays, the Beverly Hills Canister Club is selling ones pulled up from below the waterline of the Fresh Kills Landfill for astronomical amounts–the average new hobbyist can’t afford to restore one. I satisfied my yen when I ran into a couple of old Electroluxes in a barn, a 1205 and a model G, neither of which had much rust but the usual mouse droppings. Neither had seen a repaint, and the original finish may buff out and be ready for an occasional sunny Saturday tidying. Crustier still is the Brass-Era smut inhaler inherited from a distant cousin, the old Premier Duplex that Nashville Railway and Light sold locally right after WW1. The guys that remember these old prewar vacuums are dying out, and the prices are plunging–they aren’t really fast enough to keep up with modern units.

      Like 1
      • Avatar Robert White

        I retrieved my neighbour’s old Hoover Canister vac a decade ago. Works perfect and is old school. I have yet to give it a paint job, but I did check the rust spots with primer.

        Like 0
      • Avatar Evan Allen

        I picked up a hoover constellation model 85 from someone on craigslist about an hour away. It was only $25, but it needs a bunch of repairs. My intent was to bring it to a hoover repair center and see if they’d be absolutely flummoxed or if they could help. It was cheap enough to buy as a project to try fixing and if it ever flies again I’ll be happy.

        I must have been lucky, I had an electrolux 50th anniversary edition in college that came with and was left with the house.

        Like 0
    • Avatar Woodie Man

      I like old vacuums too………Hornets even more! We are very ill

      Like 0
  2. Avatar rmward194 Member

    With nothing to do on a Saturday night I think I found the place. Weaverville Garage in Weaverville, CA

    From the Google Map and Street View images it looks like there are a lot of old cars sitting around this place.

    https://www.google.com/maps/place/60+Drury+Ln,+Weaverville,+CA+96093/@40.7143302,-122.9249688,166m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x54d2522d53bead81:0xb670012ce3dcd7f8!8m2!3d40.7145459!4d-122.9253742

    Like 0
    • Avatar Mike_B_SVT

      Their address is Drury Lane… I wonder if they know the Muffin Man?

      >.>

      Like 0
  3. Avatar Fred W.

    I say leave the Constellation stock. Last guy that dropped in a smallblock Chevy sucked up his sectional sofa. But it does look good restored.

    Like 0
  4. Avatar Fred W.

    Like this…

    Like 0
  5. Avatar Fred W.

    Geez…another day of photos not posting.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Jesse Staff

      Sorry Fred. The image might be too big. Email it to us and we can test it to what’s happening.

      Like 0
  6. Avatar Francisco

    I’ll take the loader/backhoe, and bury half of these cars.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Horse Radish

      Hey, Francisco is spreading some sunshine around…..again.

      Like 0
  7. Avatar Todd Zuercher

    I’d love to have the Highboy tow truck and the early Willys CJ-2A. That hood scoop is a tell tale sign that someone put a F-head in it.

    Like 0
  8. Avatar Woodie Man

    Up at the front there looks to be a ’56 Imperial 2 door hardtop by the road. Love this part of California

    Like 0
  9. Avatar angliagt

    I think that’s the place on the East end of Weaverville,CA.
    I’ve been by the lots of times,but never stopped to look.
    I’ll be going through there on the 17th,if that helps anyone.
    I’ll probably be driving the ’67 MGB GT,going to meet up with the
    Redding British Car Club members.
    We’ll also be doing an import car show at the Woodley-
    Island Marina on June 11th.

    http://www.rscc.net

    Like 0
  10. Avatar Barzini

    The Ford wrecker with the custom paint is the most intruiging find in the bunch.

    Like 0
  11. HoA Howard A Member

    Looks as if “Barbara” is liquidating dad’s junk. Some of the stuff is cool, for parts, but mostly just a hodge podge of “sure, I’ll take it” or, like Jeff sez, couldn’t pay the bill. The semi tractor is a mid-’70’s IH 4300. Good trucks. I’d bet too, the ’68 or ’69 Ford tow truck ( probably an F-350 with some mambo gas motor, 460 maybe) was a busy truck back then. Dad must have done a good business. Oh, btw, my mom was a “Kirby” mom. :)

    Like 0
    • Avatar CATHOUSE

      I am pretty sure that the 460 engine was not even in production in the late 1960s. Ford was still using the 429s and that engine evolved into the 460. Late 1960s F series trucks generally received a 360 or a 390 FE engine. Not exactly gas misers either.

      Like 0
  12. Avatar MSG Bob

    And my sister still has my mom’s ’50s Filter Queen – a true survivor.

    Like 0
  13. Avatar Alan (Michigan)

    I spot a Corvair wagon, back behind the rear of the 2-tone Dodge van…
    And a Mercedes 2-seater a couple of spots behind the hopped up Willys Jeep.

    Like 0
  14. Avatar rangeroger

    Todd Zeurcher, that hood scoop is a sure sign that there’s a V-8 in that CJ. F-heads fit just fine and carb sits to the side not dead center. I know because I parted out a wrecked ’46 CJ- 2A with a 1964 F-head Hurricane Four in it. The engine is still in my garage.
    Hood had no scoop.

    Like 0
    • Avatar Todd Zuercher

      Roger – that’s certainly a possibility too. Congrats on having one with an F-head that didn’t require a scoop. All the ones I looked at in the 80s with those engines required scoops.

      Like 0
  15. Avatar jaymes

    haha, vacume get more talk than the cars

    Like 0
  16. Avatar Wayne

    1951 Hudson NOT a Hornet.

    Like 0
  17. Avatar Steve hagebusch

    Love to have the ventura……had a 73 sprint with the 350 bench seat column shift auto…..wish it was buckets n floor shift…..lost it due to reasons out of my control….been lookin for n wantin one since

    Like 0

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