[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

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At one time back in the early ‘80s, we were sitting around the office of a collector car magazine wondering how long junkyards would last in the future. The “green” movement was already in progress and junkyards, as we knew them as young car enthusiasts, were changing and “cleaning up their acts.”
We started dreaming about how the day would come when there were no junkyards, and we joked that someone would start an amusement park with a junkyard theme. Car lovers would pay admission and get to walk around a park loaded with derelict cars. There would be a barking junkyard dog and a “junkman” buy the gate that you’d have to make believe you were negotiating with to buy a part. If you negotiated well, a bulb would light and you’d win a prize—maybe a hubcap or something.
We even sketched a drawing of the place. It was filled with rusty old cars that most people never heard of like La Salles, Oaklands and Hupmobiles (even my spell checker burped at that last one)! There would be a fence decorated with dozens of “No Trespassing” signs and maybe even a crusher that you put a quarter in and scrunched a fender or a hood. The more ideas we thought up, the more we laughed about our junkyard amusement park idea. We figured it would give future generations a taste of the “joys of junkyarding.” We even coined a name for it -- “Junkyard Joyride.”
Believe it or not, a version of our fantasy has now come to life at the Motorama Auto Museum Ltd. in Aniwa, Wis. (www.motoramaautomuseum.com or www.alfaheaven.com). The museum has lots of nice cars and motorcycles on indoor display, including a rare Alfa Romeo Disco Volante dream machine. The junkyard or “Boneyard” section is outdoors, near a recreation of a Chevrolet Corvair dealership.
The Boneyard is loaded with all kinds of cars nestled into a wooded area with a clearly marked path winding through it. There are models such as an AMC Marlin, a Rambler Cross-Country station wagon and a Nash Metropolitan. International travelers that became permanent residents include a German-made Goliath and a Fiat van. There’s also Buicks from the ‘30s and ‘40s, a Plymouth Valiant from the early ‘60s and a Nash Metropolitan.
The nice thing about this junkyard is that you can walk around as long as you like or at least until you get hungry, thirsty or tired. At any of those points, you can stop at the Alfa Heaven MotorSports Bar for snacks, food or liquid refreshments.
Click Here to Begin Slideshow

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

Click Here to Begin Slideshow

At one time back in the early ‘80s, we were sitting around the office of a collector car magazine wondering how long junkyards would last in the future. The “green” movement was already in progress and junkyards, as we knew them as young car enthusiasts, were changing and “cleaning up their acts.”


We started dreaming about how the day would come when there were no junkyards, and we joked that someone would start an amusement park with a junkyard theme. Car lovers would pay admission and get to walk around a park loaded with derelict cars. There would be a barking junkyard dog and a “junkman” buy the gate that you’d have to make believe you were negotiating with to buy a part. If you negotiated well, a bulb would light and you’d win a prize—maybe a hubcap or something.


We even sketched a drawing of the place. It was filled with rusty old cars that most people never heard of like La Salles, Oaklands and Hupmobiles (even my spell checker burped at that last one)! There would be a fence decorated with dozens of “No Trespassing” signs and maybe even a crusher that you put a quarter in and scrunched a fender or a hood. The more ideas we thought up, the more we laughed about our junkyard amusement park idea. We figured it would give future generations a taste of the “joys of junkyarding.” We even coined a name for it -- “Junkyard Joyride.”


Believe it or not, a version of our fantasy has now come to life at the Motorama Auto Museum Ltd. in Aniwa, Wis. (www.motoramaautomuseum.com or www.alfaheaven.com). The museum has lots of nice cars and motorcycles on indoor display, including a rare Alfa Romeo Disco Volante dream machine. The junkyard or “Boneyard” section is outdoors, near a recreation of a Chevrolet Corvair dealership.


The Boneyard is loaded with all kinds of cars nestled into a wooded area with a clearly marked path winding through it. There are models such as an AMC Marlin, a Rambler Cross-Country station wagon and a Nash Metropolitan. International travelers that became permanent residents include a German-made Goliath and a Fiat van. There’s also Buicks from the ‘30s and ‘40s, a Plymouth Valiant from the early ‘60s and a Nash Metropolitan.


The nice thing about this junkyard is that you can walk around as long as you like or at least until you get hungry, thirsty or tired. At any of those points, you can stop at the Alfa Heaven MotorSports Bar for snacks, food or liquid refreshments.


Click Here to Begin Slideshow

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

[Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

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About John Gunnell 143 Articles
John “Gunner” Gunnell has been writing about cars since ‘72. As a kid in Staten Island, N.Y., he played with a tin Marx “Service Garage” loaded with toy vehicles, his favorite being a Hubley hot rod. In 2010, he opened Gunner’s Great Garage, in Manawa, Wis., a shop that helps enthusiasts restore cars. To no one’s surprise, he decorated 3G’s with tin gas stations and car toys. Gunner started writing for two car club magazines. In 1978, publisher Chet Krause hired him at Old Cars Weekly, where he worked from 1978-2008. Hot rodding legend LeRoi “Tex” Smith was his boss for a while. Gunner had no formal journalism training, but working at a weekly quickly taught him the trade. Over three decades, he’s met famous collectors, penned thousands of articles and written over 85 books. He lives in Iola, Wis., with his nine old cars, three trucks and seven motorcycles.

1 Comment on [Gallery] Junkyard Joyride

  1. My name is Steve Hayden of Farnham Va., I enjoyed your article it brought back so many memories of my youth, now 70, my dad had a used car lot and junk yard here where I still live in the same house 69 years, may God bless you and your work and life !!!!

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